Windows of opportunity:
Strengthening child focused practice in Family Safety Advocacy work
Knowledge and practice guide
1. MAKING A CASE FOR CHILD FOCUSED PRACTICE IN FAMILY SAFETY ADVOCACY WORK
Impact of family violence on children and young people
Family violence has serious impacts on the physical and mental health of children and young people, whether they are directly targeted,witnesstheviolence, or are aware of the violence in the family (Family Safety Victoria 2020).
Children can suffer from a variety of physical, spiritual, emotional, mental and developmental effects as a result of family violence (AIHW 2022).Since 2016,the Victorian government’s wider family violence reform agenda has focused on better supporting children and young people experiencing family violence(State of Victoria 2016).
While significant work has been undertaken to amplify the voices of child victim survivors and meet their needs through reform actions,the Family Violence Reform Rolling Action Plan 2020-2023 found that there is still a lack of targeted resources to meet the specific needs of Victorian children and young people who have experienced family violence (Family Safety Victoria 2020).
Family Safety Advocacy (FSA) within Men’s Behaviour Change Programs (MBCP)
• Interventions that hold adults using family violence to account and keep them in view of Victoria’s integrated family violence system are a key means of keeping women and children safe (Family Safety Victoria 2018).
• Men’s Behaviour Change Programs (MBCPs) are a core component of these interventions that aim to hold men to account for their use of family violence, challenge their use of family violence, and monitor and respond to risks for victim survivors.
• As part of MBCPs, Family Safety Advocates (FSAs) engage with the affected family members of the adult using family violence, to assess the risk and safety of adult and child victim survivors, provide support and information about the MBCP, validate their experiences of violence and abuse, and offer referral and connections to relevant support services (No to Violence 2021).
Meeting Children and
young people’s
needs in family violence services
• Overarching policy guidance for the family violence sector highlights the need to bring children’s unique and differing needs into view to support their safety and wellbeing and their recovery from family violence (Emerging Minds 2019).
• It also recognises that a significant proportion of service delivery for children and young people continues to occur through adult based services (Heward-Belle et al 2020).
• This is relevant for FSA services where the first contact almost always occurs through contact with an adult victim survivor,whoisusuallythenonviolent (safe) parent.
Acknowledgement:
The Windows of Opportunity: Towards Child Focused, Trauma Informed Family Safety Contact in Men’s Behaviour Change Work research project has been funded by the Victorian Government. We would like to acknowledge the invaluable contributions from members of Family Safety Victoria’s Victim Survivor Advisory Council (VSAC) who participated in this research.
Family Life respectfully acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the country on which we live and work. We especially acknowledge the Boon Wurrung / Bunurong people, and other peoples of the Kulin nation on whose land we work to serve the community. We pay our respects to Elders past and present and acknowledge their living culture and centuries of custodianship over the lands which were never ceded.
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2. ABOUT THIS GUIDE
Who is it for?
This guide is designed to support family violence organisations that are delivering FSA support to victim survivors of family violence,as part of their implementation of MBCPs.
It shares the findings from the Windows of Opportunity research to strengthen child focused approaches in FSA work for both practitioners and for organisations.
This guide builds on existing policy and practice guidance for the family violence sector to provide learnings for practice and organisational reflection that could further enhance the effectiveness of FSA work with children and young people.
Project learnings have been framed as reflections to consider how practitioners and organisations can both increase the physical and emotional safety and service accessibility for child and young person victim survivors while ensuring they feel safe and heard throughout the process.
The greatest opportunities for engagement with children and young people continue to exist through building strong connections with safe parents to enable participation in decision making for child victim survivors relative to their age,stage and capacity.
The next section of this guide outlines organisational and practice considerations for FSA to more effectively support child focused practice.
Child focused practice
Prioritises children’s individual safety and wellbeing, and actively provides support to families in a way that ensures children are protected from harm and that their emotional needs are met.
