Scottish Government

Action

• Review the working of the Multi-Agency Domestic Abuse Partnerships, the formal and informal links between them and relevant other forums, to ensure that the needs of CYPEDA are considered as a priority for services.
• Audit the needs of children and young people experiencing domestic abuse.
• Identify gaps in local services and priorities for local service delivery in relation to CYPEDA and identify means of meeting any outstanding needs.
• Recognise and address the specific needs of particular groups of CYPEDA, such as children in rural areas, disabled children and children from black and minority ethnic groups.
• Ensure the needs of CYPEDA are singly and jointly addressed by all of the relevant local agencies including Women's Aid, Housing Services, Benefits Agency, Court Services, Police, Health and medical services, Legal professionals, Scottish Prison Service, Social work services, Rape Crisis, Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, Scottish Children's Reporter Administration, Education services, other specialist voluntary organisations, other local authority departments.
• Recognise and define the links between domestic abuse work and other areas of work, such as, community planning, community safety, health, criminal justice, the children's hearing system and other areas and in all relevant forums, plans and planning processes i.e. Children's Services Plans, Community Plans, Housing Plans, in the Multi-Agency Domestic Abuse Partnerships, in the Joint Health Improvement Plan and Education Planning processes.
• Recognise in particular the key role of the local Multi-Agency Domestic Abuse Partnerships in co-ordinating planning services to this group and the links between this forum and the Children's Services planning process.
• Review and ensure there are good formal and informal links between relevant forums.

• Review and ensure effective partnership working between the local authority and Women's Aid and ensure there is Women's Aid children's representation on key planning forums.

Action

• Ensure a tiered, coherent, strategic approach to the provision of general services and to targeted specialist services.
• Ensure agencies are singly and collectively working to promote and address the issue and the needs of CYPEDA, including, Women's Aid, Housing Services, Benefits Agency, Court Services, Police, Health and medical services, Legal professionals, Scottish Prison Service, Social work services, Rape Crisis, Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, Scottish Children's Reporter Administration, Education services, other specialist voluntary organisations, other local authority departments.
• Undertake proactive publicity to inform children who experience domestic abuse, and other members of the community, about the needs of CYPEDA, services and the role of providers. Link this with publicity on vulnerable children generally and Child Protection Framework standard 7.
• Develop an understanding of the diverse and individual needs of children in this situation.
• Ensure effective cross reference to strategies for child protection and CYPEDA to ensure an appropriate response addressing the needs of CYPEDA and non-abusing parent, and direct services appropriately.
• Recognise the difficulties CYPEDA face when disclosing domestic abuse and the specific difficulties in disclosure faced by some groups.
• Ensure CYPEDA are consulted about services.
• Monitor standards applied to services to CYPEDA and these standards may include the following:

Action

• Future refuge accommodation to focus on cluster refuges containing single occupancy flats and communal areas, including age specific children's rooms.
• Dispersed flats in each area (with support and security arrangements) to accommodate families for whom any form of clustered/shared provision is inappropriate, recognising resource intensive nature of this support for CYPEDA.
• Shared and cluster refuges should have Children's Support Workers (CSWs) based on-site.
• Greater access to children's support workers at weekends and evenings.
• 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.
• Additional provision for teenagers should be a priority.
• Follow-on support for both women and children leaving refuge should be available in all areas, with distinct specialist worker for children.
• Services to CYPEDA should meet appropriate Care Commission Standards, including:

• • Sufficient staff levels to allow continuity of care (key children's support worker approach)
  • Adherence to ratios including 2 children's support workers at group sessions with CYPEDA
  • Appropriately skilled staff and accordance with SSSC registration requirements
• Provision of transport for CYPEDA to attend familiar school should be considered.

• Local planning partners may wish to consider the specialist needs of CYPEDA in the community in the planning process.
• Local planning partners should consider the need for Women's Aid to increase capacity to offer outreach support to CYPEDA living outwith refuge.

Action

• Identify within the service plans specific measures to be taken to address domestic abuse prevention.
• Ensure prevention services are adequately and appropriately resourced.
• Ensure other key public agencies such as NHS Boards and Trusts, Communities Scotland and the Police identify the positive contributions they can make to Prevention.
• Work effectively with other key partners to implement prevention measures.
• Ensure targets relating to CYPEDA are included in action plans and develop databases to enable monitoring of progress and changes in demand for services.
• Schools should deal specifically with the needs of CYPEDA including affects of DA on ability to learn.
• A coherent and sustained programme of values education should at appropriate stages deal with domestic abuse through use of appropriate materials.
• Prevention work undertaken with all children to change attitudes should not be undertaken without support identified and provided for CYPEDA within classes/youth setting.
• Local authorities have important responsibilities in ensuring that school development plans reflect the national priority to 'Enhance support for children affected by domestic abuse'.

Action

• Planners should ensure workers who come into contact with children and young people who have experienced domestic abuse, have the knowledge, understanding and skills required to deal with it.
• All relevant staff should be equipped with the knowledge, understanding and skills necessary for working across professional boundaries in relation to issues facing CYPEDA.
• Planners may wish to consider ensuring the following elements are included in training packages relevant to CYPEDA: