LEAVE THIS SITE

Practice blog

Subscribe to
Subscribe for weekly updates on this blog

Pages

4th June 2015

Helping Ella – or, how Insights data helped us create a better service for the whole family

130,000 children live with high-risk domestic abuse in England and Wales – and nearly two-thirds of these children are also directly harmed.

Fleur Buechler is the service manager at Stop Abuse for Everyone (Safe) in Exeter, and explains how SafeLives’ Insights data helped Safe get better at helping the whole family.

For an audio version of this blog, scroll down to the bottom of the page or visit our Soundcloud profile.

When 5 year old Ella* was referred to us in December 2014, she was terrified to leave her mum’s side. Last year, she watched her mum’s new partner break into their home. After smashing a window and slashing the sofa, Ella saw him threaten to kill her mum with a knife.

When Ella came to us, she refused to sleep in her own bed. She was increasingly aggressive towards her mum, Sarah*, and had begun to talk about what had happened at school.

 

Living with domestic abuse causes huge harm to children. Children who have lived with domestic abuse often display symptoms of trauma, as well as other behavioural and cognitive problems, and depression or anxiety. Children can become aggressive or withdrawn, or experience separation anxiety. Some even lose previously learnt developmental skills, like the ability to speak.

One of the reasons children are so badly affected is because the abuse invades all aspects of their lives. Violence can become normality. One young person told us: “I’ve really missed out on my childhood. People say it is the most carefree part of your life. This wasn’t true for me. It was the worst part of my life – constantly living in fear.”

Stop Abuse for Everyone (Safe) has been running a community family service for children and their parents since October 2014. In April 2015, we reviewed the service because of what SafeLives’ Insights data analysis told us about our clients: 61% had children who lived in or regularly visited the household, and two-thirds of those families were currently involved with children’s social services. Adults supported by our Idva service are typically at significant risk of harm - so it was likely that the children within these households were also at risk.

We set about adapting our service to reflect this. Now, all families discussed at the East and Mid Devon Marac are offered support by our new community family service.

The community family service helps parents understand the impact domestic violence has on children, and support them to improve family bonds. We also work with children to build their self-esteem and confidence, giving them a safe space to explore and express their feelings and identify healthy ways to manage conflict.

 

When she came to us, Ella’s mother Sarah wanted to strengthen the bond between the two of them, but she also wanted to be able to have clear boundaries and make decisions in the best interests of her daughter.

We started by helping the family repair the damage to their house, so they could feel safe again. Ella and our family worker drew a “helping hand” of safe places and people she could speak to, and together they practised dialling 999. A dreamcatcher helped with her nightmares. Through art sessions, Ella began to explore her emotions and what to do about them – like thinking before hurting someone, or who she can talk to when she gets scared.

The team worked with Sarah to understand Ella’s developmental milestones, so she could see what was normal behaviour and what was being altered by the trauma she had experienced. We helped her think about her parenting style – and encouraged her to use tools like a reward chart with Ella.  We helped Sarah get a place on the Freedom parenting course and she’s also planning to join our pattern changing programme later in the summer. The programme helps women like Sarah to recognise healthy and unhealthy traits in intimate relationships, and aims to improve their self-esteem and confidence.

Now, Ella is able to sleep through most nights. She told us that she no longer feels frightened at home, and knows her mum is keeping her safe. Sarah feels  empowered to make decisions about how she parents her daughter – like allowing Ella to sleep with her until she felt safe enough to sleep on her own, regardless of what other family members might say. Both of them are doing better, and moving on from the abuse they suffered.

 

Without the initial spur of looking at the analysis of our data provided by the Insights team at SafeLives, we might have been slower to recognise the need to work with the whole family to recover from the trauma of abuse. We’re proud of the work that our community family team does to help families in Exeter live their lives safely again.

One of our family workers sums it up: “Every day I hear the pain of people affected by domestic violence and abuse. Yet despite this I see brave people wanting to change and grow, saying no to violence. These people are my inspiration."

Thank you to the Big Lottery Fund for its continued support of Insights – helping services understand how to better support families in their local area.

 

Tags: 
children
Insights

By Guest blogger

27th May 2015

Taking a road less travelled to transform how we work with families

Every so often I’m involved in developing some training that I just know, from the beginning, is going to make a difference. This is what happened when we first created and delivered our ‘working with families experiencing domestic abuse’ training for social workers.

The course looks at the dynamics of family violence and the impact of abuse on each member of the family. It also considers how we can engage the family in a way that is safe and benefits everyone. The training challenges learners to really rethink how they work with families in this situation and gets them to try new ways of approaching this complex area.

The course came out of a request from Oxfordshire County Council. Their children’s services team had already seconded one of their social workers to work for a year in the community with local Idvas. This had prompted the council to consider how to empower their staff to respond more effectively to domestic abuse. One of the answers was to commission SafeLives to write a training course that all their social workers would attend.

I am glad to say that we still return each year to Oxford to train new members of the team. Since then, we have trained social workers and other professionals working with families in Coventry, south Wales and Portsmouth on how to best respond to families living with abuse.

