Child Protection and IPV: Is the Family Service Act in New Brunswick out of date?

1. Child Protection and IPV: Is the Family Service Act in New Brunswick out of date? Jenni Cammaert & Marilyn Dupré October 10, 2019 MMFC Conference, Fredericton, NB

2. IPV Protocols and Strategies Canadian Provincial Scan

3. Federal Initiatives • Status of Women in Canada (2017) ‘It’s Time: Canada’s Strategy to Prevent and Address Gender-Based Violence’ • Based on 3 pillars: 1. Prevention (teen and youth dating violence; training for settlement programs; education) 2. Support for survivors and their families (protecting children from sexual exploitation; national housing strategy- funding for shelters; symposium on barriers in accessing housing; victim services- culturally grounded trauma informed training; health promotion) 3. Promotion of responsive legal and justice systems (improve tracking and reporting of sexual assaults; RCMP sexual assault review and victim support action plan; RCMP prevention initiative family based violence; Bill changes federal victims fund; judicial education on gender based violence. • Support for diverse populations (women, indigenous peoples, LGBTQ2, gender non-binary, those living in northern, rural, and remote communities, people with disabilities, newcomers, children and youth, and seniors) • Coordinates all federal action related to gender-based violence

4. Federal Initiatives- Critique • Overall, the persistent issue of intimate partner violence against women and children is largely absent from national agendas. It gets lost amongst other gender-based violence initiatives. • Glaring legislative gaps • This lack of leadership leads to decentralization of federal policy power to the provinces • Decentralization: • Transfers fiscal responsibility to the provincial level (Collier & Malloy, 2017) • Weakens the federal government’s ability to hold the provinces accountable • Exacerbates inequalities across regions due to different tax bases (Tresch, 2002) • Minimizes collective power and opportunity for advocacy • Political ideology hinges funding – neoliberal ideals result in deep cuts to social welfare and IPV services • Decentralization effectively unloads the risks and responsibilities of IPV and mother/child welfare to individual families(Mann, 2008)

5. Provincial Scan: British Columbia • ‘Best Practice Approaches: Child Protection and Violence Against Women’ (2017) • Purpose: Outline best practice approaches and provides guidance to workers providing protective services when assessing and intervening in situations involving violence against women when children may be exposed to the abuse of their mother • “A major focus of the document is understanding that the safety and well-being of children are often dependent on the safety of the non-abusing mother and that wherever possible, supportive services should be offered to the mother in order to enhance her ability to continue to care safely for her child(ren).” (p. 6) • Contributors: Mixture of gov’t and service providers • Topics Covered: Practice approaches (voluntary services; receiving reports; contacting police; Determining and providing response; planning and conducting investigations; child’s immediate safety; determining need for protection and ways to protect children; preparation for court; ongoing family services; relationship building, information sharing and collaborative care)

6. Provincial Scan: Alberta • Family violence hurts everyone: A framework to end family violence in Alberta • Purpose: A prevention strategy to end family violence (IPV is just one piece) • Contributors: Government of Alberta consulted with community partners and government staff; University faculty; Scan of gov’t initiatives and frameworks; .Client surveys of women who stayed in shelters • Topics covered: • Family violence trends; • Risk and protective factors; • A primary prevention approach and types of prevention; • A framework to end family violence with strategic priorities • (Strengthen efforts to prevent FV; Enhance services & justice response; partner with diverse communities; policy, legislation and public engagement; evaluate, measure and demonstrate collective success) • Outcomes

7. Provincial Scan: Ontario • Critical connections: Where woman abuse and child safety intersect. A practical guide for child welfare professionals in Ontario (2010) • Purpose: “evolve readers’ understanding of the complexities of child protection & woman abuse, and promote collaborative, strategic interventions that create safety for women and their children while holding men who are abusive towards women accountable for their behaviours.” (p. 10) • Selected objectives: “Explain how child maltreatment and woman abuse overlap and intersect; and Illustrate how child safety is enhanced with women’s safety” (p. 10) • Contributors: Child Welfare and Violence against women’s sectors across Ontario • Topics covered: • Dynamics of woman abuse • Engagement and assessment (Approach, screening, differential Ax, engaging women and men, safety planning, risk Assessment) • Ongoing intervention and service planning (intervention, service planning for all, assessing abusive man’s progress, potential risks to children from men who abuse) • Legal interventions; and outcomes

