Transcript Women`s Council for Domestic and Family Violence Services (WA)

Women’s Council for Domestic &Family
Violence Services (WA)
STRATEGIC PLAN
2008-11
KEY ACHIEVEMENTS
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Vision Statement
• To ensure that all women and children live
free of domestic and family violence
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Background
PEAK BODY
MEMBERSHIP
Sector
Development
Policy
Development
Projects
Research
Information &
Referral
STAFF
Executive
Officer
Project Officers
Administration
Consultancy &
Contracts
Women’s Refuges
Domestic &
Family Violence
Services
DV Regional
Committees
Associate
Members
COMMITTEES
Executive
SubCommittees
Reference
Groups
Taskforce
WOMEN AND
CHILDREN
FUNDING
PARTNERSHIPS
Government
NGO
Membership
Sponsors
Donations
Government
Non Govt
Agencies
Strategic Alliance
National
/International
Corporate
COMMUNITY
Women
Children
Young People
Men
Metro
Rural/Remote
UNIFIED
VOICE
Co-ordination
Collaboration
Inclusiveness
Engagement
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Strategic Directions
• Effectively represent the Non-Government
Domestic and Family Violence sector;
• Provide a valuable service to WCDFVS members,
including policy advice, advocacy and public
profile;
• Improve sector capacity and effectiveness; and
• Ensure sustainability of the peak body and its
membership
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To strengthen our unified voice on domestic and
family violence issues
 Membership Satisfaction Surveys were conducted in
2008/9 and 2010/11
 The WCDFVS provide policy advice on a range of
advisory bodies and committees such as:
 Australian Services Union (SACS Division)
 Australian Women Against Violence Alliance
 CEWA
 Community Sector Roundtable
 Family & Domestic Violence Unit, SOG
 WACOSS Peaks Forum
 WESNET (Women’s Services Network)
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Workforce Planning & Capacity
• Increase Refuge and DFV staff wages by 30% over
the next three to enable the sector to attract and
retain experienced staff
• National Days of Action (ASU) at Parliament
• Pay Equity Case to Fair Work Australia
• Lobbying MPs and Premier
• CEWA, ASU & WACOSS meetings and lobbying State
Government for additional funding for wage
increases
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Increase number of Refuge-based
Advocacy & Outreach DFV staff
• Monitor efficacy of pilot programs and where successful
advocate for on-going funding. Eg DV Police Outreach Pilots
(POPs)
• Over the last couple of years WCDFVS received funding to
work in partnership with DCP to build on the good work of the
POPs to develop and implement a Safe at Home and DV
Outreach model for WA to support the development of six
SAH and six DVO programs (includes Breathing Space with
state-wide perpetrator response) funded through the
National Partnership Agreement (NPA) on Homelessness
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Safe at Home and DFV Outreach
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South East Metro: Ruah Community Services
South West Metro: Lucy Saw Centre
North East Metro: Stirling Women’s Refuge
North West Metro: Pat Giles Centre
Wheatbelt: Waminda House
South West: South West Refuge
Peel: DVO: Pat Thomas Memorial House
Pilbara: DVO: Community Legal Service
Murchinson: DVO Chrysalis Support Services
Goldfields: DVO Goldfields Women’s Refuge
Great Southern: Albany Women’s Centre
Communicare’s Breathing Space (perpetrator response)
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Funding for Children’s Workers in
Women’s Refuges
• Secure funding for a minimum of two FTE Child Support Workers and
Child Advocates for Refuges to provide individual case management
support programs to children traumatised as a result of DFV.
• Has been a key Recommendation within WACOSS pre-budget submission
to the State Government for the last three years
• Funding has been provided for the WCDFVS for a Children’s Policy Officer
position until end of 2012
• Child Support Worker position funded for Albany Women’s Centre and
Manager for Pat Giles CCS
• Keeping Kids Safe Project has held regular meetings with CSWs and is
working towards developing Good Practice Standards for Working with
Children in Refuges
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Increase core funding for designated
Policy Officer
• Due to the increase in projects, training and initiative that the
WCDFVS have been delivering over the last three years, the need
for designated funding for a designated Policy Officer to enable the
WCDFVS to prepare briefing papers, policy advice and submissions
to both state and national consultations. Has been raised in Service
Reviews with DCP
• THIS STILL NEEDS TO BE ACHEIVED
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Housing options to attract/retain staff in
rural and remote regions
• To offer as salary packaging incentives for DFV workers in
rural and remote regions, similar to Government Regional
Housing scheme
• A couple of initiatives have been operating in Broome and
Port Hedland
• Requires localised lobbying and negotiation as well as peak
body advocacy
• MORE WORK REQUIRED ON THIS PRIORITY
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Appropriate/affordable housing options
• Increase the safe and affordable public and private rental options for
women and children escaping DFV; Priority Housing through DoH with
housing for larger families
• Submission to Social Housing Taskforce
• Green Paper on Homelessness
• Submission to Parliamentary Inquiry into the adequacy of social housing in
WA
• National Homelessness Partnership Agreement (Homeless
Accommodation Support Workers; DVO and SAH programs; Street to
Home)
• Quarterly meetings between metropolitan Refuge and DoH Managers
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Other immediate issues
• A Safe House for young women aged 14-18 and their children who are
homeless or escaping DFV: We now have KIRA HOUSE now operating!