Includes actions and practices that support and affirm parents and family members safety and emotional wellbeing so that they can understand and prioritise their child’s point of view and needs as well as their own (Wendt et al 2023).
About the ‘Windows of Opportunity’ research:
FSA work continues to develop to meet the changing needs for safety and support for victim survivors while their perpetrator is engaged in a MBCP.
While children and young people’s specific risk and safety needs in a context of family violence are well understood, the experience of children within FSA is an under researched area.
Family Life was funded by the Victorian Government to undertake a small qualitative research project to understand where and how child focused approaches in FSA work could be strengthened and to consider characteristics that could support the development of a child focused model.
This research brought together existing evidence through a review of literature and captured victim survivor and practice perspectives through consultations with victim survivors about their service experiences, and Family Safety Advocates and other family violence workers and managers, to understand current strengths, barriers and opportunities for change.
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3. RESEARCH FINDINGS AND REFLECTIONS FOR PRACTICE AND IMPLEMENTATION
KEY FINDING 1:
FAMILY SAFETY ADVOCATES FACE CHALLENGES PROVIDING EFFECTIVE SUPPORT TO CHILD AND YOUNG PERSON VICTIM SURVIVORS WHEN ACCESS TO THE CHILD OR YOUNG PERSON IS LIMITED OR NON-EXISTENT.
The ability for FSA to engage with children and young people is dependent on the level of trust and engagement they can establish with parents who are engaged with FSA services.
This was particularly relevant in circumstances where victim survivors had previously experienced negative or traumatising interactions with family violence services or had experience of perpetrators using family violence services to commit further violence against them.
Factors that encouraged trust and rapport included an ability of services to demonstrate non-judgemental and empathetic support from the first connection, and to demonstrate an individualised approach to a victim survivor’s circumstances and experiences.
Organisational support to prioritise trust and rapport building between FSA and victim survivors was identified as a foundational first step for putting other child focused approaches into practice.
KEY CHARACTERISTIC 1:
Themes for practice reflection
PRIORITISE BUILDING TRUST AND RAPPORT TO ENGAGE EFFECTIVELY WITH THE SAFE PARENT
Organisations can:
• Remain mindful of the impact of service fatigue and retraumatisation for victim survivors and the way that this can influence decisions to engage with FSA.
• Recognise the importance of a trusted connection in creating safety for victim survivors and increasing awareness of children and young people’s needs within family services that are delivered through contact with an adult victim survivor.
Practitioners can:
• Manage victim survivor expectations about FSA by clearly outlining service parameters and limitations.
• Empathically acknowledge that some men may use participation in MBCPs to enact further forms of coercive control and systemic family violence.
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KEY FINDING 2:
FAMILY SAFETY ADVOCATES CAN CREATE SAFE AND TRUSTED CONNECTIONS BETWEEN SAFE PARENTS AND FAMILY VIOLENCE SERVICES, INCREASING OPPORTUNITIES TO IDENTIFY AND SUPPORT THE NEEDS OF THEIR CHILDREN.
The greatest opportunities to be child focused were found to be through responding to the narrative of the parent in a way that brought consideration of a child’s perspective into view for them.
Affirming parenting strengths and validating the impact that family violence can have on parenting capacity is important to encourage parents to reflect on family needs.
KEY CHARACTERISTIC 2:
When effective engagement was established with parents, they were more able to consider the needs of their child, separate from themselves, and prioritise access to supports that could address these needs. This often led to referrals that supported parents to help their child as well as child specific referrals to specialist services.
Themes for practice reflection
FAMILY SAFETY ADVOCACY IDENTIFIES AND AFFIRMS PARENTING STRENGTHS OF ADULT VICTIM SURVIVORS AND SUPPORTS THEM TO IDENTIFY THEIR CHILDREN’S NEEDS
Organisations can:
• Incorporate clear guidance around strength based approaches and child focused practice within practice frameworks and model these approaches at an organisation wide level.
• Encourage reflection and learning about how these approaches are working in practice.
Practitioners can:
• Maximise opportunities to use strength based approaches to parenting during conversations with adult victim survivors about their children.
