	Introduction

Violence in the home is not a new phenomenon. (4) 
The impact on children of domestic violence was an issue of interest in the 109th Congress.The first session of the 109th Congress ended with the passage of the Violence Against Women andDepartment of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005 ( P.L. 109-162 ), which contained new initiativesto address concerns about children and youth exposed to and victimized by domestic violence. Federal Programs and Initiatives

Since 1999, several federal programs and initiatives have been created specifically to addressconcerns related to children who witness domestic violence. The programs include the Safe StartProgram (administered by the Department of Justice's (DOJ's) Office of Juvenile Justice andDelinquency Prevention, or OJJDP), Safe Havens for Children Program (sponsored by DOJ's Officeof Violence Against Women, or VAWO), and the Safe and Bright Futures for Children Initiative andthe Demonstration of Enhanced Services to Children and Youth Who Have Been Exposed toDomestic Violence (both administered by the Department of Health and Human Services, or HHS). The latter two programs are partially funded through proceeds from the Stop Family Violencepostage stamp that was created through the Stamp Out Domestic Violence Act of 2001, Section 653of the Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act of 2002 ( P.L. The U.S. PostalService was directed to issue a semi-postal stamp in order to allow the public a direct and tangibleway to contribute to domestic violence funding. To date, proceeds from the stamp have generated $3.03 million. (5) 
In addition, the Greenbook Initiative is a federal multi-agency demonstration project thatimplements the suggested guidelines for policy and practice of the National Council of Juvenile andFamily Court Judges "Greenbook" designed to assist child welfare, domestic violence agencies, andfamily courts to respond more effectively when domestic violence and child maltreatment occursimultaneously. 106-386 ), to provide supervisedand safe visitation exchange of children by and between parents in situations involving domesticviolence, child abuse, sexual assault, or stalking. The Keeping Children and Families Safe Act stipulated that when funds appropriated forstate Family Violence Prevention (FVP) grants exceeded $130 million in a fiscal year, the HHSSecretary must use a portion of those surplus funds to assist children who have witnessed domesticviolence. Such grants are intended to empower schools to train schooladministrators, faculty, counselors, coaches, health care providers, security employees and other staffregarding the needs, concerns of, and impact on students who experience domestic and datingviolence, sexual assault, or stalking; to develop and implement policies for students eitherexperiencing or who are perpetrators of such violence; to provide support services for students andschool staff for developing and enhancing effective prevention and intervention methods for studentsand personnel experiencing such violence; to provide students with developmentally appropriateeducation programs regarding such violence and the effects of experiencing those forms of violenceby adjusting the existing curricula activities to the relevant student population; to work with existingmentoring programs and develop strong mentoring programs to assist students in understandingviolence and recognizing violent behavior and how to prevent it, and how to address their feelingsappropriately; and to conduct evaluations assessing the effects of such programs and policies so thatdeveloping the programs can be enhanced.
Violence between domestic partners is not a new phenomenon. Children who witness suchviolence, however, have increasingly become a concern of policymakers. Since 1999, several federalprograms and initiatives have been created to address the problems of children who witness domesticviolence, and several new initiatives were enacted in the 109th Congress.
The Safe Start Initiative was authorized by legislation in 1999 ( P.L. 105-277 ) to prevent andreduce the effects of family and community violence on young children from birth to age six. In2000, Congress reauthorized the Violence Against Women Act and created the Safe Havens forChildren Pilot Program to provide supervised and safe visitation exchange of children by andbetween parents in situations involving domestic violence. In 2001, the Stop Family Violencepostage stamp was created, directing the U.S. Postal Service to issue a semi-postal stamp to allowthe public an opportunity to contribute toward domestic violence funding. Proceeds from the saleswere transferred to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for domestic violenceprevention programs, specifically the Safe and Bright Futures for Children Program, and theDemonstration of Enhanced Services to Children and Youth Who Have Been Exposed to DomesticViolence. To date, proceeds from the stamp have generated $3.0 million. Furthermore, funds havebeen authorized under the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act to assist children exposedto domestic violence, if appropriations exceed $130 million in a fiscal year. To date, appropriationshave not exceeded that amount.
The Greenbook Initiative is a federal multi-agency demonstration project that implementsthe suggested guidelines for policy and practice of the National Council of Juvenile and FamilyCourt Judges, and is designed to assist child welfare, domestic violence agencies, and family courtsin responding more effectively when domestic violence and child maltreatment occursimultaneously. Since FY2001, six communities have been funded through the federal GreenbookDemonstration Initiative.
The impact on children of exposure to domestic violence was an issue in the 109th Congress. At the end of the first session, Congress passed the Violence Against Women and Department ofJustice Reauthorization Act of 2005 ( P.L. 109-162 ), which contained a series of new initiatives. New programs would provide services to assist youth who have been victims of domestic and datingviolence, sexual assault, and stalking; support training and collaborative efforts of service providerswho assist families in which domestic violence and child maltreatment occur simultaneously; enablemiddle and high schools to train relevant school personnel to assist student victims of such violence,holding perpetrators accountable; and combat such violence on college campuses.