Minutes:
The Select Commission received a presentation from Mrs. M. Meggs, Deputy Director of Children and Young People’s Services, about the proposed inspection framework for children living with domestic abuse.
The presentation highlighted the following salient issues:-
: the Government’s definition of domestic abuse as “any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive, or threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between those aged 16 years or over, who are or have been intimate partners or family members”; this definition includes but is not limited to the following type of abuse : psychological, physical, sexual, financial and emotional;
: domestic abuse can be significant and harmful for children who witness it and is often categorised as : emotional abuse; physical abuse; neglect.
: the impact is on every aspect of a child’s life;
• Education (including attendance at school);
• Emotional well-being (children may feel they are to blame);
• Social well-being;
• Cognitive (brain) development;
: statistics about the prevalence of domestic abuse and specific details relating to the Rotherham Borough area; referrals would usually be from the Police who have a system of assessing the incidents of domestic abuse as either low, medium or high risk;
: the serious lifelong impact of domestic abuse, including different impact upon males and females;
: the statutory agencies must take the necessary action to : protect the child; empower the non-abusing parent and hold the abuser to account (in order to end the abusing behaviour);
: the protection of the child ought to include early referral to the relevant agencies and to support services and the following actions/assessments in accordance with the needs of the individual:-
– Child Protection Plan (Section 47, Children Act 1989 assessment)
– Child in Need Plan
– Early Help
: further reading of the “In Plain Sight” document, containing the evidence from children exposed to domestic abuse, from the Co-ordinated Action Against Domestic Abuse (CAADA); Internet website link below:-
: the key questions for the scrutiny of support services responding to domestic abuse:-
• How well does the Council identify and support victims of domestic abuse?
• How well does the Council work with others to identify and support victims?
: Future actions:-
• Innovation Bid (for funding) jointly by all four South Yorkshire Councils;
• Scale-up the Doncaster MBC model – it is known that domestic abuse has begun to reduce after the introduction of this model;
• A programme of work with communities which are known to experience high levels of domestic abuse.
Members’ questions referred to the following issues:-
(i) the way in which evidence of domestic abuse is obtained, in order to assess its impact upon families – the basic social work assessment will examine the circumstances in which families are living; some victims will self-identify; the Police are now empowered to progress prosecutions without the need for testimony from victims; statutory agencies being able to understand the whole perspective (of family circumstances) and therefore recognise signs and symptoms of domestic abuse;
(ii) being able to evidence coercive behaviour (eg: on a victim’s personal finances); refraining from labelling people as perpetrators of domestic abuse where there is no evidence of such behaviour; the social work assessment is vital in such cases, together with the role of the Police in investigating possible criminal acts of domestic abuse;
(iii) the range of measures in place to deal with the abusers; the way in which success may be measured in terms of preventing or terminating domestic abuse; some of the pilot projects include working with offenders in the pre-conviction period, although success-rates have been inconsistent; success rates may ultimately improve if funding is eventually obtained to develop further the innovative project begun within Doncaster MBC;
(iv) the impact of domestic abuse (and neglect) upon households which may include elderly people and/or younger people with a disability, all of whom may have significant and demanding care needs; the possibility of other children and young people in the household being neglected because of the demands of those people in the household who require extensive care; - it was acknowledged that domestic abuse is a multi-dimensional issue and the Community Safety Unit within Rotherham MBC takes the lead in responding to incidents of domestic abuse; there are also specialist support services for children and young people who have a disability; there is a wide-ranging capability amongst the various agencies in respect of dealing with the impact of domestic abuse upon vulnerable children and adults; the Police also have authority to instigate prosecutions in cases where the victims of domestic abuse are reluctant to do so;
(v) it was acknowledged that published statistics may not reflect the actual incidence of domestic abuse; comparatively, there is less investment in support services for children and young people than is similar services being provided for adults, although there are also differences in methods of providing support; the Early Help Service is useful for providing support, in addition to traditional social work services; the total costs of these services ought to be quantified; a review ought to include assessments of whether the statutory agencies are the most appropriate organisations to provide the necessary support, the overall effectiveness of the provision of support services and the value for money being achieved;
(vi) the impact upon households in which a child has complex needs and where siblings may fulfil the role of young carer (sometimes the carer for an adult victim of domestic abuse); it was acknowledged that agencies are sometimes slow to identify this type of example, which may include the young carer suffering neglect; the Local Authority’s short-breaks service enables parents to spend more time with their children, by providing support for the care of children and young people who have a disability.
Resolved:- (1) That the presentation about the inspection framework for children living with domestic abuse be received and its contents noted.
(2) That consideration of the following aspects of the inspection framework for children living with domestic abuse be included within the 2016/17 work programme of the Improving Lives Select Commission:-
: a targeted review of support services to ascertain whether the levels of funding and of other resources are sufficient to meet local needs in the Rotherham Borough area;
: effective means of gathering evidence about the perpetrators of domestic violence, including evidence of the use of coercive behaviour within the Rotherham Borough area;
: after an assessment of the provision of services for victims of domestic abuse available within the Rotherham Borough area, undertaking a comparison with and study of the Doncaster MBC model of service provision, which has been validated by Central Government and is the subject of independent audit and evaluation (this study to include a visit to Doncaster should that be deemed necessary).
(3) That the Safer Rotherham Partnership be requested to carry out an initial health check of the current state of services for victims of domestic abuse available within the Rotherham Borough area, especially the methods of identifying the perpetrators of domestic abuse and a report on this health check be submitted to the meeting of the Improving Lives Select Commission to be held on 14th December 2016.