Addressing Domestic Violences Impact on NJ Children: A Policy Solution

Abstract

Bill A228 Session 2022-2023: Establishes Statewide Program to Provide Treatment Services for Children Exposed to Domestic Violence Chosen Policy The bill is titled "Establishes Statewide program to provide treatment services for children exposed to domestic violence". The bill's last session number is A1771 and has been certified by OLS for a fiscal note. The bill aims at addressing domestic violence as a social issue that affects many children and family members within New Jersey thus the need for intervention to treat and offer other remedies for this issue. Being an Act concerning domestic violence and supplementing Title 30 of the New Jersey Statutes, upon enactment by the Senate and the General assembly of the State of New Jersey the bill aims at ensuring that the Department of children and families establishes a statewide program that will provide treatment services for children and family members exposed to domestic violence. To ensure the success of the program, the department shall provide grants to providers for developing and implementing treatment, counseling, and supportive services to the target audiences and assign staff to develop strategies for assisting providers in implementing this program throughout the state. The Bill aims to ensure an effective program that provides a remedy for all children and family members exposed to domestic violence has been a disturbing social issue within New Jersey. 1st November 2022 is the bill's date of introduction with its attention directed to the Assembly Judiciary committee. Its primary sponsors include Munoz, Nancy F., Wimberly, Benjie E., and McKnight, Angela V. The co-sponsors include Mosquera, Gabriela M., Rooney, Kevin J., McKeon, John F., Murphy, Carol A., and Reynolds-Jackson, Vertina. The bill is not yet passed as pending technical review by the legislative counsel. Source of Interest Domestic violence is not news. It has been and still is a disturbing social problem that has affected many ever since time immemorial. Having witnessed many close family friends and relatives experience this problem it leaves no choice other than to dig deeper into the topic to understand its major triggers and the right interventions to address it and save millions in agony. Domestic violence plays a significant role in affecting the child's well-being. Regardless of the innocence of children, they become among the main victims of domestic violence as exposure to such violent experiences during childhood shapes the child's attitude towards humans and life in general. In most cases, such exposures lead to stress, depression, and withdrawals from the community which negatively affect the child and family victims' mental well-being resulting in a great number of mentally ill persons within the community. It is a great topic worth analyzing to understand how best one can address its effects on the victims and save them through treatments and therapies. The primary and co-sponsors of this bill sponsor it to offer substantial support for particular proposals within it for policy change. The sponsors understand the issue at hand and its effects on children and their families. By sponsoring the bill, the sponsors have expressed their determination in ensuring changes in the previous policies that addressed human well-being through their proposals on the need for the Departments of Children and Families to establish and maintain a statewide evidence-based program to provide treatment services for children and their family members exposed to domestic violence. The sponsor also supports this policy because it concerns a thriving problem whose effects on children and family members are too loud to ignore thus without the implementation of the right intervention as soon as possible, it might become challenging to address it in the future. The sponsor as the main supporters of the bill aims at ensuring that the policy makes sense to all members to increase its chances of passage. Description/Nature of the Social Problem Domestic violence is prevalent in society today. The young and the old are crying for help due to the severity of the domestic violence experiences. According to Huecker, King, & William Smock (2022), domestic violence may include economic, physical, sexual, emotional, and psychological abuse of children, adults, and elders that affects an estimated ten million American every year. Unfortunately, due to childhood exposure to this social problem, the cycle of abuse continues to adult relationships and finally to care for the elderly. It is a severe social problem that causes worsened physical and psychological health, decreased productivity and quality of life, and mortality in severe cases. Though difficult to identify many victims do not report such cases to health professionals and legal authorities for fear of worsened experiences, criticism and to some extent lack of knowledge on the relevance of such reporting, American government through domestic violence management bill sponsors aims at addressing such cases for the well-being of all American citizens. Huecker, King, & William Smock (2022) confirm that though underreported, as many as one in four women and one in nine men remain potential victims of domestic violence in the United States with estimated economic costs estimated at 12 billion dollars per year. Unfortunately, the number of affected persons might rise over the next few years if the American government fails in implementing effective policies to address this social problem. Looking at the data from the CDC's National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS) of 2017, it is open that about 26% of men and 41% of women in America experienced domestic violence ranging from sexual, physical or stalking from an intimate partner and reported an intimate partner violence-related impact during their lifetime. The same report confirms that over 53 million men and 61 million women have expressed experiences with psychological aggression by an intimate partner in their lifetime defining domestic violence as a threat thus the need for an address. While paying close attention to intimate partner violence which is among the most common form of domestic violence, Peterson et al. (2018) confirmed that in 2014, the American government estimated $103, 767 per female and $23 414 per male as the lifetime costs attributed to this form of domestic violence. It is an economic hitch as it resulted in a population economic burden of nearly $3.6 trillion including $2.1 trillion in medical costs which takes a significant 59% of this total cost. What do such estimates imply? Simple, the cost of addressing domestic violence from a medical perspective is relatively high thus without amendments to change some parts of the previous policy and incorporate a statewide program directed at helping such victims, it might remain a dream to address domestic violence-related cases. It is open that when a person experiences physical, mental, psychological among other emotionally-related torture, their productivity in all areas reduces becoming very difficult for such victims to have financial stability. It is a problem that affects them as persons and those living with them and the society at large as people as everybody tries to accommodate them and their demands. Due to such considerations, the need to have a potential policy that can take into account such victims' needs is the key to addressing the issue of domestic violence and rescuing millions of Americans exposed to its effects. In their research on “Domestic violence and abuse through a sociological lens”, Cares, Reckdenwald, A., & Fernandez (2021) confirm that there has been a long witnessed history of...