DFV integrated service system guide
Our understanding of integrating service systems and responses has developed over time, however there still remains confusion about what is meant by integrating service systems and responses and how this is achieved in practice.
The Domestic and family violence integrated service system guide (the guide) provides a common understanding and approach to integrated service systems and responses. It outlines how working in this way is best practice and improves outcomes for people impacted by domestic and family violence (DFV). It aims to support agencies and practitioners to work in an integrated way and provide integrated responses to DFV.
An integrated service system should provide a ‘no wrong door’ approach for victim-survivors, where responses are designed to meet the unique needs of the victim-survivor. It needs to be victim-survivor led and take a trauma-informed approach.
Working in an integrated way to respond to DFV has been found to be best practice. Integrated approaches can and do improve the safety of victim-survivors and their children through:
- increasing accuracy of risk assessment
- coordinating responses around safety, and
- reducing barriers experienced by victims in accessing support.
To do that well, agencies and organisations need to work collaboratively. Agencies need to understand how all parts of the service system function and need to build trust with other services and sectors over time. Common practices, processes and joint decision making ensure that responses are appropriate and seamless. To integrate our systems and responses it is essential to understand what is meant by integration and how to implement this approach in practice.
It is acknowledged that integration needs to occur across the service system, from a policy and strategic perspective to the individual practitioner level. Practitioners on the ground can build partnerships, approaches and individual capacity to improve responses, but this cannot happen effectively if changes to the system are not being made to improve integration.
This guide will cover integration needs across all levels of the service system.
How to use the guide
The guide is set out in 2 key parts.
Part 1
Part 1 is what we need to know about integration, including:
- the background and context to integration in Queensland
- definitions
- how integration is supported in Queensland by the DFV common risk and safety framework (the CRASF)
- roles and responsibilities of agencies and practitioners
- the benefits of working in an integrated way
- a victim-survivor led approach
- keeping the person using violence visible
- children and young people
- intersectionality
- being trauma-informed.
Part 2
Part 2 is about how we do integration in practice and covers:
- coordinated local integration with agencies and communities
- integration for agencies
- integration for practitioners.
Online training
An Integrated service systems online training model has been developed in partnership with the Queensland Centre for Domestic and Family Violence Research to help people to understand what is meant by integration, and how they can support and contribute to integrated service responses at the practitioner, agency and systems levels.
The module is designed to be self-paced and accessible at any time. It sits within the suite of CRASF training modules.