FAMILY VIOLENCE OUTREACH
Family violence outreach case managers provide transitional support to women experiencing family violence. Case managers coordinate resources relating to housing, legal, health and other matters required to support the long-term safety of women and children. They also work across specific local government areas to facilitate professional and advocacy networks. OBJECTIVE Ensure women and children who experience family violence can access timely and relevant services and resources, regardless of their location in the region STRATEGIES 1. Provide case management services to 522 women and their children 2. Outpost workers to 4 locations in the outer west to increase access to services 3. Strengthen links with men’s services to ensure access to services by the women partners of men who use violence
4. Develop strong partnerships with agencies including legal services, police, housing, Centrelink, family and youth services to facilitate a more streamlined experience of the service system for women
5. Deliver tailored information sessions to relevant agencies and groups to improve the capacity of local communities to respond to women and children who experience family violence
Figure 7
Indigenous CALD Anglo-Australian
OUTCOMES 1. Provided case management services to 314 women and their children, or 60 per cent of our target. The remaining 40 per cent of targets were directed toward providing an otherwise unfunded intake service that responded to over 3,800 intake enquiries
2. Provided a total of 5 outpost services to Melton, Point Cook, Werribee and, as planned in the previous report, Carlton Family Resource Centre plus another location in the city of Melbourne. This resulted in 236 clients receiving a more accessible service; an increase of nearly 32 per cent compared with the previous year 3. We worked in partnership with Lifeworks and Relationships Australia to provide partner contact for the men’s behaviour change program and 75 women accessed our service as a result
4. Outreach workers attended family violence network meetings across 7 local government areas. The outreach team also collaborated with the Women’s Circus to facilitate a 27-week women’s group with 6 regular participants
5. Provided 17 sessions of family violence community education with 257 participants (see page 34 for details). These sessions were targeted to communities and agencies. Feedback from participants indicated that the sessions would positively influence their future work with clients FUTURE DIRECTIONS • WHW will work with Victoria Police to develop a strategy for responding to family violence in circumstances where women contact police on multiple occasions. We will employ a police liaison worker to work in collaboration with Victoria Police to coordinate responses tailored to each family to stop the violence
• WHW will advocate for funding to establish an ongoing children’s case manager position. We plan to pilot a part time position in the next reporting period to gather evidence for recurrent funding for this much-needed role Figure 8
‘My life is more resolved and on track because of you all. It was difficult for me to face these problems without your support.’ 52+ weeks
Outreach Client
26-52 weeks 13-26 weeks
24-HOUR CRISIS RESPONSE PROGRAM
Figure 9
The 24-hour crisis response program provides an immediate face-to-face response to women and their children who are facing a family violence-related crisis. This enhances the intake service by providing a worker to assist victims of family violence wherever they are within the western region, such as a police station or hospital, ensuring support and information at the time of crisis.
Other WHW Crisis Accommodation Services Hospital Victoria Police Women's Health West Women's Domestic Violence Crisis Service
OBJECTIVE Provide a 24-hour, 7 day a week family violence service to women and children to ensure crisis support is available as quickly as possible STRATEGIES 1. Employ a crisis worker to respond immediately to women’s requests for support on weekdays from 9am to 5pm. This worker will provide information, risk assessment, safety planning and advocacy
2. Provide an after hours family violence service by ensuring that a worker is available from 6pm to 8am, Monday to Friday, and 24-hours on weekends and public holidays 3. Respond to weekday faxed police referrals within 72 hours of a family violence incident 4. Introduce a weekend service in collaboration with McAuley Community Services for Women and Molly’s House to respond to faxed police referrals OUTCOMES 1. The crisis response worker has assisted 75 women and provided consultation services to external agencies on 184 occasions since her employment in November 2010. This worker also provided education and WHW service information sessions at 15 agencies in the western region and across the state
Figure 10
July 2010
Women
August 2010
Children
Sept 2010 Oct 2010 Nov 2010 Dec 2010 Jan 2011 Feb 2011 Mar 2011 April 2011 May 2011 June 2011 0
5
10
15
20
25
Other Maribyrnong Hobsons Bay Melton
3. Responded to 1,938 weekday faxback referrals from Victoria Police, 80 per cent were responded to within 72 hours
Melbourne Moonee Valley
4. Introduced a weekend response to Victoria Police referrals in September 2010 and workers from WHW, Molly’s House and McAuley Community Services for Women responded to 424 police referrals FUTURE DIRECTION At the WHW family violence services planning day in May 2011 we identified gaps in the service system leading to a plan to focus on family violence responses to Indigenous women, children, young women and adolescent violence towards parents
Wyndham Brimbank
Figure 12
708
2006/2007
1066
2008/2009
2-4 weeks
1,385 1,609
2009/2010
2,362
2010/2011 0
women’s health west annual report 2010-2011
40
Figure 11
2007/2008
women’s health west annual report 2010-2011
35
2. WHW after hours service assisted 216 women and 90 children, almost double the 110 women assisted in the previous reporting period. We attribute this marked increase to the expansion of the after hours program into a coordinated 24-hour crisis response service. See figure 9
4-13 weeks
14
30
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
15