• Damara House purpose built premises is still yet to happen due to hold
ups with DoH and allocation of land for the building. Damara House
operating out of temporary premises for the last few years
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Greater level of support required
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to address family
violence and child sexual abuse, particularly in remote regions of WA
• Advocate for the needs of women and children escaping DFV with
temporary visa status, (457, 422 and NZ visas) who are ineligible for
government services and income support: Letter from State Minister,
Robyn Sweeney to Federal Minister for Immigration; A key
recommendation from WCDFVS for the WACOSS pre-budget submission
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Continued
• Increase support provided to women escaping domestic and family
violence who require drug and alcohol counselling and programs
• Supporting Women with Complex Needs (SWCN) Roundtable at
Parliament House
• A two day joint training for AOD and DFV sector workers held at Subiaco
Arts Centre which was attended by approx 70 workers. Included keynote
presentation from June Oscar, from Fitzroy Crossing who play a lead role in
bringing about ‘alcohol bans’ within the community
• SWCN Resource developed by WCDFVS and WANADA and made available
to DFV and AOD sector workers as a training resource
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WA Refuges On-line
• Implement the WA Refuges ‘online’ state-wide bed count
system through the WCDFVS website.
• Funding was secured from Lotterywest to develop and
implement the WA Refuges On-line which was launched in
October 2009.
• Up-graded to an IT system which replaced the previous
metropolitan Refuge Roster and included the ability for rural
and remote services to log in and record their available beds
each day
• DCP are now keen to expand the model to include youth and
general homeless sectors and will work with the WCDFVS on
shell design and appropriateness of relevant information as
will become a sector wide on-line system managed by DCP
and WCDFVS will have access to view bed counts each day
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Meetings and Workshops
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Executive Committee meetings (10 per year)
Bi-monthly Refuge Managers
Quarterly Training Workshops (DV Legal Unit)
Quarterly Refuge and DoH Managers
Quarterly SAH Meeting
Children’s Workers Meetings
Annual General Meeting
Special Meetings and Forums
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Workforce Development
• Conferences
• Supporting Children and Young People experiencing DFV
(Burswood On Swan) 3 days included:
• Showcasing of good practice models for by Refuge and DFV
Services for working with children and young people
• Impact of trauma and abuse on brain development of
children: Australian Childhood Foundation
• Australian Domestic Violence Clearinghouse, Good Practice
Officer, Ludo McFerran, Safe at Home forum
• Response-Based Practice (Tompkin on Swan) 2 days
Drs Allan Wade, Cathy Richardson and Linda Coates
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Projects
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FFF (Funds for Freedom)
HURT (interactive website, DVD and training guide)
Keeping Kids Safe
Safe at Home
Safety and Security for Women
Skills Recognition ($20,000 from DCP for 50% enrolment
subsidies/ airfares to R & R services from 1 Jan 11-31 Dec 2012)
• Speak Out (Peer Education)
• Supporting Women With Complex Needs
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Explore partnerships with service groups
and businesses
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Karrakatta Club
Momentum Women’s Forum
Soroptimists International
The Body Shop
Variety WA (TOYBANK)
WOW (WA Airport Corporation, Women’s
Committee)
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Advisory Groups and Committees
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Australian Services Union (WA Branch)
AWAVA (Australian Women Against Violence Alliance)
Case Management Coordination Services (CMCs)
Community Sector Roundtable
Senior Officer’s Group for Family & Domestic
Violence Unit
• National Plan Implementation Panel (NPIP)
• WESNET
• Women’s Advisory Network of WA
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Ensure a gendered analysis is maintained
• WCDFVS Position Paper on the Intimate Partner
Abuse of Men Research Report commissioned by
the Men’s Advisory Network (MAN); Attendance
at the MAN workshop
• Ensure policy advice and advocacy is relevant to
women and children experiencing domestic and
family violence
• Operate from a feminist perspective and
challenge gender neutral positions as it applies to
policy and programs for victims and perpetrators
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Rural & Remote
• Promote good practice pilots, projects and initiatives in rural and
remote areas to receive on-going funding eg. ‘Stronger Women’s
Group’ and ‘Safe Children are Strong Children’ (Roebourne Safe
House)
• Explore opportunities for face-to-face consultations and develop a
model that provides intensive support
• The Skills Recognition Project has worked with staff from Pat
Thomas House in Mandurah, Albany Women’s Centre, Goldfields
Refuge in Kalgoorlie and in 2011 will work with staff from Derby and
Port Hedland re: Certificate III & IV in Community Service Work
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Royalties for Regions
• Chrysalis Services in Geraldton has received funding
for building up-grade
• Is a pocket of funding for rural and remote services
to consider applying for it they have a need that
meets the criteria
• Safety and Security for Women grants are available
to women and children from rural and remote
services to access.
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State and National Plans
• WA Strategic Plan for Family & Domestic Violence 2009-2013
and Annual Action Plans
• National Plan to Reduce Violence Against Women and their
Children (2022) and three year Action Plans
• The Road Home A National Approach to Reduce Homelessness
(2020)
• The WCDFVS have representatives on all of the relevant
advisory groups and committees to have input into the
planning and implementation processes
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Concluding Statement
• The WCDFVS as the non-government peak body for Women’s
Refuges and Domestic and Family Services in WA has a key
role in providing a voice on DFV that facilitates and promotes
policy, legislative and program responses relevant to women
and children who have experienced DFV.
• As we move into the next decade of the 21st century it
appears that the community has the opportunity to build a
strong systemic response within laws and social policy that
opposes violence against women and children in all its forms
and challenges violence-supportive attitudes.
• .
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See our new website
www.womenscouncil.com.au
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