Half in battered women's shelters are kids

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MINNEAPOLIS, Sept. 29 (UPI) -- More than half of the residents of U.S. battered women's shelters are children, researchers in Minnesota say.

Jeffrey Edleson, professor of social work at the University of Minnesota, said an online training program aims to elevate children's voices, so service providers may better understand and respond to the children and families they serve.

The project, Honor Our Voices (www.honorourvoices.org), was created by the Minnesota Center Against Violence and Abuse and the Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare at the School of Social Work at the University of Minnesota. It presents information on child exposure to domestic violence.

"This learning experience is informed by some of the best practitioners and researchers in the field," Edleson said in a statement. "With information gained from this site, professionals will be able to better respond to the needs of these children and it is freely available for those professionals working on the front lines to complete at their own pace while sitting at their desk or at home."

The Honor Our Voices site is scheduled to be operational the first week of October and Domestic Violence Awareness Month.