AUGUSTA -- Of the 14 cases reviewed by the Maine Domestic Abuse Homicide Review Panel, 15 minor children lost one or both parents.

Ten of these children were present at the time of the killings.

In its biannual report released Friday, the 20-member panel focused its sights on the tremendous toll domestic violence has on children.

The panel was created by the Legislature 11 years ago in response to the unacceptable number of domestic-violence-related homicides in Maine.

Over the past two years, the panel reviewed 14 cases, incidents that led to the deaths of 15 Maine people.

Attorney General Steve Rowe said the effects of domestic abuse are devastating.

But the targets are not the only victims.

The mark left on a child who witnesses abuse can be so dire it oftentimes cannot be erased.

Frequent exposure to violence can actually change the structure of the developing brain, he said particularly among children younger than three.

"A child's exposure to the father abusing the mother is the strongest risk factor for transmitting violent behavior from one generation to the next," Rowe said Friday.

"Kids who witness their parents' domestic violence are three times more likely to abuse their own partner than children of non-violent parents."

To break this cycle of abuse, he said there needs to be more parent strengthening and early care programs to help parents learn how to provide the safe, nurturing and stimulating environments that children need.

The programs also connect parents with local services to help with problems in the home such as domestic abuse, substance abuse and mental health issues.

"Early investments in these types of programs yield high economic returns and may save lives," he said.

Unfortunately, those programs are in jeopardy due to proposed budget cuts by Gov. John Baldacci.

Rowe urged state legislators in a press conference Friday morning not to cut funding for nonprofit agencies that help protect victims of domestic violence.

"I certainly hope that funding is not cut," he said.

He said half of the homicides in Maine over the past two years were the result of domestic violence.

The panel found that of the 14 killers, 13 were adult men. Five of the 14 killers also took their own lives.

Of the 15 victims, 13 were women. Out of the 15 victims only one had a protection from abuse order at the time of the killing.

The report not only outlines the circumstances surrounding the homicides, but also offers specific steps to reduce the amount.

Lisa Marchese, the panel's chairwoman and assistant attorney general in the criminal division of the Attorney General's Office, said the report made recommendations to various agencies.

"When we're thinking of domestic violence we ask ourselves, what can we do to protect victims, what systems can be improved to prevent domestic violence homicides and what information does the public need to help in this effort," Marchese said.

Recommendations included early childhood education on healthy relationships to prevent children from becoming abusers; victims seen by a doctor throughout the year to provide opportunities for screening and prevention; citizens who know victims should encourage them to seek out available resources; and that victims should contact their local domestic violence projects.

"The panel also found that it is important that threats of violence be taken seriously, whether that threat is homicide or suicide," she said. "We have found that frequently threats to kill or threats to take one's own life are real."

Mechele Cooper -- 623-3811, Ext. 408

mcooper@centralmaine.com