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MASSACHUSETTS DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND WELFARE REFORM: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY Final Report June 2001 Submitted to: Submitted by: Massachusetts Department of Revenue Center for Policy Research Division of Child Support Enforcement 1570 Emerson Street PO Box 9492 Denver, CO 80218 51 Sleeper Street 303-837-1555 Boston, MA 02205 [email protected] centerpolicyresearch.org Jessica Pearson, Ph.D. Nancy Thoennes, Ph.D. Lanae Davis, M.A. Susan Clark, M.A. Prepared under a grant from the Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement (Grant Number 90-FD-0013) to the Division of Child Support Enforcement of the Massachusetts Department of Revenue. TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgments List of Tables List of Figures Page Executive Summary.......................................................... i Chapter: 1. The Issues: Child Support, Domestic Violence, and Public Assistance and the Massachusetts Context ..............................................1 2. Project and Research Overview: The Interventions and Evaluation Methods 13 3. Disclosures of Domestic Violence.....................................25 4. Communicating the Rules of Welfare .................................41 5. Client Interest in Child Support, Good Cause, and Waivers ..............56 6. Domestic Violence Specialists........................................71 7. Changes in Policy and Practice.......................................87 8. Summary and Conclusions..........................................95 References ................................................................111 Appendix A: Interim At-Risk/Family Violence Indicator - Policy Acknowledgements This report was prepared by the Center for Policy Research (CPR) under a contract with the Massachusetts Department of Revenue, Division of Child Support Enforcement (DOR) and funded by the Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The project involved the active collaboration of administrators and line staff at the DOR and the Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA). Many people at the OCSE, the DOR, and the DTA worked hard to design, initiate, monitor, and conclude this project. Marilynn Sager, Senior Legal Counsel for the DOR, shouldered the major burden of monitoring the project over its four- year life. Valorie Faretra, Director of Program Management for the DTA, shepherded it through the DTA and oversaw its implementation within the DTA. Janet Fender, Director of the DTA’s Domestic Violence Unit, supervised the domestic violence specialists. Thanks also go to Claire McIntire, Commissioner of the DTA; Joyce Sampson, Assistant Commissioner; and Steve Kane, Director of Field Operations. Marilyn Ray Smith, Chief Legal Counsel for the Division of Child Support Enforcement, ran interference when high-level interference was needed. Karen Simmons, the Domestic Violence Attorney for the DOR, helped edit Chapter Seven. Gaile Maller, the OCSE project officer, was flexible and supportive. We thank all these individuals for their stamina and hard work. The bulk of this project was conducted in four regional DTA offices, two of which were consolidated during the project, resulting in three project sites. DTA workers in these offices kept records about the clients they saw and actively collaborated with Domestic Violence Specialists hired through the project to refer clients and better service victims of domestic violence. Special thanks go to Diane Younker, Director, and the staff of the Davis Square Office; John Currivan, Director, Kevin Brennan, and Agnes Cunio and the staff of the Newmarket Office; Shirley Story, Director, and Lelia Owens and the staff of the Dorchester Office (originally Grove Hall); and Joe Casey, Director, Davia Berlfein, Nalda Vigezzi, David Despres, and Philip Cummings and the staff of the Bowdoin Office, which merged with Grove Hall to become the Dorchester Office. Susan Clark supervised the field research effort and monitored the collection of data from DTA workers, Domestic Violence Specialists, and interviewers. Jo Anne Steeves conducted many exit interviews with clients and DTA workers. We are indebted to all these individuals, as well as the four Domestic Violence Specialists hired for this pioneering project: Debra Goldman, Bonnie Gage, Violet Gonzalez, and Yoko Harumi. We gratefully acknowledge these many contributions and accept sole responsibility for any errors that may remain. LIST OF TABLES Table 1-1 Percent of Massachusetts TAFDC Caseload Exempt from Time Limit and Work Requirements During the Project......................7 Table 2-1 Profile of the Participating Sites...................................18 Table 3-1 Background Characteristics of Sample by Phase Based on DTA Worker Records ...............................................26 Table 3-2 DTA Worker Records of Notification by Phase.......................27 Table 3-3 Client Recollections of DTA Workers Raising the Domestic Violence Issue.................................................28 Table 3-4 DTA Worker Records of Domestic Violence Disclosures by Phase .......29 Table 3-5 Disclosure of Domestic Violence Among Clients with Different Characteristics by Phase.................................29 Table 3-6 Disclosures of Domestic Violence to DTA Workers by Various Groups of Clients and Questioning Circumstances ....................31 Table 3-7 Disclosure Rates Among Women Experiencing Violence by Concerns about Child Protective Services Reporting and Time Elapsed Since Last Abusive Incident ..........................33 Table 3-8 Results of a Discriminant Analysis of Variables Related to Client Disclosure to DTA Worker .................................34 Table 3-9 Reactions of Clients to Discussing Domestic Violence with their DTA Worker..............................................35 Table 3-10 Clients Assessments of How Domestic Violence Should be Raised with their DTA Worker..............................................36 Table 3-11 Reactions of Abused and Non-Abused Women to Discussing Domestic Violence with their DTA Workers.........................37 Table 3-12 Reactions of Various Groups of Clients to Discussing Domestic Violence with their DTA Worker..................................38 Table 4-1 Worker Assumptions of Client’s Knowledge of the Welfare System by Applicant Status ......................................43 Table 4-2 Client Understanding of Her Child Support Status by Application Status..............................................44 Table 4-3 Understanding of Welfare Requirements............................45 Table 4-4 Understanding of the Risks of Pursuing Child Support Among Domestic Violence Victims ................................48 Table 4-5 Report of Worker Discussing Good Cause by Personal Experiences With Violence ......................................49 Table 4-6 Client Report of Worker’s Explanation of Good Cause .................50 Table 4-7 Type of Obstacles Reported by TANF Status ........................52 Table 4-8 Problems That Might Prove to be Obstacles to Self-Sufficiency..........53 Table 4-9 Ratings Given to DOR for the Collection of Support ...................54 Table 4-10 Rating of Helpfulness of Various Institutions ........................55 Table 5-1 Client Recall and Reported Cooperation With Child Support Locate Efforts ..........................................57 Table 5-2 Client Cooperation With Child Support Locate Efforts by Severity of Violence............................................57 Table 5-3 Reported Consequences of Child Support Establishment Among Victims of Domestic Violence ..............................58 Table 5-4 Reasons Given for Lack of Interest in Child Support by Domestic Violence Status........................................61 Table 5-5 Reasons Given for Lack of Interest in Good Cause by Domestic Violence Status........................................63 Table 5-6 Interest in Work and Time Waivers Among Domestic Violence Victims ..............................................67 Table 5-7 Interest in Waivers by Current Perceived Risk of Harm ................68 Table 5-8 Agency Action Patterns for Those Who Both Applied and Were Covered by Work and Time Limit Requirements.................70 Table 5-9 Interest in Work/Time Waivers Among Victims by Other Problems .......70 Table 6-1 Client Interest in Seeing a Domestic Violence Specialist ...............72 Table 6-2 Number of Client and Staff Contacts with Domestic Violence Specialists by Site..............................................76 Table 6-3 Selected Characteristics of Clients Seen by Domestic Violence Specialists by Site......................................77 Table 6-4 Selected Characteristics of Abusive Relationships Reported by Clients by Site ..............................................78 Table 6-5 Levels of Interest in a Good Cause Waiver to the Child Support Cooperation Requirements for Abused Clients Who Saw Domestic Violence Specialists ............................................79 Table 6-6 Reasons Given by Abused Clients Who Saw the Domestic Violence Specialist but Were Uninterested in Applying for Good Cause ..........80 Table 6-7 Interest in Waivers to Various Welfare Requirements Among All Abused Clients Who Saw Domestic Violence Specialists and Those Subject to the Requirements ................................81 Table 6-8 Domestic Violence Specialist Time Spent Explaining Waivers by Site ....82 Table 6-9 Actions Taken by Domestic Violence Specialists with Clients by DTA Office..........................................83 Table 6-10 Client