# § 12461. Findings
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.
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**Source Credit**: (Pub. L. 103–322, title IV, § 41301, as added Pub. L. 109–162, title IV, § 401, Jan. 5, 2006, 119 Stat. 3017.)
## Editorial Notes
### Codification
Section was formerly classified to , The Public Health and Welfare, prior to editorial reclassification and renumbering as this section.