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. When I was going upstairs, daddy hit me on the back and I was crying so he hit me again.”
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?
