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

7 Services

7.1 Current Service Position

The November 2003 mapping exercise reported the then state and level of service to this group (Stafford: 2003):

• Direct services to CYPEDA in Scotland are largely provided by the 89 Children's Support Workers (CSW) in Women's Aid.
• The majority of these (46) were exclusively based in Refuge. 43 offered various combinations of support including work in Refuge, Follow on/Resettlement support and Outreach support (5) to CYPEDA in the community and who have never been in Refuge.
• Spread of Children's Support Workers posts is uneven across local authority areas, ranging from none to 21 in a way not apparently related to need or to population density. Some of the larger authorities have a small number of CSWs while relatively small authorities are better resourced. For example, all but one LA area has at least one CSW, 17 authorities have 1 or 2 CSWs, 7 areas have 3; 2 have 4; 2 have 5 and 1 has 6. Notably, Fife and Glasgow have 11 and 21 respectively.
• 49 of the 98 CSW posts (50%) are full time (35 or more hours). Of the rest, 23 work between 25 and 34 hours; 26 work fewer than 25 hours.
• The LA contribution to services to CYPEDA is currently largely through the funding of CSW posts at Women's Aid. Few local authorities currently provide direct services to this group. Of the 98 posts identified offering support to CYPEDA, 6 are managed directly by and based in LA areas.
• Where LAs provide direct services to this group these are mainly posts focused on awareness raising, training and development.

7.2 General Service Delivery

The needs of CYPEDA are not the responsibility of one agency alone but require to be addressed by a range of local agencies, including:

Evidence from many sources suggests a tiered, coherent, strategic approach is needed to the provision of general services and to targeted specialist services to this group of children and young people. Local Children's Planning partners are asked to ensure agencies are singly and collectively working to promote and address the issue.

The Good Practice Guidance outlined in the National Strategy in relation to Service Delivery outlines that services should:

a. Information and Awareness

• Ensure that service providers are clear in relation to their own roles in responding to domestic abuse.
• Develop an understanding of the roles of other organisations in meeting needs.
• Undertake proactive publicity to inform women/children who experience domestic abuse, and other members of the community, about the roles of service providers.
• Develop an understanding of the diverse needs which women or children may have.
• Recognise and understand child protection issues.

Planners are asked to note that these good practice points apply equally to CYPEDA as to women.

b. Approach

• Recognise the difficulties which women or children may face when disclosing domestic abuse and the specific difficulties in disclosure faced by some groups (such as disabled women/children and women/children from black and minority ethnic groups) and develop ways of encouraging disclosure (Scottish Executive: 2000: 37).
• Provide a means of identifying the specific needs of children (Scottish Executive: 2000: 37).

Planners are asked to note that these good practice points apply equally to CYPEDA as to women.

c. Evaluation and Monitoring

The National Strategy emphasises:

'The collection of information and feedback in relation to service needs and provision is also a key aspect of good practice in responding to women or children who experience domestic abuse' (Scottish Executive: 2000: 40).

It suggests among other things the need to consult women and children about services, to benchmark provision against standards, collect, collate and analyse information.

Planners are asked to note that these good practice points apply equally to CYPEDA as to women.

d. Service Standards

The National Strategy (Scottish Executive: 2000: 41) outlines service standards for women/children experiencing domestic abuse. Women's Aid and other organisations are working towards agreeing and implementing standards, both at national level (including Care Commission Standards) and locally through service level agreements. Planners are asked to monitor/ensure these standards are being applied to children's services.

The following standards seem particularly applicable to services to CYPEDA:

• Specific support will be provided to meet children's needs.
• Refuge places will be made available to all of those who require these.
• Specific outreach support will be available to all those who require this.
• Access to specific support will be available on a 24-hour basis.

Planners are asked to note that these good practice points apply equally to CYPEDA as to women.