• Validate the significant impact that experiencing family violence can have on parenting capacity and the agency parents have shown to survive.
• Support conversations on how to best (re)build their own parenting capacity through warm referrals and targeted resources.
• Invite conversations that focus on children’s subjective experience of family violence as a means of highlighting the child’s perspective and treatment needs.
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KEY FINDING 3:
FAMILY SAFETY ADVOCATES ARE IN A UNIQUE POSITION TO BUILD CHILDREN’S UNDERSTANDING OF FAMILY VIOLENCE AND TO AFFIRM AND VALIDATE THEIR EXPERIENCES AND AGENCY.
The role of FSA in building children and adult’s understanding of family violence and managing expectations around the purpose and outcomes of MBCPs are clearly documented in the MBCP Minimum Standards and the FSA Practice Guidelines - MARAM Alignment
This research highlighted two areas for further consideration that may currently limit capacity for engagement with children and young people:
• Variance in skills and confidence to engage sensitively in this space with children and young people using age and stage appropriate psychoeducation principles
• Determining who is best placed to deliver this education was seen as equally important.
KEY CHARACTERISTIC 3:
Themes for practice reflection
PROVIDING AGE APPROPRIATE EDUCATION TO HELP CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE AS VICTIM SURVIVORS UNDERSTAND THEIR EXPERIENCE OF FAMILY VIOLENCE
Organisations can:
• Provide opportunities for ongoing training, support and reflective supervision aimed at increasing FSA capacity to provide age appropriate psychoeducation to children and young people within organisational training and reflective practice needs assessments.
• Support care team approaches that encourage consideration of supports already in place for a child or young person when assessing who is best placed to work directly with children.
Practitioners can:
• Assess their own levels of comfort and skills in providing age appropriate psychoeducation with children and young people and seek support within supervision and training to build on these skills, as needed.
• Build early awareness with families about the need for age appropriate education of family violence for children, including the benefits this can have for their long term recovery.
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KEY FINDING 4:
FAMILY SAFETY ADVOCATES ARE WELL PLACED TO ENGAGE WITH CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE WHO ARE VICTIM SURVIVORS DIRECTLY OR THROUGH A SAFE PARENT, BUT REQUIRE ADEQUATE SKILLS, TIME, AND SUPPORT TO OPERATIONALISE THESE APPROACHES.
While the person using family violence’s involvement in an MBCP creates the connection to FSA, there is an opportunity once a connection has been made to more clearly orient the timelines for support around the particular context of each family.
Flexibility around timelines for accessing services was also identified as being a trauma informed approach that centred the needs of victim survivors. This was seen as relevant both in cases where victim survivors chose to engage or not with FSA.
Keeping options for re-connection open and offering warm referrals into other supportive services if FSA support needed to end was identified as a minimum level of trauma informed care for victim survivors.
Clear steps for closure or onward referral that provide children and young people with an opportunity to reflect what else they need for safety and recovery is a key component of a child focused model of FSA support.
Themes for practice reflection
KEY CHARACTERISTIC 4:
FLEXIBILITY IN FAMILY SAFETY ADVOCACY SERVICE TIMELINES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR SUPPORT THAT ARE NOT DETERMINED BY THE PERPETRATOR’S ENGAGEMENT IN AN INTERVENTION ARE IMPORTANT FOR VICTIM SURVIVORS
Organisations can:
• Identify clear organisational pathways for victim survivor engagement during all phases of the MBCP including intake and waitlisting, program delivery and completion, and post program support.
• Be prepared to adjust levels of support for children and young people at key times of increased risk to both strengthen the trust and rapport between victim survivors and FSA and to ensure practitioners can work effectively with a wider support team engaged with the child and the family.
Practitioners can:
• Remain mindful of victim survivor preferred timeframes for support and that these may not align with the perpetrator’s engagement in MBCPs.
• Rely on organisational support to advocate for alternative support timelines/options within care planning and other team meeting settings.