We have consistent feedback that the training changes practice - here are just a few of the comments from our evaluation:

“I found this training extremely useful and feel it should be mandatory for newly qualified social workers and/or part of the degree itself. I feel all professionals should receive this training.”

“I have really enjoyed this training. I have found it really thought provoking. I wish I had completed it earlier…”

“Excellent advanced course. Very practical skills I can take with me into practice.”

Sometimes there are lightbulb moments. In one block of training, a social worker shared their experience of how important it is to challenge your preconceptions when working with families. Their area had already started to ask victims during their first interaction how they felt about the social workers contacting their partner. To the team’s surprise, the answer was nearly always positive – because women welcomed someone challenging their partner. Of course, there are still safety implications to think about, but it just goes to show that taking a road less travelled sometimes brings surprising results.

This is why I am so delighted that we’ve been accredited by the College of Social Work to deliver continuing professional development (CPD) training to social workers. Social workers joining this course as well as others, including our one day ‘young people who harm’ course, will now get CPD recognition for it. I hope that while budgets are tight, this will make it easier to persuade managers that you can’t put a price on quality training.

Jo Morrish's picture

By Jo Morrish

29th April 2015

The role of social workers in responding effectively to domestic abuse

Domestic violence is one of the most common issues social workers come across. But their role is often not fully understood outside the social work sector. Lydia Bennett, professional practice advisor at the College of Social Work, explains.

Social workers have worked  with victims of domestic violence for years - in the courts, social services, accident and emergency, and in refuges. But their role in helping victims and families is still not well understood.

Social workers are skilled at engaging with the whole family and are able to link the experiences of every member of that family - the victim, the perpetrator and the children.

So what would this look like in a typical social worker’s engagement with a family?

Making sure the children and the victim are safe are key tasks for the social worker. Often, the social worker works with the parent to encourage them to see the world how their children do. This approach helps to motivate the parents to change the situation the family is in. Social workers also work directly with the children to strengthen the mother-child relationship, as it can be badly affected by domestic abuse – especially if the victim separates from a violent partner. And social workers need to understand the impact of domestic violence on the mother’s mental health and her parenting skills.

And their role doesn’t end there. As they focus on the whole family, social workers engage in a safe way with the perpetrator, challenging them to change their behaviour.

But domestic abuse is not a simple issue and responding effectively requires a truly holistic approach. That’s why co-ordinated support from a whole range of agencies is crucial. Social workers can build strong links with other agencies and encourage better access to services for vulnerable families.

It’s vital that social workers understand what an effective response to domestic abuse is. To offer the skills and knowledge needed to effectively help families, social workers need to keep up-to-date with domestic violence and abuse case law, learn from relevant serious case reviews and attend training. The College of Social Work will soon be producing domestic violence and abuse practice guidance outlining key priority areas for social workers. We hope it will deepen the understanding of domestic abuse and help reflect on how complex the experience is for families living with abuse. And we’re also delighted to accredit SafeLives’ training for social workers.

 

 

For more information about our training, visit:

Stay in touch:

Tags: 
training

By Guest blogger

21st April 2015

Near miss reviews: finding out what we can do better

Lots of us are (sadly) familiar with domestic homicide reviews (DHRs). Completed in the aftermath of a domestic abuse death, DHRs look for lessons to help prevent a similar incident in future.

But why wait? SafeLives has spoken to a local authority which ran a “near miss review”, after a victim of domestic abuse attempted to end her life, resulting in serious injuries.

We’ve kept the area anonymous. But the findings and recommendations have lessons for us all, as we try to implement better ways of working to help victims become safe.

Background to the case

Alice*, the victim, was discussed four times at two Maracs – one in the local authority leading the near miss review, and one in a neighbouring local authority which later participated in the review process. Alice had a history of substance use and mental health issues. She was known to a number of services.

What the review found

Alice was in touch with Idva services in both areas. But neither area knew about her contact with the other.

Alice experienced repeated abuse, but these incidents were not always referred back to Marac – despite meeting the criteria. When a repeat referral was made, the previous action plan wasn’t systematically reviewed, so the same actions were put in place without checking if they’d been successful before.

It wasn’t always clear how an action would address the risks Alice faced, and the team didn’t have a set process for keeping track of them. And little or no information was shared by mental health and substance use services, despite Alice’s complex needs.

What happened as a result

The local authority which led the review, together with other local partners - including the neighbouring authority - made a range of recommendations to services and professionals.

The recommendations for the Marac were:

  • To identify whether victims and perpetrators have received help in the past, including through other Maracs and domestic abuse services
  • To review how repeat cases are heard
  • To review how complex cases are managed
  • To review the risk identification and action planning stage of the meeting so it’s clear what each action will achieve
  • To review the training, resources and support available to Marac partners to help them take part to the best of their ability

The review has helped to re-energise the area’s approach. They’re introducing new training and guidance for professionals who come into contact with victims. Specialist services are working hard to stop victims slipping through the gaps. And commissioners have set out clearer expectations for engaging with victims with complex needs. Plus, steps are now underway to create a new city-wide action plan for every victim. Once launched, this will allow local agencies to co-ordinate any safety measures put in place.