8. Provincial Scan: PEI • ‘Premier’s Action Committee on Family Violence Prevention: Five-Year Strategy’ (2016) • Purpose: Develop a framework for action for all types of family violence • Includes voices of service providers, survivors, and victim’s families • Action Plan with goals and strategies: • Awareness, Education and Training • Partnerships and Coordination • Service Delivery • Policy, Legislation and Legal Issues • Includes information on monitoring and evaluation, and implementation

9. Provincial Scan: New Brunswick • ‘Woman Victims of Abuse Protocols’ (2014) • Purpose: A tool to implement a co-ordinated collective response to violence against women • Contributors: Mainly gov’t employees • Mainly an Information Resource on types of service available for women who experience abuse and a synopsis of woman abuse. • Topics include: • Overview of woman abuse;  Department of Health; Department of Social Development; • Aboriginal Woman;  Department of Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour; • Model for co-ordinated response;  Department of Education and Early Childhood Services; • Community profile;  Community Resources. • Department of Public Safety; • Department of Justice and Office of the Attorney General

10. Provincial Scan: Critiques British Columbia and Ontario • Clear focus on IPV and Child Protection • In Ontario, some cities have a memorandum of understanding signed between CP and Woman Abuse Sectors • Safety of children tied to safety of the mother • General guidelines for Child protection from intakes, to investigations, and collaborative efforts • No clear direction or specialized IPV teams (workers are required to assess whether the exposure to violence might lead to harm- a subjective process that could lead to inappropriate intervention Alberta • Focused on prevention • Has a breadth of contributors from government, to frontline workers and service users • IPV is lost amongst Family Violence • Minimal mention of Children, chilf protection and IPV • No clear guidelines or direction for child protection working with IPV

11. Provincial Scan: Critiques PEI • Clear action plan, including goals, strategies and evaluation to address family violence • Document focus is on family violence resulting in IPV being lost • Minimal mention of Child protection and IPV • No clear guidelines or direction for child protection working with IPV New Brunswick • IPV focused document • Detailed outline of resources available • Although it is set to be a ‘tool to implement collaboration’ there are no clear strategies • Minimal mention of Child protection and IPV • No clear guidelines or direction for child protection working with IPV • Contradictory statements on IPV as a child protection concern Towards a collaborative integrated approach to service delivery (EXPLAIN PROVINCIAL DIF)

12. Provincial Scan of Protocols- Summary • Towards a collaborative focus- which depicts the complex issues of IPV. However, clear strategies are needed •  IPV and child protection approaches are generally segregated or non-existent •  Although child protection are included in some of the provinces protocols- clear strategies are missing; and the collaboration hyper focuses only on the woman • It is not clear how children affected by IPV are served by either child protection authorities or women’s IPV services •  Hyper-responsibility of mothers to protect their children, leading to a 'hands off' approach by service providers • Superficial overview missing an examination of systemic barriers to accessing services, including necessary legislative and judicial changes

13. New Brunswick and the Family Services Act

14. Review of the Effectiveness of New Brunswick's Child Protection System (Savoury Consulting Ltd. 2018) • The Family Services Act (S.N.B.1980) is "one of the primary policy tools that governments use to dictate the extent of services to be provided and the manner in which they will be delivered" (p. 15). • The Review (2018) found that many parents experiencing problems such as domestic violence or mental illness, which negatively impacted care of their children, were not offered help. 

15. Family Services Act (S.N.B. 1980) • Current remedies under the Family Services Act are identified by the Department of Justice Canada as: • Section 7 – the Minister responsible for child protection is to be notified of all court proceedings with respect to custody of a child; • Section 31.1.f - the security or development of a child may be in danger because the child is living in a situation where there is domestic violence.

16. Definition of Domestic Violence/IPV • The Act does not provide a definition of circumstances constituting domestic violence or IPV, and the decision for state intervention is left open to interpretation in policies and standards.  • Most policies and standards view the child as "safe" when the offending parent is no longer living with the parent that has been abused.