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KEY FINDING 4: (CONT)
Clear referral pathways into specialist services for children can enhance the ability of FSA to provide warm and timely referrals to services for children and young people.
This was also seen as useful to clarify boundaries between FSA and other family violence services (therapeutic, case management etc.) to manage workload levels, while ensuring that families are still able to access the support that they need.
Regular communication with MCBP facilitators was also seen as critical and a program strength when working well, to ensure timely sharing of information and potential risks, and maximise opportunities to include dynamic information about the impacts of family violence on children into MBCP program content.
KEY CHARACTERISTIC 5:
Themes for practice reflection
ORGANISATIONS ARE EQUIPPED TO RESPOND TO THE DIVERSE NEEDS OF INDIVIDUAL CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE ENGAGING WITH FAMILY SAFETY ADVOCACY SUPPORT
Organisations can:
• Prioritise clear referral pathways to specialist services for children that can support FSA to quickly triage families as needed while maintaining their engagement and rapport with victim survivors.
• Pursue and prioritise relationships with specialist child and youth services to support prompt and targeted referrals.
Practitioners can:
• Prioritise timely sharing of specific risks and information between FSA and MBCP facilitators to prioritise inclusion of targeted content related to the impacts of family violence on children and young people within MBCP programs and other programs for adults using family violence.
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4.SUMMARY
THE FSA MODEL OFFERS A PATHWAY FOR ENGAGING CHILDREN AND YOUNG PERSON VICTIM SURVIVORS AND CONNECTING THEM WITH REQUIRED SUPPORT.
• A central purpose of MBCPs is to enhance the safety of women and children.
• FSA work provides ‘windows of opportunity’ to hear the perspectives of women, children and young people who have experienced family violence.
• This is an under researched area and there is potential to improve, extending beyond (but still including) risk assessment and safety planning, through the application of child focused practice.
5.REFERENCES
• This research has highlighted a number of practical ways in which the FSA model can offer pathways for engaging children and young person victim survivors and connecting them with support needed to establish safety and promote healing and recovery.
• It hopes to offer a small contribution to a wider landscape of continued efforts to refine family violence services, including how the needs of children and young people are identified and supported.
AIHW (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare) (2022) Family,domesticandsexualviolence: Nationaldata landscape 2022,AustralianGovernment
Emerging Minds (2019) Six ways to support child-focused practice in adult services,National Workforce Centre for Child Mental Health,Canberra
Family Safety Victoria (2021) MARAM PRACTICE GUIDES FOUNDATION KNOWLEDGE GUIDE Guidance for professionals working with child or adult victim survivors,and adults using family violence,Victorian Government,Melbourne
Family Safety Victoria (2020) Family Violence Reform Rolling Action Plan 2020-2023,Victorian Government, Melbourne
Family Safety Victoria (2018) Men’s Behaviour Change Minimum Standards,VictorianGovernment, Melbourne
Heward-Belle S,HealeyL,IsobeJ, RoumeliotisA, LinksE, MandelD, Tsantfski M,Young A,and Humphreys C (2020) Working at the intersections of domestic and family violence,parentalsubstancemisuseand/ormentalhealth issues,PracticeGuidefromtheSTACYProject: Safe & Together Addressing Complexity
Kaspiew R,Horsfall Briony,Qu L,Nicholson J,Humphrey C,Diemer K,Nguyen C,Buchanan F,Hooker L,Taft A, Westrupp E,Cooklin A,Carson R and Dunstan J (2017) Domestic and family violence and parenting:Mixedmethod insights into impact and support needs:Final report,ANROWS
No to Violence (2021) Family Safety Advocate Practice Guidance - MARAM Alignment,No to Violence
State of Victoria (2016) Royal Commission into Family Violence:Summaryandrecommendations,Parl Paper No 132 (2014–16),RoyalCommissionintoFamilyViolence
Wendt S,RowleyG, Seymour K and Moss D (2023) Child-focused practice for complex problems, Emerging Minds
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