What can my Marac do?

The issues faced by the Marac in the case study are common. Think about how the findings from the review match with your Marac. Could you implement any of the recommendations in your area?

You can also:

  • Research new services to link into the Marac, including those specialising in complex needs, LGBT clients or B&ME communities
  • Make sure everyone who attends is aware of the Marac-to-Marac referral process, and that they remember to notify the Marac co-ordinator when a victim moves to a new area
  • Seek out areas for development with a regular audit. Our self-assessment programme helps you to explore every aspect of the Marac process, and identify any areas for improvement
  • Reflect on common themes and issues like complex needs, responding to perpetrators and young people. Hold a scrutiny panel to go over old cases - how could the Marac respond better in future?
  • Help prompt representatives during meetings by putting together a list of information and potential actions each agency can offer
  • Think about any strategic changes that could strengthen your Marac. For example - are representatives supported by their managers to take part?
  • Enrol in specialist training. SafeLives offers a range of training options, suitable for everyone involved in the Marac process.

Find out more

For more tools and resources to support your Marac, visit the Practice support section of the site.

And don’t forget to look out for recommendations from the latest national Marac scrutiny panel, focusing on complex needs, coming later in the spring.

Tags: 
marac
Sally Steadman-South's picture

By Sally Steadman-South

16th April 2015

Working with young people in abusive relationships - and how it's different to helping adults

Claire Amans is a young people's violence advisor, trained through the young people's programme. The programme, funded for two years by the Department for Education, has now come to an end. Here Claire reflects on her role.

When I started working as a young people’s violence advisor, I was surprised to see how many young people were victims of high-risk abuse. I’d worked in youth justice previously, so I knew that there would be some high-risk victims, but I didn’t realise how many.

Now I look back on the past year and think “Who was working with these young people before?”  They get so much out of the service that there’s clearly a need. I’ve worked with 16-17 year olds who had used an adult service before, in the absence of anything else. They’ve said that it was really helpful for them to have that, but they felt that it didn’t meet all of their needs.

Adult services are different, and rightly so – what they do is right for adults. But at 16-17 you are still a child in the eyes of the law, so you need support beyond what an adult service might have the resources to offer.

And that’s where I as a young people’s violence advisor come in. I can offer young people personalised support and be a single point of contact for all the problems they face.

In South Tyneside we do a lot of one-to-one work. We do the core safety planning and healthy relationship work, but we also look at the individual young person and their specific needs – like building their social network and their confidence. That includes becoming safe from the abuse itself, of course, but also issues such as housing, finance and education to name just a few.

Our engagement with young people has been fantastic and we’ve had contacts reaching into the late hundreds. Weekly sessions are offered to all young people and can sometimes last for 2-3 hours per session depending on the intervention offered.  What we offer is very intensive, but it’s necessary at times to help the young person holistically. Spending that much time with them can also mean they’re more likely to open up to you around personal issues such as sexual health or substance use.

There are times when a young person can feel overwhelmed due to their circumstances and the different agencies involved, and may need you to advocate for them to make sure their voice is heard. For example, one referral we received last week was for a 16 year old who was homeless because of domestic violence, so it wasn’t safe for her to return home. We couldn’t just signpost her to the housing team and leave it at that. She wasn’t sure of the process involved and felt overwhelmed. Having someone to advocate for her when she got emotional or wasn’t sure how to answer the question was important. We needed to help them understand why it wasn’t safe for her to go home. Bridging that gap for her meant that she was taken seriously and supported – and she now is in emergency accommodation.

When she first moved in, I took her shopping. I explained about budgeting and then took her back to her supported accommodation. She’d not had to do any household chores like that prior to becoming homeless – even putting food in the freezer was something she didn’t know about. With adults you might be able to rely on them to understand basic things like shopping, managing money and so on. But for many young people, on top of dealing with an abusive relationship, this may be their first experience of the real world and it can be a very worrying and overwhelming time for them.

She told me afterwards that she wouldn’t have been able to manage alone on her own – she wouldn’t have known where to go or what to say. Without intensive support, she wouldn’t have had the confidence to deal with the situation and would have remained at risk.

Now that this young person has safe and secure accommodation, we can focus on  safety planning and healthy relationship work to help this young person stay safe from abuse.

It just goes to show that, with young people, you need to do more than just signpost. You need to go on that journey with them. Young people should be able to expect the support of a dedicated worker. They deserve not to have to live in chaos. Having that central co-ordinator to not just help them be safe, but also to understand their needs and champion their cause, is vital. 

Our young people’s programme was created to find new ways to help young people who suffer abuse from the people they are close to. It began in May 2013 and has now come to an end. It was a partnership with Barnardo’s, IKWRO, Leap, and the Marie Collins Foundation and was funded by the Department for Education.

Tags: 
young people

By Guest blogger

Pages