Research shows child welfare cases involving caregiver domestic violence (DV) continue to produce punitive consequences for non-abusive adult victims. This occurs despite the adoption of a supportive policy framework that emphasizes perpetrator responsibility for DV-related harm to children. Risk assessment procedures have been implicated in punitive outcomes, but we know little about how they shape child welfare workers’ decision-making practice. Focusing on a state with a supportive policy framework, this paper uses grounded theory to examine how policy contradictions, procedural directives around risk assessment, and informal interventions produce punitive consequences for adult victims of DV and unmitigated risk to children. Data include state policy and procedural documents and interviews with child welfare workers describing decision-making in their most recent completed case and most recent case involving DV. Findings point to the need for active alignment of policies and procedures, greater integration of knowledge across practice areas, renewed commitments to differential response, and greater inclusion of DV specialists in child welfare settings.

研究表明，涉及照顾者家庭暴力 (DV) 的儿童福利案件继续对非虐待的成年受害者产生惩罚性后果。尽管采用了支持性政策框架，强调犯罪者对与 DV 相关的儿童伤害负责，但这种情况还是会发生。风险评估程序与惩罚性结果有关，但我们对它们如何影响儿童福利工作者的决策实践知之甚少。本文着眼于具有支持性政策框架的国家，使用扎根理论来研究政策矛盾、围绕风险评估的程序指令和非正式干预如何对 DV 的成年受害者产生惩罚性后果，并对儿童产生未减轻的风险。数据包括国家政策和程序文件以及对儿童福利工作者的采访，这些文件描述了他们最近完成的案件和最近涉及 DV 的案件的决策过程。调查结果表明需要积极调整政策和程序，加强跨实践领域的知识整合，重新承诺差异化响应，以及更多地将 DV 专家纳入儿童福利环境。