August 6, 1999

Attorney General Janet Reno announced last month that the New Haven Child Development Community Policing (CDCP) project in Connecticut will receive a $1.3 million grant this fall to establish a national resource center on youth exposed to violence.

The CDCP project will also study the link between children who witness violence and later commit violent crimes, according to Reno, who made the announcement last month at a national summit on youth exposed to violence.

The summit, cosponsored by the Department of Justice and the Department of Health and Human Services, brought together about 150 experts from several fields including mental health, child development, and law enforcement, to discuss best practices and develop a national action plan to address the needs of children and families victimized by crime.

Reno commented, "Children who are victims of, or witnesses to, violence suffer devastating consequences. They are at higher risk of developing behavioral problems, chronic delinquency, substance abuse, posttraumatic stress syndrome, depression, suicidal tendencies, and violent criminal behavior."

Reno continued, "Being abused or neglected as a child increases the likelihood of arrest as a juvenile by 53 percent and the likelihood of arrest as an adult for a violent crime by 38 percent. We must act swiftly to break the cycle of violence."

She referred to the New Haven CDCP project as a national model of interdisciplinary collaboration to provide immediate assistance to traumatized children.

CDCP Program Director Steven Marans, Ph.D., commented to Psychiatric News, "The Yale Child Study Center's collaboration with the New Haven Department of Police Services ensures that children and families exposed to violence receive prompt attention by police officers trained in child development principles. Psychiatrists and mental health professionals are consulted immediately after the event and are available for referrals."

Marans is the Harris Assistant Professor of Child Psychoanalysis at the Yale Child Study Center, which is affiliated with the Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven.

Clinicians and police officers realized in 1991 that young perpetrators and witnesses of violence could be better handled, said Marans. Clinicians rarely saw traumatized children until well after the violent incident occurred, and police officers who have frequent contact with victims, witnesses, and perpetrators of violence generally lacked the professional expertise, time, and other resources to meet their psychological needs, explained Marans.

The collaboration has produced an interdisciplinary program that is being replicated in eight cities mainly along the East Coast, noted Marans.

In the police fellowship, clinicians work in the community alongside police officers. They ride in police squad cars, join them at crime scenes, and sit in on discussions of case investigations, noted Marans.

In the clinical fellowship, police officers, juvenile probation officers, and child protection supervisors learn about child development, mental health and intervention strategies, said Marans.

Here are additional components of the program:

• A 24-hour daily consultation service for officers, children, and families directly involved in violent incidents. The service is staffed by clinicians and trained police officers.


• A 20-hour seminar on child and adolescent development, human behavior, and policing strategies for rank-and-file officers and clinical trainees.


• A weekly case conference for police officers, probation officers, domestic violence advocates, and clinicians to discuss interventions and advocacy for victims and perpetrators of violence.

Since 1991 several hundred police supervisors, line officers, and juvenile probation officers have participated in the seminars, case conferences, and clinical fellowships. Marans noted that all members of the police academy are required to take the training.

Police officers come away from the training with a more realistic appreciation of the developmental needs and behaviors of children and for the positive impact they can have on the lives of children and families they interact with, said Marans.

"Officers have also become more aware of the potential for humiliation and dangerous confrontation when they deal harshly with adolescents. By understanding normal adolescent upheaval and getting to know teenagers in the community, they are more likely to receive assistance in resolving disputes and investigations," said Marans.

Police officers have helped more than 1,000 children and adolescents in New Haven, many of whom received psychological help within minutes of being exposed to murders, stabbings, beatings, drownings, and gunfire.

The children have been treated individually, in groups, or both by a clinical team of psychiatrists, psychologists, and social workers in a variety of settings including homes, schools, police stations, hospitals, and the Yale Child Study Center, said Marans.

Clinicians involved with the project have learned about how trauma manifests itself in children from the time of acute stress to long-term adaptation, symptom formation, and recovery, noted Marans.

Information about the New Haven CDCP program can be obtained from the Yale Child Study Center Web site at info.med.yale.edu/chldstudy/CDCP.

Information about publications on violence and victimization can be found on the Web site of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention at ojjdp.ncjrs.org/facts/pubs-6.html-C.L.