17. Savoury Review (2018) • In relation to the rights of children living in circumstances of domestic violence, the Review observes that; • "where domestic violence is an issue, it might be thought that the children were safe if the parents separated but research indicates that the violence continues in 50 percent of cases, often during visits, so social workers should not believe that the problem is necessarily solved by separation." • In some cases the violence escalates once the abused partner leaves the relationship (Government of Alberta, 2013).

18. Child-Centered Legislative Approaches • An Act Respecting the Care and Protection of Children and Youth– Newfoundland & Labrador, • An Act Respecting Services to Children and their Families, the Protection of Children and Adoption – Nova Scotia • Child Protection Act – Prince Edward Island

19. Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) Intervention Act (2017) • Provides the opportunity for a restraining order for the offending partner, for granting the applicant with exclusive occupation of a residence, and for granting temporary care and custody of a child to an applicant. • However, the Act states that “a designated authority may make an emergency intervention order for a period of not more than 180 days”. • The issue of intimate partner violence is framed as an individual one requiring individual solutions.

20. The focus on future risk and not maltreatment • Social workers place too much focus on assessment of future risk of maltreatment and pay less attention to the harm that has already occurred to children (Stoddart, Fallon, Trocmé & Fluke, 2018). • Research shows that children who are exposed to domestic violence often experience child abuse simultaneously (Olszowy, Jaffe, Campbell & Hamilton, 2013).

21. Canadian Scan of Provincial Responses to Domestic Violence  • Children aged 0 to 4 years exposed to family violence are susceptible to long term brain impairment that may contribute to a lifetime of mental and physical health problems (Dubov, Niki, Nizzer, MacGregor, Obreque-Coccio, Pelletier & Goodman, Child Welfare Institute, Children's Aid Society of Toronto, 2015). • The researchers also examined provincial policies and initiatives related to domestic violence and found that many provinces have yet to focus attention on children exposed to violence in the home.

22. Ontario Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (2013) • The most frequent investigation of maltreatment was exposure to IPV, representing 48 percent of substantiated situations of maltreatment (Fallon, Black & Houston, 2015). • However they researchers identified a growing gap between the rising number of substantiated investigations and the number of cases transferred to receive ongoing child protection services. • Why is there a gap?

23. SDM Intake Assessment Tool • In the screening criteria, Domestic/Intimate Partner Violence falls under the category of emotional abuse. • Severe emotional abuse (recommended child protection response) • Threat of emotional abuse (recommended family enhancement response) However, only severe emotional abuse is referred to child protection services, while the threat of emotional abuse may be referred to family enhancement services.

24. The Structured Decision-Making Model • Is an actuarial assessment which estimates the likelihood of future child welfare system involvement and assists investigation workers in determining which referrals should be referred for ongoing services and which may be closed at the end of investigation. • Assessing risk focuses on future behaviour while substantiation decisions concern current behaviours (Stoddart et al., 2018).

25. Child exposure to domestic violence trends and patterns from 2010-2015 (Canadian Domestic Homicide Prevention Initiative) • Domestic violence is the most frequent form of maltreatment in Canada, and it accounts for more than one third of substantiated child protection investigations each year. • 37 children were killed in the context of domestic violence • 70% were the biological children of the victim and accused • the children were ages 17 and younger and represented 29% of all children and youth victims of violent crime

26. Services for the non-abusing parent • Qualitative interviews with Canadian and American victims of intimate partner violence that are receiving child protection services found that social workers made them accountable and pressured them to leave their abusive partners, but did not offer concrete assistance or resources that would allow them to leave safely (Hughes & Chau, 2012). • “Ultimately, these participants stated that the responsibility for keeping children safe was placed on them as the non-abusive parent” (p. 681).

27. Recommendations • Child Welfare Act to be child-focused, respect rights of child. • Dedicated interdisciplinary teams with training in IPV. • Point of entry at health centres. • Provincial rollout of Domestic Violence Court

28. Child Welfare Act to be child-focused, respect rights of child. • Rather than a separate child protection act, we believe that the scope should be broadened to include child well-being, similar to federal Bill C-92, particularly in relation to the best interests of the child and  provision of child and family services.  • This recommendation is congruent with the child’s rights perspective recommended by the new Brunswick Child & Youth Advocate: • A new approach must engage all appropriate stakeholders in public health, early childhood services, and in other public and private settings to provide wrap-around supports to children in early childhood and work collaboratively in preventing, identifying and addressing all cases of child neglect and harm to children (Behind Closed Doors, p. 23)

