Children andYouth Services Review, Vol. 22, No. 5. DD. 309-314. 2000 Copyright Q 2000 Ei&ier Science Ltd Printed in the USA. All rights reserved 0190-7409BO/S-see front matter zyxwvutsr PII: SO190-7409(00)00082-7 Pergamon Woman Abuse and Child Protection: A Tumultuous Marriage (Volume II) zyxwvutsrqponmlkj Colleen Friend University of California, Los Angeles In Volume II of this special issue on woman abuse and child protec- tion, we continue the theme of the tumultuous marriage. The tensions be- tween the domestic violence and child abuse systems have been well documented in the literature (Mills, 1998; Schecter & Edleson, 1994). The challenge is to help these two systems find ways of collaborating in this necessary union. Once these links are forged, practitioners from both sys- tems must become more conscious about the process of change they have undergone, a process that will hopefully materialize into new research. Our immediate task is to reflect on the findings presented in this research and to continue to study methods that improve the two systems’ overall func- tioning. Having been a Public Child Welfare (PCW) worker, I have observed firsthand the tensions and challenges presented by PCW practice when new issues surface. Domestic violence work in the context of child protec- tion is enormously complicated. We cannot expect PCW agencies to “do it all,” and while we would like these agencies to compensate for and ad- dress system-wide problems, it is important to impress upon PCW workers that families involved in domestic violence require time zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcb to resolve their problems. In addition, although training makes a difference in a PCW worker’s perceptions of clients’ problems, there remains significant worker resistance to addressing domestic violence issues directly with child welfare clients (Magen, Conroy & Tufo, 2000). Finally, I have wit- nessed the reluctance of PCW and related agencies to allow researchers to access, record and measure the skill base of their workforce. Training and research, the themes in these two volumes on woman abuse and child protection, require mobilization. A PCW worker must be Requests for reprints should be sent to Colleen Friend, School of Public Policy and Social Research, University of California, 3250 Public Policy Building, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA [colleen@ucla.edu]. 309