State of knowledge The PATRICIA Project: PAThways in Research In Collaborative Inter-Agency working:
State of knowledge
This paper presents the state of knowledge on practices or processes used by child protection services and specialist domestic violence services or family law services to work better together and improve service responses for women and children living with and separating from family violence.
State of knowledge
A framework of interagency working was used to help identify the types of interagency components – including infrastructure and service components – involved in each model. Processes taken to support or facilitate the interface with child protection were also considered.
The paper identified 24 models of interagency working involving some degree of child protection involvement. It found that while working together towards similar goals for families seems a logical way of improving processes to reduce fragmentation, gaps, overlap and redundancies in service provision, there is currently insufficient evidence that these changes improve outcomes for children and families.
Key recommendations arising from this paper include investing more funding and support into evaluation and implementation of models, and considering evidence for interagency models outside this field where there may have been more rigorous evaluations.
Publication details
This work is part of the ANROWS Landscapes series. ANROWS Landscapes (State of knowledge papers) are medium length papers that scope current knowledge on an issue related to violence against women and their children. Papers will draw on empirical research, including research produced under ANROWS’s research program, and/or practice knowledge.
Authors
DR MICHELLE MACVEAN
Senior Research Specialist, Knowledge Synthesis Practice Group Leader, Parenting Research Centre
PROF CATHY HUMPHREYS
Professor of Social Work, The University of Melbourne
DR LUCY HEALEY
Senior Research Fellow, The University of Melbourne Ms Bianca Albers, Director, Parenting Research Centre
DR ROBYN MILDON
Director, Parenting Research Centre
PROF MARIE CONNOLLY
Chair and Head of Social Work, The University of Melbourne
DR ARNO PAROLINI
Research Specialist, Parenting Research Centre
MS SOPHIA SPADA-RINALDIS
Research Assistant, Parenting Research Centre
ISBN: 978-1-925372-22-9 (print) 978-1-925372-27-4 (online)
69 pp.
Suggested citation
Macvean, M., Humphreys, C., Healey, L., Mildon, R., Connolly, M., Parolini, A., & Spada-Rinaldis, S. (2015). The PATRICIA Project: PAThways in Research In Collaborative Inter-Agency working: State of knowledge paper (ANROWS Landscapes, 14/2015). Sydney, NSW: ANROWS.