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NISHA PRICHARD University of New South Wales Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

Interagency Collaboration And Its Relationship With The NSW Children's Court Decision Making Process. NISHA PRICHARD University of New South Wales Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences School of Social Scienc e n.prichard@student.unsw.edu.au 22 nd August 2012. INTRODUCTION.

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NISHA PRICHARD University of New South Wales Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

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  1. Interagency Collaboration And Its Relationship With The NSW Children's Court Decision Making Process NISHA PRICHARD University of New South Wales Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences School of Social Science n.prichard@student.unsw.edu.au 22nd August 2012

  2. INTRODUCTION • Context Of Inter-agency Work • Relationship Between Court And Inter-agency Work • Challenges And Oppurtunities For Interagency Work Within Court Context • Defining And Conceptualising ‘Best Practise’ In Intergancey Work Within The Court Context

  3. RESEARCH Children at Risk-Domestic Violence, Child Protection and The NSW Children’s Court Decision Making Process • How do legal and welfare practitioners make decisions in cases involving the intersection of domestic violence and child protection? • What are the interactions between Community Services practitioners, solicitors and magistrates relating to child protection decisions in cases where domestic violence is implicated as a primary risk factor, or one of several concurrent risks? • What factors influence their understanding and conceptualisation of intersections of domestic violence and child protection? • How does current legislation, guidelines and practice aid or impede the court decision-making process in matters involving domestic violence? • What are the outcomes for children, and the key factors for determining these outcomes, in cases involving the intersection of domestic violence and child protection?

  4. DEFINING ‘INTERAGENCY’ IN COURT CONTEXT’… Current Understandings

  5. LOCAL COMMUNITY RESPONSES TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND CHILD PROTECTION … • Formal Guidelines: • Child Protection • Police • Health • Education • Domestic Violence Sector: • Steering Committees • Strategic Planning • Shared ‘Best Practise Models

  6. THE ‘THREE MODEL’ APRROACH Formal Joint Structures, Acknowledgement of changing identity Developing formal structures, No incentives for compliance Complete common understanding, Close organisational affiliation • SOURCE: Horwath, J. and T. Morrison (2007). "Collaboration, integration and change in children's services: Critical issues and key ingredients." Child Abuse & Neglect 31(1): 55-69.

  7. DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND CHILD PROTECTION • Safety Concerns • Service Provision • Impacts of Domestic Violence on Attachment and Parenting • Varying Needs of Children

  8. FRAMING VIOLENCE WITHIN CHILD PROTECTION RESPONSES • What does Violence mean? Actual Physical, Verbal, Emotional… • Who defines it? Community Services, Police, Court, Mother, Child? • How is it’s impact on safety for child understood?witnessed violence, impact of parenting/ attachment capacity, neglect risks?? • Is past, current or future risk the concern? • WHAT ARE THE IMPACTS OF UNDERSTANDINGS ON EVIDENCE PUT TO COURT?

  9. CONNECTING COURT WORK AND INTERAGENCY WORK…

  10. WHY DOES INTERAGENCY WORK MATTER TO COURT WORK? • Court makes decisions based on specific applications and work already undertaken to investigate claims of child abuse • Court as beginning of building the understanding of supports already existing and supports needed • Court as mechanism to formalise support work already being done • Interagency response means more accurate picture of risks and strengths for children and families.

  11. LANGUAGE MATTERS • Existing conceptualisations of child protections, child abuse, domestic violence influence the role and evidence of stakeholders at court • Agreement on what are the key concerns and minimum requirements crucial for parents • Agreement on domestic violence and its significance crucial to children • Multiple needs= multiple appropriate services

  12. BEST PRACTISE: FURTHER ENQUIRY NEEDED • How can the need for work towards service integration be highlighted in court work? • How can stakeholder communication be improved? • How can strategic advice and support integrate consistent definitions and concepts of domestic violence and its relationship to child protection? • How is common understanding built?

  13. REFERENCES • Anderson, L. M. and G. Shafer (1979). "THE CHARACTER-DISORDERED FAMILY: A Community Treatment Model." American Journal of Orthopsychiatry 49(3): 436-445. • Horwath, J. and T. Morrison (2007). "Collaboration, integration and change in children's services: Critical issues and key ingredients." Child Abuse & Neglect 31(1): 55-69. • Mathews, B. P. (2008). "Protecting children from abuse and neglect." Children and the Law in Australia: 204-237. • Lessard, Genevieve et al (2010) Child custody issues and co-occurrence of intimate partner violence and child maltreatment: controversies and points of agreement amongst practitioners’ in, Child and Family Social Work 2010, 15, pp 492–500 • Leonard John, B. (1990). "A multidimensional model for treatment of child abuse: A framework for cooperation." Child Abuse & Neglect 14(3): 387-395. • Nixon, K. L., L. M. Tutty, et al. (2007). "Do good intentions beget good policy? A review of child protection policies to address intimate partner violence." Ibid. 29(12): 1469-1486. • Whitzman, C. (2008). The handbook of community safety, gender and violence prevention: practical planning tools, Earthscan/James & James

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