In 1998, through CLSP, MAC convened the statewide Task Force on Children Affected by Domestic Violence, an interdisciplinary collaboration which has representation from teachers and principals; psychologists who work in courts, schools, and trauma centers; battered women’s shelters; domestic violence advocates who work in court; attorneys in education, housing, benefits and family law; and parents. MAC’s Trauma and Learning Work Group, which serves as a sub-committee of the Task Force, placed its primary focus on addressing the school-based needs of children who are traumatized by exposure to family violence. MAC, together with the volunteer members of the Task Force, have done the following:

• Assembled a body of research describing both the problem and solutions in the form of a “Flexible Framework” for creating safe and supportive learning environments in schools for children traumatized by family violence;
• Created a draft of a major policy paper titled, “Helping Traumatized Children Learn”;
• Advocated for successful legislation to set up pilot schools to carry out the goals of the Flexible Framework;
• Sat on a statewide advisory committee established through the legislation to oversee the work of the pilot schools; provided consultation to two of the schools: the Ford School in Lynn and the Morse School in Cambridge;
• Published an article, titled, “Uncovering the Roots of School Violence” in New England Law Review;
• Developed a brochure in collaboration with the Federation for Children with Special Needs, titled  “Domestic Violence Can Hurt Your Child at School”;
• Organized four conferences in collaboration with Lesley University, the Middlesex County DA’s Office, and Metro West Hospital;
• Conducted numerous trainings for educators, policymakers, parents, advocates, law enforcement and the mental health community; and
• Represented adult survivors of domestic violence in special education cases to obtain appropriate services for their traumatized children.

Through this work MAC has collaborated with those who work with traumatized children, including staff from Children’s Charter Trauma Center, The Trauma Center, the Child Witness to Violence Program at Boston Medical Center, and the Children and the Law Program at Massachusetts General Hospital. MAC works closely with battered women’s organizations and shelters, the Federation for Children with Special Needs, legal services programs representing battered women across the state, the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Project Alliance and victim advocates. It has worked closely with two schools to implement the Task Force Roadmap, the Morse School in Cambridge and the Ford School in Lynn.

The Task Force has two other sub-committees: 1) the Domestic Violence and School Safety workgroup has developed materials and presented at domestic violence roundtables and conferences and 2) the Parent Outreach workgroup is developing a parent speaker’s bureau and supporting parent survivors to take an active role in the advocacy agenda.

The Task Force is also represented on the Children’s Committee of the Governor’s Commission on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault and responds to frequent requests for information from the legislature.