Wellington City Libraries Palm Tree Blossoming of Our Children - Kia Puawai Ngā Tamariki - 10th Australasian Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect

The Child Crisis Team: A model of Intervention for children who witness Family Violence

Author

Holly Carrington , Katy Reeves

Speaker

Holly Carrington

Organisation

Preventing Violence In The Home


This presentation will discuss the Child Crisis Team model of intervention for children who witness family violence that has been developed, piloted, and evaluated over the last two years. Concerns about the poor uptake in therapeutic services by these children, led Preventing Violence in the Home in Auckland to commence piloting the Child Crisis Team, a service which is unique in New Zealand. Although traumatised, children who witness violence in the home are generally not seen as a high priority by Child Youth & Family Services, and may languish on the unallocated list for a very long time. When they are finally seen, it is often the case of too little, too late. Establishment of the Child Crisis Team was greatly influenced by an observation made by a Canadian children's programme that 'women stay in dangerous relationships because of their children and they leave because of their children too'.

The Child Crisis Team responds promptly to incidents reported to the police, is proactively offered to families, is free, in their homes and at times convenient to them. The CCT was designed to be a brief and structured intervention of three visits. The goal of the programme was to reduce the level of repeat violence and stress on children in these homes, by giving families an opportunity to understand the impact on their children.

We will discuss the Child Crisis Team model and findings from its evaluation by the Injury Prevention Research Centre, including issues around:

  • Demand for the programme within the Auckland region (referrals have been primarily from local Police and CYFS),
  • Uptake of the programme by caregivers, and statistical information on ethnicity of caregivers (usually mothers), children, and perpetrators (usually fathers)
  • History and impact of abuse on children
  • Major advantages of providing short-term crisis support
  • Impact of the Child Crisis Team - overall, in 42% of cases, CCT advocates report that there are positive changes in the children's wellbeing after the initial three visits

Presentation

Poster

Biography

Holly Carrington, currently Preventing Violence in the Home Services Manager and Senior Trainer. Experience with Preventing Violence in the Home includes: Crisisline/Callout Volunteer Advocate, Accredited Men's Stopping Violence Programme Facilitator and Programme Coordinator, coordination/development/delivery of 8-day intensive training for volunteers, six-month audit of Auckland City Police District response to family violence, Community Liaison and SAFTINET Coordinator, development of training resources and professional training packages, delivery of range of professional/community/workplace training. Previously worked in California in the field of environmental advocacy and community development, in organizational development, fundraising, and directing campaigns. Katy Reeves, currently Child Crisis Team Coordinator. In this role, coordinates and supervises team of Child and Women's Advocates, liaises with referral agencies, offers the programme to caregivers, promotes the programme, and works with other community agencies to improve referrals from the Child Crisis Team to other agencies as needed by families. Previously worked as a Care and Protection Social Worker with Child Youth and Family.