Abstract:

The STACY for Children project (2019–20) involved two studies that investigated whether there was emerging evidence that the Safe & Together™ Model, where it is implemented holistically, is leading to better outcomes for children and families living with domestic and family violence (DFV) and parental issues of alcohol and other drugs (AOD) use and/or mental health (MH) problems.

Study 1 focused on listening to the voices of those working and living at the intersection of DFV, AOD and MH. Researchers
gathered perspectives from practitioners and from clients from participating organisations about the implementation of an all-of-family approach to practice (i.e. each family member receiving attention or a service at intake).

Study 2 explored the implementation of the Safe & Together (S&T) approach in a particular trial site where a specialist worker is placed to support and inform the child protection process from a DFV-informed perspective. It used child case-level, de-identified administrative records to investigate whether the availability of the S&T Model as an approach to practice was associated with positive outcomes for children and families in an area where it had been proactively implemented.

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Researchers: Humphreys, C., Parolini, A., Healey, L., Kertesz, M., Tsantefski, M., Heward-Belle, S., O’Leary, P., Isobe, J., Tan, W. W., Jeffreys, C., Bornemisza, A., Young, A., Fogden, L.

Year: 2020