Presentation by Programs Director Trevor King at the ATODA symposium: Promoting Safety and Prioritising Domestic and Family Violence in the ACT Alcohol and Other Drug Sector.

1. ATODA: Domestic & Family Violence –
AOD Conference.
Canberra May 24, 2017
Trevor King; Director of Programs

2. ReGen Services Overview
ReGen (previously Moreland Hall) has been providing AOD
services in the northern suburbs of Melbourne for 47 years.
Current services include:
• Intake and assessment (in collaboration with Odyssey House).
• Adult and Youth residential & non-residential withdrawal services
(including a Mothers & Babies Unit).
• Counselling (Youth/adult; standard/complex)
• Six week therapeutic day programs (Catalyst & Torque).
• Prison-based (Port Phillip) and community forensic services.
• Youth and Family services (including Supported Playgroups).
• Education and Training (RTO based competency training and other).
• Client psycho-educational courses (Drug & Drink Drive; Low-risk
offender; Methamphetamine Personal Education and Family First Aid;
etc.).
Many opportunities to identify and respond to Family Violence issues.

3. The Victorian Context
1. Victorian Auditor General’s scathing report of
AOD policy and operations (2011).
2. AOD Service Sector reform - planning
commenced in 2012 and new services
commenced in Sept 2014.
• Shift of resources to the most vulnerable
• Emphasis on collaborations
• Catchment-based, centralised Intake and
Assessment functions.
3. Further changes to Intake & Assessment in 2017
(return to de-centralised, agency level
assessment).
4. Victorian Royal Commission into Family Violence
(2016). $1.9 billion (and a ten-year investment
plan) to implement 227 recommendations
(prevention, safe housing access, safety hubs,
workforce development, etc.)
Summary - More focus on the most complex, greater
expectations of FV identification & responses (within
AOD services and in collaboration with others)

4. Mandated Intake & Assessment Processes
Brief screening process (by
phone or f2f) to determine need for
AOD assessment or referral to
other services.
Family Violence related questions
Section 2: Risk
• Q 23. History/risk of aggression to others/
• Yes/No – Details
• Q 24. Concern about harm from
others/family violence
• Yes/No – If yes, details of safety plan
? Reliability of self reporting (at this stage of
an intake process)

5. Assessment
Section 4. Risk
4B Harm to or from others
(assaults, family violence,
children present, threats to kill,
sexual)
• In the past 4 weeks have you been violent
(including domestic violence) towards
someone?
• In the past 4 weeks has anyone been
violent (including domestic violence)
towards you?
• Are dependent children safe?
? Reliability of self reporting – based on
judgements about potential consequences.

6. Optional Family Violence Assessment
Module
• This optional module is oriented
towards those victim survivors of
family violence and would be a
follow-up to a disclosure of FV in
the initial assessment.
• To an inexperienced clinician this
is the collection of minimum data
(and of limited value).
Victorian mandated assessment tools
available at: https://www2.health.vic.gov.au/alcohol-
and-drugs/aod-treatment-services/pathways-into-aod-
treatment/intake-assessment-for-aod-treatment

7. Specific ReGen Family Services
• Behavioural Family
Consultations.
• Single session family
consultations.
• Supported Playgroups.
• Methamphetamine Family First
Aid Program (group psycho-
education session).
Bouverie Centre -
http://www.bouverie.org.au/support-for-services/our-
specialist-areas/specialist-area-structured-family-
inclusive-practices
ReGen resources -
http://www.regen.org.au/treatment-
support/family-services

8. Our Observations
Intake and Assessment processes
• The screening process is brief and not conducive to FV disclosure.
• The current assessment process is onerous and time pressured.
• Intake and Assessment workers are often relatively inexperienced
new graduates.
• We conduct a daily multi-disciplinary clinical review process prior to
finalising a course of treatment. An opportunity to review FV, Child
safety concerns etc.
• For some clients their experience FV is the most pressing current
issue. Immediate action from staff to address risk and safety
concerns is the priority. We have good capacity to respond.
• For others the experience of current/past family violence is not
reported at the screening or assessment stage of the treatment
engagement process.
• Perpetration of FV is seldom revealed at this stage of the
treatment engagement process.

9. Observations continued
Treatment
• Disclosure is sometimes forthcoming as a trusting therapeutic alliance
develops (victim survivor/perpetrator).
• Confidence to ask questions and to provide advice and interventions in
one to one and group sessions critical (and a challenge for our less
experienced staff).
Training
• Recruitment in AOD in Victoria is difficult and we are increasingly
employing new graduates (usually without postgrad/professional
registration).
• New graduates are underprepared (for AOD and FV).
• Some experienced supervision expertise has been lost in recent years.
• There is an under-investment in AOD professional development in
Victoria.
• Experienced staff who have FV training routinely request more.
• Staff are more comfortable working with victim survivors compared to
perpetrators.
• Staff are more comfortable addressing FV in one to one
counselling compared to groups.

10. A practical resource for AOD clinicians
This 2013 Odyssey – NCETA
resource provides valuable
strategies for AOD workers to
engage with clients around
domestic and family violence
issues.
Available online at:
http://nceta.flinders.edu.au/files/2713/6615/823
2/EN488_2013_White.pdf

11. Training - Common Risk Assessment Framework
(CRAF)
CRAF training is the ReGen preferred FV
professional development strategy.
Practice Guide 1 – Identifying family violence
for professionals in mainstream settings.
Practice Guide 2 - Professionals who work
with victims of family violence and
undertake risk assessments – not their
only core business.
Practice Guide 3 - family violence
professionals who work with women and
children who are victims of family violence.
All 3 are suitable for AOD clinicians
http://www.thelookout.org.au/training-
events/craf/materials-resources

12. Collaborations with others
ReGen has collaborated with the Self Help
Addiction Resource Centre (Family Drug
Help) for 9 years to provide the Action for
Recovery (ARC) 6 session group program
for families with a member experiencing
AOD related problems.
There are opportunities throughout the
program for family members to identify,
discuss and respond appropriately to
domestic & family violence risks – drawing
on the experience of others.
http://sharc.org.au/wp-content/uploads/
2014/03/ARC-Brochure-new1-2013.pdf

13. Risk Assessment & Management Panels
• RAMPs are a formally convened local meetings
designed to enable a rapid, coordinated multi-agency
approach to protecting women and children that are
experiencing serious risk to their life, health or safety.
• Those referred require a comprehensive risk
assessment and a coordinated action plan.
• Core members of these panels include Victoria
Police, Specialist FV services, Mental Health, AOD,
Child Protection, Corrections and others.
• A core RAMP principle is that men will be prevented
from perpetrating harm and held accountable for their
violent actions and threats.
• ReGen was involved in the first RAMP demonstration
project in Victoria’s Hume Region in 2011.
• In 2014, 17 new RAMPS were funded – one in each
health region in Victoria.
RAMP Information -
http://www.thelookout.org.au/resources/family-violence-other-
professionals/risk-assessment-and-management-panels-ramps

14. Caring Dads
• As some men engaged in a therapeutic AOD
treatment process they disclosed that they were
abusive to their children and partners.
• Funding sought to establish a voluntary group-
based therapeutic program to assist men to change
their abusive behaviours.
• Collaboration between ReGen, Children’s
Protection Society, University of Toronto and
Melbourne University.
• A 17 week manualised, group-based program to
hold men accountable for their actions and assist
them to improve their behaviour through the lens of
becoming a better dad.
• Pilot funded (state government and Gandel
philanthropy) to adapt, implement and evaluate the
Caring Dads Program over 3 Victorian sites.
Caring Dads Information: http://www.caringdads.org/m-
overview.htm

15. Other ReGen Involvement - AOD
& Sexual Assault
• 2016 Collaboration between the Aust
Institute of Family Studies, ReGen &
Victorian Centres Against Sexual
Assault (CASA)
• Acknowledgment that AOD use and
sexual assault have a complex
association and that clients of each
service system may require
assistance from or referral to the
other.
• Also acknowledgement that our
response to these issues has been
siloed.
Resource available at:
https://aifs.gov.au/publications/establishing-the-connection-
guidelines

16. What else do we need to do?
• 26 UnitingCare agencies in Victoria and Tasmania are currently
merging into a single ‘Uniting’ Organisation. Providing collaborative
treatment and educational opportunities across AOD, Child and
Family services.
• Access to Family Violence professional development funding pool
to further develop AOD staff capabilities (practice and supervision).
• Seek funding and collaborative opportunities to provide women
only programs for those with concurrent AOD and FV concerns.
• Continue to expand our involvement in earlier intervention
therapeutic programs for FV perpetrators.

17. Questions?
Thanks
tking@regen.org.au
http://www.regen.org.au/