7.3 Specialist Support to CYPEDA in Refuge, Dispersed Flats, and Once Rehoused

Recent Scottish Executive commissioned research (Fitzpatrick et al: 2003) looked at the level and standard of refuge accommodation provided by Women's Aid Groups in Scotland and at women's, children's and young people's experiences, preferences and priorities in relation to it (Fitzpatrick et al 2003). The research made a number of key recommendations in relation to this service and this is currently being addressed by at local level by Women's Aid and at national level. Some of the recommendations are particularly applicable to the provision of refuge accommodation and continuing support on leaving refuge for children and young people, including:

• Future refuge accommodation should focus on cluster refuges containing single occupancy flats and communal areas, including age specific children's rooms.
• There should also be dispersed flats provided in each area (with support and security arrangements) to accommodate families for whom any form of clustered/shared provision is inappropriate. The resource intensive nature of supporting families in such dispersed flats should be recognised.
• All shared and cluster refuges should have workers based on-site.
• Greater access to workers at weekends and evenings should be pursued.
• Effective emergency response from WA workers on a 24-hour basis should be established in all areas.
• Children should have access to children's support workers as soon as possible after entering refuge and these workers should be available every day, at least for a short period. It is important that children have the opportunity of one-to-one contact with children's support workers and there is scope for other forms of 'depth' work such as structured group work.
• Additional provision for teenagers, particularly a separate room away from younger children, should be treated as a priority.
• Follow-on support for both women and children leaving refuge should be available in all areas.
• Wherever possible, the same 'key worker' should stay with a family throughout their contact with WA: this continuity was especially important to children.

The Homelessness Task Force and Sustaining Tenancies Following Domestic Abuse (2003b) research have highlighted that the trauma and distress for women and children of domestic abuse is compounded and deepened by leaving the family home. The research states that:

The process of re-housing places great stress on the woman and her children and usually leads to housing which is either not appropriate for the family's needs or is not sustainable. Living as an independent autonomous household requires a sustainable housing outcome, the achievement of which for women experiencing domestic abuse will involve both housing and support factors (including distinct specialist support for children) (Edgar et al: 2003).

The research recommends distinct rehousing and longer term support for women and children, family support and in particular support when harassment and abuse continues (for the majority of families) especially in the context of child contact arrangements. Issues are also raised in relation to health services and education for children in this situation including the importance of transport to enable children to continue to attend their original and familiar school if safe.

Planners may wish to consider reviewing current refuge provision, as well as domestic abuse and homelessness strategies in the light of these research findings. They are asked to take account of these recommendations and developments in planning a comprehensive, coherent and integrated approach to services to CYPEDA. Planners are also asked to ensure that services to CYPEDA meet the appropriate Standards set out by the Care Commission, including ensuring that staffing levels are sufficient to meet the needs of children and young people and allow for continuity of care.

7.4 Specialist Support to CYPEDA in the Community

A particular gap has been identified in relation to the provision of direct services to CYPEDA in the community (Stafford: 2003). This poses particular challenges for planners because, the majority of CYPEDA are living in the community with no specific contact with refuge or refuge follow-up services.

The Audit and Review of Child Protection recognised the lack of support to CYPEDA in the community, for example, 'living in households with domestic abuse'. These children and young people may also have left the family home with/without their mother and be homeless, living in temporary accommodation or in other mainstream housing.

Currently, there is little direct, therapeutic, specialist support available to this large, vulnerable group of children. At Women's Aid, specialist outreach support is only currently able to be offered by dedicated Children's Support Workers in 5 Women's Aid Groups.

The research by Fitzpatrick et al (2003) recommended that Women's Aid should have an increased capacity to offer outreach support to women and children experiencing domestic abuse but living outwith refuge. This would:

'..enable a greater number of abused women and children living outwith refuge to have access to the specialist services that Women's Aid can provide. This would be of benefit to those who are unable to gain access to refuge provision because of excess demand for places; to those who do not wish to live in refuge but would appreciate support form WA; and to those whose circumstances mean they cannot be accommodated in the available refuge provision (e.g. women with drug problems)'. (Fitzpatrick: 2003).

Local planning partners may wish to consider the specialist needs of CYPEDA in the community in the planning process.

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