Intake and assessment
Family violence intake and assessment workers are focused on ensuring clients have access to the assistance and information they need about the options and services available to them. Family violence intake and assessment workers respond to calls, referrals and other modes of contact from or related to users of family violence. These services aim to assess and manage family violence risk, including triaging clients and coordinating associated crisis responses.
The nature, intensity and duration of the service response is tailored to the client’s risks and needs and may include one or a combination of the following:
- information and advice (including to families, the community, and other professionals)
- risk and need assessments including assessments of motivation, capacity and readiness to engage with services in change focused interventions
- family safety contact
- coordination of crisis responses
- referral to appropriate services for further support in beginning the behaviour change journey
Telephone Counselling
Telephone counselling provides an intervention whereby short-term strategies and counselling methods are focused on reducing risk to the victim survivor and connecting users of family violence to appropriate referral pathways.
Telephone counselling can put perpetrators in touch with supports that can assist in the behavioural change journey. For example; telephone counsellors working directly with men include brief interventions and men’s accommodation and counselling services.
Men’s behaviour change (MBC)
The purpose of Men’s Behaviour Change programs is to hold those using family violence to account for their violence, challenge their use of violence and keep women and children safe by monitoring and responding to the presented risk.
Groupwork facilitators work with the men in a psychoeducational group program for 20 weeks, facilitating groupwork, providing information about the impact of family violence, monitoring risk and safety and working towards changing abusive behaviours.
There are dedicated Aboriginal and LGBTIQ roles as well as state-wide mainstream coverage. There are also specific groups to help fathers make positive change in their attitudes, values and behaviours that lead to family violence.
Courses such as the Swinburne Graduate Certificate qualifies specialist practitioners to work directly with men in a range of interventions including groupwork and men’s case management:
Case management
Tailored responses to individuals aim to address complex needs such as alcohol or drug misuse, mental health, physical health, and homelessness, which are possible barriers to engagement in family violence interventions.
Men’s case management programs aim to increase the safety of victim survivors.
There are dedicated Aboriginal and LGBTIQ roles as well as state-wide mainstream coverage.
Family safety contact
Family safety contact workers will work with the partner and family members, including children, if they are identified as being impacted by the person’s use of family violence, for the purposes of risk assessment and management, information sharing and referrals.