Collaborating to End Family Violence

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Collaborating to End Family Violence
Family Violence Response Team Symposium Sacramento
, CA October 29, 2003
Niki Delson, LCSW Rebecca Gaba, Ph.D
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Some things to consider

• Each of you represents an agency with enormous
  power over the lives of your clients
• In a collaborative effort, agencies must share
  power in favor of cooperation
• The challenge
• To work with agencies and share power on behalf
  of a goal that is bigger than any agency mandate

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We are not unlike the families we serve!

• The use of power, shifts in power, and sharing
  of power in a collaborative parallels power
  issues in families.
• The person with the most power may misuse it
• When a powerful person leaves (a family, or a
  collaboration) there is a shift in power a void
• Voids offer opportunities for change

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We Have Visibility Bias

• We tend to remember the most powerful images
  often they are also the most negative
• The police were too domineering and coercive
• The social workers were too soft or only want to
  remove the children
• DV advocates too aggressive
• We do not always respect each others roles,
  responsibilities or strengths
• Every community and every discipline will have
  its horror story. We can find reasons not to
  trust each other.

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Collaboration can

• Tip the scale in a another direction
• Raise the bar
• Call on the best we have to give, though we may
  not be able to give it all the time
• Provide champions and we become champions for
  each other

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Some suggestions for developing your
collaboration infrastructure

• Build personal relationships
• Get the right people at the right time and in the
  right place
• Build trust by honoring differences
• Legitimize self interests
• Hook the passion
• Know what you are about your own agencys role
  and agenda
• Look inward/not outward.
• Systems change when individual organizations
  change themselves

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Some suggestions for developing your
collaboration infrastructure

• Expect conflict Identify and manage it with
  integrity
• Do you want to be right or do you want to
  succeed?
• Be accountable
• Produce what you say will do by when you say do
  it
• Start at the smallest level (with cookies!)
• Be Count-onable
• Share leadership We are all on the same journey
  Ending Family Violence is a Human not agency
  Issue

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Four stages of collaboration building

• Stage 1
• Bring people together
• Build trust dialogue
• Confirm your vision
• Specify your desired results

• Stage 2
• Confirm roles
• Identify and resolve conflicts
• Organize your effort
• Support the members

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Four stages of collaboration building

• Stage 3
• Manage the work
• Create joint systems
• Evaluate your results
• Renew the effort
• Celebrate achievement

• Stage 4
• Create visibility
• Involve the community
• Change the system
• Review the vision end the collaboration?

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• We are caught in an inescapable network of
  mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.
  Whatever affects one directly affects all
  indirectly
• Martin Luther King 1965

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Developing a FVRT

• Each community has
• History
• Political alliances and agendas
• Cultural variations
• Resources
• There is no One size fits all FVRT
• Each community has to assess it needs, strengths,
  deficits, and collaboration potential
• FVRT does not operate in a vacuum requires
  community collaboration at every level

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FVRT Models

• A unique composition of a communitys
• Existing resources
• History
• Political and professional alliances
• Internal/external factors
• Funding
• Communitys knowledge/tolerance of domestic
  violence
• Political climate

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Design an FVRT that meets the needs of your
community

• Factor in
• Community resources
• Response team personnel
• Who is available?
• Environmental/external issues
• Team focus

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FVRT Focus How will it meet your communitys
needs?

• Protect children
• Increase in successful prosecutions
• Enhance law enforcement response
• Integrated community approach
• Reduce recidivism
• Stop the intergenerational cycle of violence

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Five FVRT Models

• Law Enforcement FVRT
• Child Protection FVRT
• Hospital FVRT
• Integrated FVRT
• Multidisciplinary FVRT (post-incident)

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Multidisciplinary team

• CPS
• L.E.
• Shelter
• Victim Services
• DA

• Parents Center
• Probation
• Womens Crisis Center
• Researchers

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DV Advocates

• Flexibility
• Emotional Stability
• Realistic Expectations
• Clear Boundaries
• Ability to Take Direction/Supervision
• Negotiating Skills
• Ability to Work with Others
• Judgment
• Writing Skills

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Law Enforcement

• Designated officers (patrol or detectives)
• Openness to cross-training
• Ability to work with non-sworn personnel
• Ability to take the advocates lead
• Sensitivity to victim issues and dynamics of FV
• Incentive

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Family Violence calls are most deadly to police
officer 2 studies
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Dos and Donts when working with victims

• DO
• Show your concern
• Provide resources
• Help victim identify positive and dangerous
  aspects of the relationship
• Let them know they are not alone there is help
  available

• DONT
• Tell her to leave
• Belittle or trash batterer
• Feed into guilt victim may have about staying

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When on a call

• Focus on empowerment, NOT why she stays
• Reach out
• Assess injuries
• Provide emotional support
• Reinforce
• Abuse is never OK
• DV is against the law
• It is not the victims fault
• There is help available

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Assessing Immediate Needs

• Initial Contact as a Window of Opportunity
• Mental/Emotional state of Victim and Children
• Medical Necessity
• Chaos to Calm
• Status of Offender
• Presence of Bystanders clear area

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Elements of the Interview

• Current Needs of Victim and Children
• Current Incident
• Level of Risk to Victim and Children
• History of FV (depending on situation) frequency,
  severity, duration
• Awareness Children
• Safety Planning
• Information Resources Follow-up
• Contact information

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Interview with Children

• Emotional state
• Developmental Level
• Experience of current incident
• Past incidents
• Level of exposure
• Assess for Child Abuse and or possible injuries
  sustained during current incident
• Safety Plan childs concerns for safety

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Safety Issues for Advocates

• Adherence to established protocols with LE will
  ensure everyones safety.
• Awareness of offender status risk to victim,
  risk to advocate
• If providing crisis intervention, do not approach
  a location without consent or presence of LE.
• Never go it alone!