Domestic Homicide Reviews Understanding your role

1. Domestic Homicide ReviewsUnderstanding your role Tally Ho Conference and Banqueting Centre Tuesday 17th April 2012

2. Domestic Homicide ReviewsUnderstanding your role Jan Kimber Head of Community Safety & Chair of Birmingham Domestic Homicide Steering Group

3. Domestic Homicide ReviewsUnderstanding Your Role Jan Kimber Head of Community Safety & Chair of Birmingham Domestic Homicide Steering Group

4. Aims & Objectives • understand the purpose of domestic homicide reviews • understand your individual role and responsibilities within the review process • understand how to undertake an Individual Management Review within your own organisation and what a good quality review looks like

5. Structure of the Day • Presentation: Individual Management Review • Workshops: DHR Panel Roles and Responsibilities & Producing an Accurate Sequence of Events • 11.00 Coffee • Home Office Presentation • Workshops: Quality & SMART Recommendations and Action Planning • 12.30 Lunch • Repeat of Workshops • Question Panel • 2.30 Finish

6. Scope of Domestic Homicide Reviews (DHRs) • homicide • over 16 • resulted from violence, abuse or neglect by • a person to whom s/he was related or with whom s/he was, or had been, in an intimate personal relationship or • a member of the same household as her/himself, held with a view to identifying the lessons to be learnt…

7. Purpose of DHRs • what lessons are to be learnt from the domestic homicide regarding the way in which local professionals and organisations work individually and together to safeguard victims ………in order to… • prevent domestic homicide and improve service responses and inter-agency working for all domestic violence victims and their children.

8. DHR Structure

9. DHR Process • Notification • Information gathering • Commissioning independent chair/author and panel • Organisations review their practice • Family and significant others invited to contribute • Overview report • Home office ratifies • Publication • Implementing recommendations

10. Domestic Homicide Reviews in BirminghamUnderstanding Your Role

11. Individual Management Reviews (IMRs) Paula Harding Vulnerability &Violence Against Women Strategic Lead Birmingham Community Safety Partnership

12. Aim of the IMR • Allow agencies to look openly and critically at individual and organisational practice & context • To identify need for change • To identify how these changes will be brought about • To identify examples of good practice

13. Process • Responding to initial request for information • Securing records • Independent chair and panel decide to commission IMR or information report • Organisation commissions IMR author • Attend IMR & information report author briefing • Template • Chronology, analysis of records, interviews with staff • Quality assurance at senior level • Submission within timeframe • Feedback and debriefing of staff • Implementation of Recommendations • Note - Taking action at earliest opportunity

14. Templates & Guidance

15. The Template Page 1

16. Page 2 11. Details of Victim, Perpetrator, Family and Significant Others

17. Interviewing Staff • Where criminal proceedings – SIO/CPS advice • Reassurance - not part of disciplinary proceedings – a learning culture • Recommend • Advance notice • Use chronology as structure • Provide summary • Debriefing and providing feedback

18. Page 3

19. Differences between SCR & DHR IMRs • No genealogy • No anonymisation • Not shared with auditing body

20. Workshop 1Domestic Homicide Review Panel Roles & Responsibilities Gill Baker

21. Who should be on a DHR Panel ? Organisations that have a statutory duty to participate: Police Local Authorities Strategic Health Authorities Primary Care Trusts Probation Services Local Health Boards (Wales) NHS Trusts

22. Who should be on a DHR Panel ? Other agencies that may have a key role to play in the review process: Crown Prosecution Service Housing Associations Prison Service Domestic Violence Forum Independent Panel Chair/Overview Report Author

23. Core Functions of the DHR Panel • Review and agree the Terms of Reference – an ongoing process as new information emerges • Ensure the process is conducted in a timely manner – the overview report should be completed within 6 months of the date of the decision to proceed with a DHR

24. Core Functions of the DHR Panel • Be aware of potential sensitivities and need for confidentiality • Equality and diversity issues to be borne in mind at all times • Engage with police senior investigating officers and family liaison officers • Agree appropriate time and engagement with family members

25. Core Functions of the DHR Panel • Quality assure IMR's and information reports – critical analyse and challenge the content, quality and accuracy • Request amendments, clarification, further information if necessary • Provide feedback to IMR authors and commissioners - utilise IMR self evaluation tool

26. Core Functions of the DHR Panel • Ensure that the findings of parallel investigations are incorporated into the overview report • Ensure that the overview report is of a high standard and adheres to DHR national guidance • IMR's and the Overview report should adhere to the Birmingham DHR format and template

27. Core Functions of the DHR Panel • Ensure that the overview report brings together the information and analysis from the IMR's and draws overall conclusions • Ensure that contributing organisations and individuals are satisfied that their information is fully and fairly represented

28. Core Functions of the DHR Panel • Agree the content of the Executive Summary and Overview Report and the recommendations contained therein • The recommendations should translate into a specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely (SMART) action plan to improve practice and systems

