Vision for a Children's NetworkOne possible outcome of the Waitakere Children and Family Violence Project is that a collaborative network is created in West Auckland, focused on developing a well-informed community-wide response to children and young people who have been exposed to family violence. This could be composed of any professionals – in education, health or social services – who come into contact with this group, and of their employing agencies and/or schools. It would be run by a coordinator with a solutions approach. Deborah has developed a Draft Strategic Plan for such a network, as a discussion paper at this point. Your expression of interest is crucial to further developing this proposal. The rationale for the network is explained briefly below. Setting up the network would, of course, require buy-in and membership from within the West Auckland community. Possible terms of membership are discussed below. Funding for a part-time coordinator would also be essential. However, this cannot be applied for until the community has expressed sufficient interest. To express your views, support, misgivings, concerns or to ask questions, go to this mini-survey.
The rationaleA collaborative approach to responding to FV is increasingly promoted in the literature – see Murphy and Fanslow 2012* and the US National Taskforce report www.nzfvc.org.nz/node/852. Examples of collaborative responses to children who witness FV: In Australia: http://www.berrystreet.org.au/FamilyViolence In the USA: www.nctsnet.org/content/service-system-responses www.thegreenbook.info/index.htm promising.futureswithoutviolence.org/advancing-the-field/communities-in-action/. Actions undertaken with the network would be based on the ideas generated during the project’s consultation phase in 2011 to 2012 – see Deborah’s report – and any others that develop. The network would be geared to tie in with the government's proposed Children’s Teams http://www.childrensactionplan.govt.nz/the-white-paper/working-together-sharing-responsibility-1, seen at present as an early intervention scheme that would require effective services ready to respond within the community. MembershipMembership might involve agreeing to some basic principles (e.g. being child-focused, open to new ideas and training, committed to a collaborative approach) and to some actions (e.g. being available on occasion to participate in a mini-project relevant to your work, being an informed advocate within your agency or school). Membership could be as formal or informal as decided by the community. Advantages to membership might include: access to free or low cost training, newsletters on developments and innovations here and elsewhere, occasional get-togethers/celebrations of progress, a good-look on your CV.
References*Murphy, Clare, Fanslow, Janet (2012) Building collaborations to eliminate family violence: facilitators, barriers and good practice New Zealand Family Violence Clearinghouse on www.nzfvc.org.nz |
