What activities would you ask Ms. M and her children to complete if you were going to work towards termination in the coming weeks?

A Case Study on Domestic Violence: Anne M.

Modified from Real Cases: Integrating Child Welfare Practice Across the Social Work Curriculum

Family Background: Anne M. is 32 years old woman who is unemployed but has a degree in

hospitality services. She has been married to Peter M. for 7 years. They have two children,

Thomas, aged 6, and Megan, aged 3. Peter is an insurance agent who earns approximately

$70,000 a year. Peter and the 2 children are all U.S. citizens. Anne, who was born in Jamaica, is

a permanent resident of the US. Peter’s family is also from Jamaica, but he was born in the New

York City. They are both Episcopalians. Since the DV incident and subsequent return to the

States, Mr. M. has been living in an apartment he co-owns with his mother in Brooklyn. There

was no prior ACS contact with this family, but a search of Domestic Incident Reports at the

Police department revealed two prior domestic violence incidents in which Mr. M. was named as

the suspect in 12/2012 and 10/2013.

Presenting Problem: Ms M. said her husband inflicted bruises on her in the presence of the

children during their vacation in Jamaica. When CPS asked what was going on between her and

her husband when this incident occurred, Ms M. explained that an old friend of hers called the

week after they arrived and offered to show the family around. Her husband gave the friend

directions to the house where they were staying, but when he arrived, Mr. M. said he didn’t want

to go and offered to stay home with the children. They were gone for about 3 hours, but when

they returned her husband pulled the friend out of the car and assaulted him. He was then

arrested and stayed one night in jail.

Several days later they got into an argument because he left no money for her when he went out

alone, although he knew she needed to buy food for the dish she was cooking, and she was

counting on his taking the children with him. When he came back, she yelled at him; he then

came at her with a closed fist, saying he saw her friend’s car waiting outside. He punched her

repeatedly in the face, neck, shoulders and arms as he was shouting, “You’re making a fool out of

me” and “You ruin my vacation.” She realized she was bleeding all over and there was blood on

the walls and the floor. When she went into the shower, he continued punching her. He finally

left, saying he was going to kill her friend.

Initial Home Visit: At the home visit, it was clear that this 2-bedroom apartment was clean,

well-organized and furnished, with plenty of food in the refrigerator, locks and guards on the

windows, and smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. Ms M. was able to show the worker the

children’s vaccination records and said the children have no special medical or mental health

needs. Since the children share a twin bed in the 2nd bedroom, the worker explained why this

was not a good idea and said she would help Ms M. get a set of bunk beds for the children.

The CPS worker observed the children for marks and bruises. Both of the children had visible

welts on their backs and arms. Thomas reported that “daddy hit me hard there, and it still hurts.

Megan said, “daddy hit me right there,” pointing to the welts on her Real Cases Project: The

Anne M. Case Study 30 arm, “daddy did it.” When the CPS asked her if she could tell her what

happened, Megan put her hands over her ears and said, “don’t talk, don’t talk.”

As a result of the concerns in this case, the family was referred for supportive services to the

Family Center of New York. They were assigned to a family social worker (Maria) who met

with the family to complete an assessment and intervention plan. In addition, a safety plan was

created in connection with CPS. Maria and the CPS worker recommended that Ms. M. gather all

vital documents in one safe place, pack a change of clothes for her and the children, have

sufficient cash available in case she has to move in a hurry, and identify a place she can go

unknown to her husband. Ms. M. agreed to these suggestions, saying she will request the

assistance of a friend she has known for many years and will arrange a code word so others will

know to call the police immediately if she calls and is in danger. Ms. M. had already obtained an

Order of Protection, but since she had difficulty serving him.

Family Intervention: Over the course of 6 weeks the family social worker, Maria, met with Ms.

M weekly and her children bi weekly. The goals that were being addressed with Ms. M involved

getting counseling to address the DV, helping her get linked with community supports, assisting

Ms. M with finding a job and a new apartment, and maintaining the safety plan put into place.

Ms. M rejected the idea of doing marital counseling but was open to family counseling with her

children.

By the end of the 6 weeks Ms. M had identified a new apartment she would like to move into

that was closer to her aunt (one of her identified supports). She had also secured some part-time

employment at a restaurant that is close by her aunt’s home. The children were still having bad

dreams and seemed a bit anxious due to the DV incident and their own physical abuse, per their

teacher and mother’s reports. Ms. M reported that she has continued with having no face-to-face

contact with her husband but they had talked on the phone several times about the children. She

believes he really feels bad about his actions and is considering letting him see the children in

public settings. Ms. M had been referred for individual counseling but family counseling had not

be set up yet. Ms. M has verbalized that she believes her family has all of the tools needed to get

back to “our life as we knew it,” and has asked Maria if they could terminate with her in the next

few weeks.

Consider the following questions as if you were Maria:

What are the cultural issues that the family social worker must consider in this case?

What aspects of this case would support termination at this point?

What aspects of this case would discourage termination at this point?

What activities would you ask Ms. M and her children to complete if you were going to

work towards termination in the coming weeks?

What additional information would you need before making a decision on termination at

this point?

If you were Maria, what would you tell Ms. M about termination considering your

responses to the prior question?