29. Core Functions of the DHR Panel • Ensure that the bereaved family receive feedback on the outcome of the review

30. ‘Workshop 2 “Producing an Accurate Sequence of Events” Cheryl Harnett, CDOP Co-ordinator, BSCB

31. Overview of Producing a Chronology and Software Available • What is a Chronology? • Why is a Chronology Important? • Step by Step Guide • Do’s • Don’ts

32. What is a Chronology? • First key step in compiling the Individual Management Review • It maps out in date order the key events for a service or agency in relation to the named individuals involved in the Domestic Homicide Review • It helps to establish the detailed nature of the contact that the service or professional had with the parties involved

33. Why is it Important? • To provide an accurate sequence of events leading up to the serious incident for DHR Panel • Helps to establish gaps in service provision and conflicts in agency accounts • Helps to show the links between the different services involved in the case • Key component of the integrated chronology that form part of the overall DHR analysis.

34. Step by Step Guide • Open Word Document Provided • Box will prompt to enable Macros – Click enable Macros • Chronolator Licence Box will show – Click OK • You should now have an empty table with only table headings • Add your text ensuring that you follow the Do’s and Don’ts guide

35. Do’s • DO lay out dates in the format 21 September 2012 or 21/09/12. • DO enter the time if your agency records this • DO ensure that you have used a ‘0’ and not a ‘o’ at the beginning when completing the time. • DO click on Sort Table on the chronolator toolbar (sort into ascending order). • DO click on Check Table after completing the chronology. Errors will be highlighted in either yellow, for out of sequence or turquoise for boxes that must be filled • DO complete all sections highlighted in turquoise, use “Not Applicable” if you have no information.

36. Don’ts • DON’T leave errors on the table. • DON’T add times if your agency does not have or use them, leave this blank • DON’T put ‘st’ ‘nd’ ‘rd’ or ‘th’ on the end of numbers in the dates section. • DON’T give date ranges. • ALWAYS complete the Mandatory Fields: ‘Date, Was The Victim Seen and Was The Victim Seen Alone sections’.

37. Chronolator guidance will be sent with the request to complete an Individual Management Review and Chronology • Guidance can also be found on the following website: www.chronolator.co.uk

38. ‘Workshop 3 “Getting the Quality Right –Evaluating IMR’s” Simon Cross, Business Manager, BSCB

39. Adverse evaluation feedback ‘One IMR is judged good, ten are judged adequate and five are judged inadequate. The variable quality of these reports leads to our overall judgement of adequate for the review process as a whole. The overview report, recommendations, action plan and executive summary are all judged good.’ Source; Ofsted Evaluation Report

40. Home Office Quality Assurance Group • A group of experts from statutory and voluntary agencies overseen by Home Office • Assessed against national guidance • Meet on a quarterly basis to assess report standards as well as identifying good and poor practice and training needs • Reviews assessed as inadequate, CSP Chair will be responsible for ensuring the areas of concern are amended • The Home Office Quality Assurance Group will be responsible for assessing progress identified at a national level

41. Focus on Quality • Guidance, template & Audit tool intended to help IMR Authors • Training and Mentoring available for IMR Authors • Importance of Management role in quality assure and sign off • DHR Panel – Robust challenge and constructive feedback • Reports failing to meet required standard will require amendment • Overview report comments on quality of IMR’s • DHR Steering Group aim to continuously improve DHR process - Improvement Plan • Dissemination of exemplars of ‘good practice’

42. Now your turn - Group Exercise • Read IMR • Individually use the Evaluation Tool • As a group use the ‘Moderation Matrix’ to try and reach a consensus • Identify any key issues for inclusion in evaluation feedback • Plenary Session - Review against specimen answer • Sharing exemplars of good IMR's

43. Workshop 4: SMART recommendations and action planning Joy Anibaba Project and Training Development Coordinator

44. SMART Recommendations Recommendations need to be:- S - specific M - measurable A - achievable R - realistic T - timely Avoid multiple recommendations

45. Types of Recommendations Resources • Requires production of something Professional action • Requires someone to take action rather than produce something Professional knowledge and skills • Requires individuals to acquire or improve professional knowledge and skills

46. Specific Example of Non-Specific “Doctors should receive child protection training.” • Who will be responsible for implementation? • Which Doctors? • What issue is the focus of the training?

47. Measurable Example - unable to measure “Hospital records for babies and children must contain relevant information.” • Define relevant information • Requires hindsight • Which specific records?

48. Realistic Example of Unrealistic “The Assistant Director Children’s Social Care should ensure that all referrals for family support receive a response within 2 hours.” • Specific - yes • Measurable - yes • Not achievable, impractical deadline

49. Achievable Example of Not Achievable “The Senior Nurse – Child Protection should ensure that a protocol for sharing information between health visitors and GPs is developed and implemented.” • Multiple • Requires action outside their authority • No line management responsibility for GPs or Health visitors

50. Timely Example of Non-Specific “Child abuse investigators to receive FGM awareness training by 30th April 2012.” • Specific -Yes • Measurable -Yes • Achievable -Yes • Realistic- questionable • Negotiated timescales for implementation