EAST PROVIDENCE — In a city that had one of the highest percentages of children witnessing reported domestic violence in Rhode Island, police and others say victims and their children need Christine Santos, someone who doesn’t wear a gray and red uniform.

With announcement of a $27,000 grant yesterday, the East Providence police have partnered with Family Service of Rhode Island to have Santos, a licensed clinical social worker, ride along with officers, including going to homes where domestic violence happens. She will go to follow-up visits with the police and, in some cases, domestic-violence calls as they come in. The effort also aims to be preventative in another way: if Santos and an officer come across someone victimized by an abuser, Santos can give the person information to avoid further violence.

The idea is that Santo can devote time to a victim and a victim’s children without being diverted to another call, as an officer might be. It is her area of expertise, and she can offer alternatives: places to get help or to find safety. She can be an unimposing presence, something officers say can prove difficult to convey, no matter how strongly they assure a victim that they want to help, not just secure an arrest.

Working about eight hours in a given week so far, Santos is essentially in-house. The hope is the initiative will become a model for communities statewide. When she is not working, the Police Department can contact Family Service of Rhode Island on a 24-hour line to bring in someone else if needed.

Santos can also speak Portuguese, important in a place where many speak that as their primary language. And it’s not just about language, but about cultures: some people are more used to treating domestic violence privately.

Children who repeatedly see domestic violence can themselves be prone to committing violence as they grow up. A Yale University study found that exposure to domestic violence can have a range of other negative impacts on children, from loss of sleep and appetite to drug abuse, said Steve Hug, vice president of development and communications for Family Service of Rhode Island.

“The goal is also to break the cycle,” said Chief Hubert J. Paquette at yesterday’s police station news conference announcing the initiative.

Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island awarded the competitive grant through its BlueAngel Community Health Grant program. This seed financing will cover one year of Santos’ assistance. If the East Providence program is successful, it could receive more money in the future, said Linda Newton, vice president of community relations with Blue Cross & Blue Shield.

A Rhode Island KidsCount report using 2004 statistics found that in 45 percent of the 236 reported domestic-violence incidents in East Providence, children witnessed what happened.

“If you have one, it’s a major problem,” Paquette said. “That was 236 too many.”

The communities with higher percentages were Charlestown, Hopkinton, Jamestown, Richmond and Scituate — all towns with much smaller populations and smaller numbers of reported domestic-violence incidents.

Among the state’s cities, East Providence had the highest percentage of reported cases where children were present, but not the highest number of reported cases. Providence, for instance, had the most reported 2004 cases, at 1,430, with 33 percent with children present.

mmckinne@projo.com