A diverse group of more than 60 advocates for youth-from sports coaches to city prosecutors-filled council chambers last Monday, each with the goal of protecting children affected by domestic violence.

Although each of them came from diverse backgrounds, they all carried with them the story of a child or children shattered by violence in their homes.

Gary Ernsdorff brought the memory of Michael.

The young boy-his life seriously and adversely impacted by abuse-quickly became the ad hoc mascot of a community forum to review Federal Way's response to children exposed to DV.

The tragic story, Ernsdorff said, continues to haunt him.

While sifting through his cases at the King County Prosecutors Office, Ernsdorff learned of Michael's tumultuous home life. His father physically abused his mother, and with each attack the severity of the beatings increased. Michael frequently witnessed their entanglements.

One evening, Michael's mother said in the report, her abuser knocked her unconscious. The thrust of a foot to her head jolted her awake. Her eyes opened and she discovered young Michael standing above her. Between kicks, he yelled "die mommy, die mommy."

Statistics indicate that, without help, children like Michael raised in abusive homes have a significantly higher risk of becoming abusers themselves.

Overcome with despair and distraught from the overwhelming violence in Michael's story, Ernsdorff found his solace on the other end of the telephone. The call came from Brian Wilson, Deputy Chief of the Federal Way PD. Wilson asked him to assist his department in improving the city's response to children affected by domestic violence, and Ernsdorff jumped at the opportunity.

Wilson, who emceed the gathering last week, represents the city's portion of the collaborative efforts targeting the program. FWPD joined FWPS, CPS and the South King County Community Network as they attempt to answer questions such as: What is happening to children exposed to domestic violence? How big is the problem in our city? How is the community responding to the special needs of these children?

In a quest for answers, his department analyzed 2004 police data to decipher and compartmentalize the frequency and types of domestic violence affecting children in Federal Way.

Violence by the numbers

Based on the figures Wilson offered from his Powerpoint presentation, his department has undoubtedly fielded its share of domestic violence calls.

In 2004, FWPD responded to 36 felony domestic violence cases. These felony cases involved severe abuse or injury. Of those 36, as many as 20 (56 percent) involved children under 15 as witnesses, complainants, or suspects.

Almost all of the suspects in these felony DV cases had run-ins with law enforcement in the past. From verbal disputes, misdemeanor assaults and violations of no-contact orders; to DUI, drug use and theft, the FWPD statistics suggested that suspects in felony cases showed a history of escalated violence.

Wilson said one peculiar prior offense these abusers often committed was failure to used child seats or restraints.

"That statistic really surprised us," Wilson said.

He also added that 14 out of those 36 cases involved alcohol or marijuana. Male abusers carried out the attack in 73 percent of these reported incidents, while officers charged a female as the primary aggressor in 27 percent of the cases.

Dr. Jeff Edleson, the forum's keynote speaker and professor from the University of Minnesota, said those numbers do not mirror national statistics indicating that abusers are almost always male. The department's data only shows cases where victims or complainants contacted police, and studies show most domestic violence goes unreported.

In Federal Way, white and black women comprise the highest percentage of domestic violence victims (25 percent each). The study sited black men as victims in 23 percent of the felony domestic violence cases, followed by Hispanic women with 12 percent. Asian men and women comprised eight and four percent, respectively, of the total.

Federal Way officers also responded to 410 misdemeanor domestic violence calls in 2004.

The Deputy Chief said 53 percent of those incidents occurred in multiple-tenant areas of the city, including apartment complexes, condos and mobile home parks. Citywide, 44 percent of Federal Way's 83,000 residents live in these types of dwellings.

Again, the city's data only represents the calls made to police. National studies show that domestic violence occurs equally across the socioeconomic spectrum and in all neighborhoods. The department's data indicating a higher frequency of calls from multi-tenant residences likely stems from the close proximity of complainants in these cases.

For perspective, Wilson noted, his department receives 2,140 calls each year for domestic violence related matters. Overall, Federal Way officers fielded 78,534 calls for service 2004.

These figures support the statements of Federal Way Deputy Mayor Jim Ferrell. The council member, who worked as Renton's city prosecutor for 11 years, told the forum that he spent half his time as a prosecutor addressing cases of domestic violence.

He sited a steady rise in the number of cases plaguing Federal Way, particularly those involving children.

"Nearly half the cases of domestic violence in Federal Way involve children in the home," Ferrell said. "These are staggering numbers."

With the facts laid out, Deputy Chief Wilson told the forum that his department has set new goals for itself when dealing with children and domestic violence.

"We're going to improve our ability to determine if children are present during DV incidents," Wilson said. "Our ultimate goal is to get kids into services from the 911 call on," Wilson said. He added that FWPD hopes to enhance the types and quantity of services available to child victims and improve collaboration with outside agencies in providing children these services. He predicts an expanded training regimen for officers in his department.

Federal Way Public Schools representative Mark Davidson said the district will work to improve its relationship with FWPD in order to share information about children struggling with violence at home. Davidson admitted that teachers and administrators often have no idea how to respond to a student living with abuse.

This social problem, he said, requires a community effort that crosses the jurisdiction of multiple local agencies.

"(Children in abusive homes) is a community issue," Davidson said, "It's one of those issues that crosses boundaries."

With the goals defined, the group now moves into the phase of developing ways to put those ideas into action.

"If we can help just one kid like Michael," Prosecutor Ernsdorff told the group, "our work will be well done."