Domestic Abuse Response Team is an innovative new approach with police and child protection services working together to reduce domestic violence Situated in NSW, Australia

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• Early Intervention

  This involves working in a preventative way for non-chronic families in domestic violence situations where child protection issues are present. These will often include first time victims and offenders. The team identifies families via police child at risk reports made following a call-out to a domestic violence incident. The early joint response from DOCS and Police means families can be seen as early as within a day of the incident. Early intervention supports the victims from the time of the offence and through the court process.
  
  Before DART, victims often would not appear at court having been dissuaded by perpetrators from following through with an Apprehended Violence Order (AVO). Before DART these reports from Police would have been a lower priority for DOCS staff and many of these families would not have been seen. Since DART commenced EI in August 2003 (as of 30/6/05) we have attended 398 Joint Home visits (Where the parties concerned have children), and 360 Police Only home visits (No children).
  
  EI involves not only the Victim and the Defendant being linked into services, but also the children who are being by living in an environment where there is Domestic Violence. EI aims at preventing these families from developing into families who experience chronic Domestic Violence and from needing the services such as our Intensive Case Management Clients.

• Intensive Case Management

  This includes case plans, ongoing support, compulsory education programmes and linking with key community partners in providing for families' identified needs. DART has a discretionary brokerage fund with which to arrange or purchase these additional supports for families. Police attached to DART ensure that the AVO's that have been applied for are being adhered to and not breached through their DV Arrest Team and Monthly Operations targeting these Perpetrators. We have seen a dramatic decline in DV experienced within these families since DART commenced working with them. One family had 44 reported DV incidences reported to the Police in 2 years, and have not had one since we started working with them in June 2003. There are many other families that have had similar results to this family.
  
  The lessons learned from this innovative approach are valuable and worth sharing. It is a different approach working with all members of the family and raises issues for workers and agencies about "who is the client?" It challenges existing ways of working with women, men and children. DART educates parents on the impact of violence on children and brings their needs and issues to the forefront. DART takes the pressure off women to seek AVO's as in many cases it is the police and DOCS who are pursuing the matter.
  
  DART staff are very active in explaining this to perpetrators and victims, ie the choice to withdraw is not always an option. This can be controversial and raises salient issues re choice, responsibility and the primacy of the needs of children. The Domestic Abuse Response Team (DART) is a joint initiative between the Department of Community Services, Wyong and New South Wales Police Tuggerah Lakes Area Command. This three year pilot program provides an integrated response to domestic violence for all family members including offenders and children.
  

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