To effectively tackle the impact of domestic violence, it must be addressed as a serious family problem – not as a “women’s” problem. This means using a multi-agency approach that often involves complex partnerships across child welfare and mental health agencies, medical, law enforcement, and criminal justice organizations. Unfortunately, most agencies that provide domestic violence services tend to operate as separate systems with only informal agreements to share information. When agencies do attempt to collaborate, poorly coordinated services and inefficient communication are common as each agency has its own goals and wanted outcomes.
This combined with the dismal state of funding of services that support women and children who are survivors of abuse perpetuates the perception that violence is acceptable and that services are not so badly needed by survivors. As a result, professionals, survivors and volunteers run many DV agencies with few monetary resources. All too often, the formal funding base for domestic violence consists of “one-shot” block grants that allow for the “building to be built” but often provides little in the way of ongoing revenue to provide services. As a result, agencies serving abused women often are forced to close down in the communities that need them the most.
But by focusing on working with communities to develop multi-layered agency partnerships to provide and fund services for abused women and families, a couple new events may occur. One, with more entrance points into treatment via medicine, the courts, child welfare and other agency partnerships, it is likely that more women and their children will be served. Second, the collection of data on these partnerships’ outcomes becomes more critical to attract richer financial players such as corporate sponsors, and public agencies such as child welfare to supplement grants and other traditional revenue sources that funds services for abused women and families.
These changes will require new planning and assessment tools. We have recently been awarded from the National Institutes of Health a three-year grant for the development of a web-based assessment tool to support system level change towards agency partnership to address abused women. In this project, assessments are completed on the Internet and clinical reports are generated. Reports show women’s co-morbid mental health problems, strengths as well as factors associated with relational schema that will help women avoid victimization in future relationships. Other tools have been designed by our group to evaluate the impact of abuse on children and to move them towards successful permanency.
Multi-agency partnerships require on going case and program data to support them in coordinating the correct intensity of services for women and children. If agencies are to work together to improve care for women and families recovering from the aftermath of abuse, they must be able to communicate and share data effectively. The data itself provides a language that shows from the voice of the survivor what she thinks is important to focus on in treatment and what she thinks are her strengths. This is the beginning of truly including the survivor in treatment planning. This person-centered approach to treatment planning reaffirms to her that others want to hear her voice and empowers her that she can change things for herself as well as for her children.
As
interagency
collaboration
grows we
can
envision
that
multi-agencies
with
pull
together
to form
advocacy
groups
that
shift
policy
to
support
empowered
thinking
and
services
that
serve
the
survivor
and
their
children.
But, I
believe,
it
requires
data to
show the
mental
impact
of
abuse,
the
impact
on
relationships,
and the
impact
on our
children.
Policy
makers
and
those
with the
money
strings
to
support
abused
women
and
families
must see
with
their
own eyes
the
incredible
pain and
need in
the
voices
of those
who have
been
abused.
We hope
that
this
project
will
support
the
development
of these
interagency
collaborations
at the
medical,
DV-child
welfare
and
legal
levels
and
yield a
more
firm
financial
and
policy
foundation
for all
of us
devoted
to
supporting
women
and
families
from the
recovery
of
abuse.
___________________________________
Linda Toche-Manley, Ph.D., is the Principal Investigator/Principal for the domestic violence and child welfare systems at Polaris Health Directions, PA. She consults on multi-system change in youth and adult systems of care. Please contact her at Linda@polarishealth.com to find out more about the NIH project and/or to discuss other possible collaborations.
