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Children and young people EXPERIENCING DOMESTIC ABUSE: Guidance Note for Planners

4 Service Delivery and Funding

4.1 Service Delivery

Reports and reviews have highlighted service delivery difficulties (level, spread and quality) to CYPEDA:

• The Audit and Review of Child Protection (Scottish Executive: 2002) commended agencies for recognising that domestic abuse constitutes emotional abuse of children and that they could also be at risk of being physically and sexually abused. However, it also highlighted that agency response to these children has been 'haphazard' and that viewing them as immediately in need of child protection is not helpful (Scottish Executive: 2002).
• The Audit and Review also states that agencies and professionals need to exercise greater levels of judgement, in consultation with others, about the best approach to securing a child's welfare, and recognise that protecting the mother may be the best way to protect the child or children.
• The Scottish Executive funded research, 'Mapping Support Services to Children and Young People Experiencing Domestic Abuse in Scotland'(Stafford: 2003) ³ reported that provision to this vulnerable group is unevenly spread between and within authorities in a way not apparently related to need or population density. In particular it highlighted a major gap in the provision of specialist services to CYPEDA living in the community who have never had contact with a Women's Aid Refuge (Stafford: 2003).
• The Scottish Executive funded research 'Women's Aid, 'Refuges for Women, Children and Young People in Scotland' also highlighted wide variation in the level and quality of Refuges and service provision (Fitzpatrick et al: 2003).

Earlier, research reviewed in the National Strategy (and conducted in 1997/78) on domestic abuse in general, highlighted similar gaps; summarised as follows:

'Constrained access to services from both women and children through a lack of information, confusion about service providers' roles, inconsistent geographical provision, inconsistent funding and lack of funding, variations in application of resources, lack of consistent commitment from decision makers, the provision of responses which may be inappropriate, and a lack of overall co-ordination, training and monitoring'

Planners may wish to take account of these identified service difficulties in relation to this group of children and young people in future planning.

4.2 Funding

Funding for services to CYPEDA has also been highlighted as ad hoc, uncertain, highly mixed and financed from more than 20 sources. (Stafford: 2003). Funding is largely directed at 98 Women's Aid Children's Support Workers (CSW), with 6 awareness raising posts managed by the local authority.

Table 1 shows the situation at November 2003. The biggest single funding source for services to CYPEDA remains core LA grant funding.(shown as LA (Core), 714K out of 2m). Other posts were funded from the newer funding streams, in particular the Domestic Abuse Service Development Fund (DASDF) matched with local authority funding (392K). This was followed by the interim funding released by the Scottish Executive in 2002/3 (shown as SE - Int) to fund CSWs in those Women's Aid Groups without one (173K).

Table 1: Funding by Funder

In the Glasgow Area, 9 of the 21 Children's Support Worker (CSW) posts were funded using Child Care Strategy (CC Strategy) monies, 6 were funded by the Social Inclusion Partnership (SIPs), In Fife, 5 of the 11 posts were funded from Sure Start monies, 5 using LA core grant funding, and one from Scottish Executive interim funding. Some CSW posts are funded from Trust funds. A significant number of areas use the Changing Children's Services Fund (CC SF), and one post is funded through the Health Improvement Fund (Health Im F).

The majority of the posts and initiatives currently supporting children and young people experiencing Domestic Abuse are uncertainly funded and fixed term.

Planners are asked to note the above possible funding sources and think flexibly, creatively and strategically in planning for the sustainability and coherence of funding for these services in the future planning process.

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