29. Dedicated interdisciplinary specialized teams. Children of IPV have been called the "silent" "forgotten" and "unintended" victims (Edleson, 1999). A lack of specialized knowledge on the complexity of IPV including strategies on how to meet the needs of these children contributes to the silencing, furthers isolation, and potentially harms. Specialized, interdisciplinary collaborative response teams need to be implemented to focus on the immediate and long term needs of the child. Similar to the sexual abuse teams that rolled out in the 90s in CP, these IPV teams can provide skillful interviewing, eliminate duplication of efforts, collect evidence, reduce repeated re-traumatization, and adequately address the  safety throughout the intervention process, including positioning around custody and access.

30. Provided at community health centres. • Services and supports needed by women and children affected by IPV are equally complex, crossing multiple sectors of society (i.e. health and mental health, CP, legal, housing, and financial) • Currently, government departments and other service providers work in mandate-driven silos without a systematic collaborative approach. Results in: • Unmet needs, underreporting, increased safety concerns (further abuse; ill-informed child custody decisions), poorer health and mental health outcomes, and silencing of children's voices Child-centred community approach focusing on service coordination, integrated intervention planning, matching of service intensity to level of need, and case follow-up processes streamlines services through clear communication and collaboration, increases system capacity, and reduce multiple assessment and barriers to access. • Housing IPV services in community health centres can increase approachability for women and children experiencing IPV, especially in rural areas where services are sparse.  • Health centres are often multidisciplined and can be the hub to integrated care, also becoming the recorder of children's voices.

31. Provincial Rollout of Domestic Violence Court • In April 2007, the Government of NB established a pilot project in the Moncton provincial Court for the purpose of determining if a specialized court model could effectively respond to crimes related to domestic violence. • In January 2011a final evaluation of the project, titled Analysis of Three Years of Data Relating to Victims and Offenders reported that the secondary victims of domestic violence, mostly children, are vulnerable with the majority of these victims requiring trauma counselling in order to deal with what they have witnessed. • The analysis showed that victims of domestic violence appear more willing to be referred to Victim Services and the police have increasingly become the significant referral agent. This pints to the team working as intended for the pilot.

32. References • Canadian Domestic Violence Initiative (nd). One is too many: Trends and patterns in domestic • homicides in Canada 2010-2015. Retrieved at: http://www.CDHPI.ca • Dubov, V., Niki, I., Nizzer, S., MacGregor, L., Obreque-Coccio, C., Pelletier, S. & Goodman, D. (2015). Safe and Understood • Edleson, J. L. (1999). Children's witnessing of adult domestic violence. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 14 (8), 839-870. • Fallon, B., Ma, J., Allan, K., Pillhofer, M., Trocmé, N. & Jud, A. (2013). Opportunities for • prevention and intervention with young children: lessons from the Canadian incidence study • of reported child abuse and neglect. Child & Adolescent Psychiatry & Mental Health, 7:4. • Fallon, B., Black, T. & Houston, E. (2016). Understanding the exponential increases in child protection • investigations for exposure to Intimate Partner Violence. CWRP Information Sheet #179E, • Toronto, ON: Canadian Child Welfare Research Portal.

33. References (cont’d) • GNB Public Safety (2011). The Domestic Violence Court (DV Court) Pilot Project: An Analysis • of Three years of Data Relating to Victims and Offenders. • GNB Social Development. (2018). Review of the Effectiveness of New Brunswick’s Child • Protection System.Savoury Consulting Ltd. • Hughes, J. & Chau, S. (2012). Children’s best interests and intimate partner violence in the • Canadian family law and child protection systems. Critical Social Policy, 34(4). • Olszowy, L., Jaffe, P. G., Campbell, M. & Hamilton, L.H.A. (2013). Effectiveness of risk • assessment tools in differentiating child homicides from other domestic homicide cases. • Journal of Child Custody, 10:2, 185-206. • Stoddart, J. K., Fallon, B., Trocmé, N. & Fluke, J. (2018). Substantiated child maltreatment: • Which factors do workers focus on when making their critical decision? Children and Youth • Services Review, 87, 1-8.