Minutes:
The Board considered a report of
the Strategic Director, Communities which provided Members with an awareness of the increasing
acknowledgement that initiatives aimed at ending domestic abuse and violence
also needed to target and engage with men as the primary perpetrators of
abusive behaviour.
The Board was advised that the
widespread nature of domestic abuse and violence necessitated preventative approaches
that aimed to change attitudes, values and behavior of the individual, the
community and at a professional level.
The Board was further advised that Domestic Violence Prevention
Programmes were well placed to assist agencies to fulfill their
statutory duties by working with men who were applying for child contact as
well as those who may be a danger to their children or to the child’s mother.
It was reported that there were two types of Domestic Violence
Prevention Programmes available, criminal justice programmes and community
based programmes. Criminal justice based programmes were operated locally by
probation; who took mandated referrals from the criminal courts as part of a
sentence for conviction for a violent or abusive incident.
Community based programmes were usually operated by a voluntary sector
organisation or part of a voluntary/statutory sector partnership, were they
undertook self-referrals as well as referrals from Children’s Services, from
the family courts and a range of other services.
It was also reported that During the first three quarters of 2011-12
(Quarter four data was not available), Cheshire Probation had received 25
requirements for domestic abuse offenders to attend the criminal justice
mandatory Domestic Violence Prevention Programme; of which 27 offenders had completed
the programme with an average wait of two months.
Furthermore, it was reported that activities of a Domestic Violence
Prevention Programmes included a range of services which were necessary in
order to make sure that the programme was operated as safely as possible and
with the maximum possible chance of supporting change. These included:
assessment; risk assessment and management; multi-agency working; group work
with perpetrators; individual and group support for victims and advocacy for
victims. In addition, it was reported
that Domestic Violence Prevention Programmes were usually 26 weeks courses and
could vary in size; the number of clients and the model of work and organisational
setting. However, all programmes which were members of Respect were committed
to delivering services in accordance with the Respect Accreditation Standard.
It was highlighted that preliminary costings
had been sought and a voluntary perpetrator programme operated with the same
rigorous standards as the statutory programme, authenticated by Respect, the
National Association for Domestic Violence Perpetrator Programme, if delivered
in a local context for Halton residents would be in the region of £80,000.
Relate had suggested that they could offer a service for 40 referrals per year,
which was the minimum contract that Relate would consider offering.
In conclusion, it was reported that the lack of Domestic Violence
Prevention Programmes provision in Halton was well documented locally, as a
significant gap in service provision. If Halton was to have a measurable
reduction in the impact of domestic abuse on victims and children,
consideration must be given to providing an integrated, coordinated whole
system approach with local domestic abuse provision that was equipped to
support and empower victims; challenge the behaviour, values and attitudes of
perpetrators and support them to make step change; as well as, provide recovery
and behaviour change programmes for children and young people affected by
domestic abuse and violence.
The Board also received a verbal report on the appointment of Amanda Lewis, Commissioning Manager within the Commissioning and Complex Care Team, Communities Directorate at the end of October 2012. It was reported that Amanda has been designated the following priorities:-
· LINk to Healthwatch Transition;
· Market Analysis (and development of an Adult Social Care Market Position Statement for Halton);
· Development of Sharepoint pages for Commissioning Division;
· Development of Overarching Strategic Commissioning Work Plan and Individual Commissioning Work Plans; and
· Shadowing current Alcohol Lead with a view to leading on Alcohol from 1st April 2013.
The Board noted that £80,000 was the minimum cost for the programme and that the new benefit reductions in April 2013 could escalate this cost. It was reported that discussions were taking place with the NHS Clinical Commissioning Group to ascertain if the programme could work alongside their funded anger management programme to meet the needs of perpetrators. The Board requested that an update report be presented to the next meeting which would include the full breakdown of the costs.
RESOLVED: That the report and comments raised be noted.
Supporting documents: