34 U.S.C. § 12461
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Congress finds that—
- (1)the former United States Advisory Board on Child Abuse suggests that domestic violence may be the single major precursor to child abuse and neglect fatalities in this country;
- (2)studies suggest that as many as 10,000,000 children witness domestic violence every year;
- (3)studies suggest that among children and teenagers, recent exposure to violence in the home was a significant factor in predicting a child’s violent behavior;
- (4)a study by the Nurse-Family Partnership found that children whose parents did not participate in home visitation programs that provided coaching in parenting skills, advice and support, were almost 5 times more likely to be abused in their first 2 years of life;
- (5)a child’s exposure to domestic violence seems to pose the greatest independent risk for being the victim of any act of partner violence as an adult;
- (6)children exposed to domestic violence are more likely to believe that using violence is an effective means of getting one’s needs met and managing conflict in close relationships;
- (7)children exposed to abusive parenting, harsh or erratic discipline, or domestic violence are at increased risk for juvenile crime; and
- (8)in a national survey of more than 6,000 American families, 50 percent of men who frequently assaulted their wives also frequently abused their children.