ESTIE: The Evidence to Support Safe and Together Implementation and Evaluation Project

ESTIE is an action research study that is simultaneously investigating and developing practitioner and organisational capacity to drive improvements in collaborative and holistic service provision for children and families living with DFV where parental issues of mental health and/or alcohol and other drug use co-occur.

This Practice Resource is designed for any worker practising at the intersections of domestic and family violence, mental health, and alcohol and other drug use, with families who are challenged by any or all of these issues. It provides detailed guidance, examples, and tips, and can be used, for example, in training and supporting staff, as a foundational reference for practice development, and continuous improvement.

The ESTIE Quick Reference Guide is a desktop prompt for workers practising at the intersections of domestic and family violence (DFV), mental health, alcohol and other drug use, and child protection. It is a quick reference companion document to the ESTIE Practice Resource and should not be used without reference to the fuller explanations contained in the ESTIE Practice Resource.

The ESTIE Research Report provides comprehensive details on the background, methodology, practice findings and implications of the ESTIE action research study that both investigated and developed practitioner and organisational capacity to drive improvements in collaborative and holistic service provision for children and families living with DFV where parental issues of mental health and/or alcohol and other drug use co-occur. The report is designed for policy makers, researchers and those interested in the research processes and findings from ESTIE, and includes discussion of capacity-building and practice change components of the project.

Researchers:

Chief Investigators: Cathy Humphreys; Margaret Kertesz;
Jasmin Isobe (UoM); Erin Links (UoM); Cherie Toivonen (CLT Byron Consulting); Lesley Laing (University of Sydney)

Funders: NSW Ministry of Health

Project Dates: 2020–2022

Contact: Margaret Kertesz

STACY for Children: Safe and Together Addressing ComplexitY focusing on children

STACY for Children (2019-20) involved two studies that investigated whether there was emerging evidence that the Safe & Together™ Model leads to better outcomes for children and families living with DFV and parental issues of alcohol and other drug misuse and/or mental health problems. Study 1 focused on interviews with those working and living at the intersections of these issues. Study 2 used child-case-level, de-identified administrative records to investigate whether the availability of the Safe & Together approach to practice was associated with positive outcomes for children and families in an Australian trial site where it had been proactively implemented.

Researchers:

  • Principal Investigator: Cathy Humphreys (University of Melbourne)
  • Lucy Healey (University of Melbourne)
  • Margaret Kertesz (University of Melbourne)
  • Arno Parolini (University of Melbourne)
  • Wei Wu Tan (University of Melbourne)
  • Jasmin Isobe (University of Melbourne)
  • Colleen Jeffreys (University of Melbourne)
  • Anna Bornemisza (University of Melbourne)
  • Larissa Fogden (University of Melbourne)
  • Susan Heward-Belle (University of Sydney)
  • Lesley Laing (University of Sydney)
  • Cherie Toivonen (University of Sydney)
  • Menka Tsantefski (Griffith University)
  • Patrick O’Leary (Griffith University)
  • Amy Young (Griffith University)

Partners:

  • Queensland Department of Child Safety
  • Youth and Women
  • Odyssey House
  • Anglicare Victoria
  • Jannawi Family Centre

Funder: ANROWS

Project Dates: 2019–2020

Contact: Cathy Humphreys

Publications: