Domestic Violence Part I: The Positive Impact of FGDM for Families Experiencing Domestic Violence June Fisher, LSW

Family Group Decision Making Pennsylvania Mission The Mission of FGDM in PA is to facilitate local and statewide partnerships to engage and empower families in making decisions and plans that protect and nurture their members. Source: Pennsylvania Family Group Decision Making Toolkit: A Resource to Guide and Support Best Practice Implementation. Fall 2008.

Family Group Decision Making Pennsylvania Vision PA envisions families being empowered through the use of Family Group Decision Making as the standard for cross-system service delivery in Pennsylvania. Source: Pennsylvania Family Group Decision Making Toolkit: A Resource to Guide and Support Best Practice Implementation. Fall 2008.

Learning Outcomes Review how throughout Pennsylvania, Family Group Conferencing (FGC) has been utilized to safely engage and plan with families experiencing domestic violence. Review the safety concerns that exist when facilitating a conference with known elements of domestic violence. Review the positive outcomes that can be achieved associated with safely coordinating a FGC with known elements of domestic violence.

FGDM Core Values and Beliefs Support the Use of the FGDM Process When a Family Maybe/Is Experiencing DV Introductions 1) Name, Agency Role 2) Share how a core Family Group Decision Making (FGDM) Value or Belief supports the use of the FGDM process with families experiencing Domestic Violence (DV) 3) What would you like to review/learn during this workshop?

 Families have strengths and can change.  Strengths resolve concerns.  Strengths are discovered through listening, noticing, and paying attention to people. – L. Graber and J. Nice, Family Unity Model  Family members should be the primary decision makers for their family.  Empowering people is preferable to controlling them.  Empowering families will lead to families controlling their lives.  Family members know their families best.

 Families are the experts.  Children are best raised in families.  Families should be respected.  Mistakes are opportunities for growth and development.  All families have the greatest investment in seeing their children safe and successful.  All families have the ability to come together and solve family concerns.  All families have some resources they can count on to help them in times of need.   Families should choose which relatives, friends, and providers will attend their conference. Source:

Learning Outcome #1 Review how throughout Pennsylvania (and the world), Family Group Conferencing (FGC) has been utilized to safely engage and plan with families experiencing domestic violence.

“The question is not whether family group conference (FGC) works to stop domestic violence and child maltreatment, but rather how it can be made to work so that all family members are safeguarded” Source: Strang and Braithwaite (2002) ‬

Building Partnerships That Respect the Privacy of Families “Partnership can counter the isolation, fear and entrapment that are imposed by reoccurring intra-familial violence typically targeting women and children and that is engendered by social conditions and practices marginalizing certain populations” Source: Source: Strang and Braithwaite (2002) ‬

Power in Numbers “The conference, however, provided the opportunity for various women to band together across family and professional lines and to take leadership in undermining his influence” Source: Source: Strang and Braithwaite (2002) ‬

Engaging Batterers “Through the FTC, men who have been violent can link up with batterer intervention programs and other services that can support them in ending their violence, improve their relationships with their children, and address other needs such as employment or substance abuse treatment”. Source: Source: Strang and Braithwaite (2002) ‬

“In approving the plans, they ensured another safety checkpoint and also importantly authorized needed funding and resources.” “With an approved plan, through the sate authorities, community organizations, and family groups members could work together to resolve situations of family violence.” Source: Source: Strang and Braithwaite (2002) ‬ The Plan

Learning Outcomes #2 Review the safety concerns that exist when facilitating a conference with known elements of domestic violence.

FGDM Safety Concerns: Areas for Review 1. Prevention 2. Referral (Stage 1 of the FGDM Process) 3. Preparation (Stage 2 of the FGDM Process) 4. The Family Group Conference (Stage 3 of the FGDM Process) 5. Follow-up (Stage 4 of the FGDM Process – VITALLY IMPORTANT)

Prevention STRENGTHS What’s Working  Family  Referral Source  Coordinator  Community Partners/Stakeholders

Prevention CONCERNS We Can Improve  Family  Referral Source  Coordinator  Community Partners/Stakeholders

Prevention Planning 1. Consumers (including victims of DV) are on local or state planning committees? 2. Members of the local DV and Victim Advocacy agencies are on local or state planning committees? 3. Coordinators regularly consult with local or state (PCADV.org) DV professionals? 4. Coordinators and facilitators attend a workshop on Facilitating Safe FGC’s 5. Coordinators ask ALL possible FGC participants if they have any safety concerns

Referral (Stage 1 of the FGDM Process) STRENGTHS What’s Working  Family  Referral Source  Coordinator  Community Partners/Stakeholders

Referral (Stage 1 of the FGDM Process) CONCERNS We Can Improve  Family  Referral Source  Coordinator  Community Partners/Stakeholders

Preparation (Stage 2 of the FGDM Process) Strengths What’s Working  Family  Referral Source  Coordinator  Community Partners(Service Providers)/Stakeholders  Facilitators

Preparation (Stage 2 of the FGDM Process) CONCERNS We Can Improve  Family  Referral Source  Coordinator  Community Partners (Service Providers)/Stakeholders  Facilitators

The Family Group Conference (Stage 3 of the FGDM Process) Strengths What’s Working  Family  Referral Source  Coordinator  Community Partners(Service Providers)/Stakeholders  Facilitators

The Family Group Conference (Stage 3 of the FGDM Process) CONCERNS We Can Improve  Family  Referral Source  Coordinator  Community Partners/Stakeholders  FACILITATOR

CHALLENGES TO FAMILY TEAM CONFERENCES IN DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CASES Potential risks of participation by the abuser include: The survivor may feel limited in what she can safely say The survivor may give up trying to get what she wants and needs The survivor may agree to plans that she knows will put her or her children in danger The abuser may try to manipulate the proceedings Source:

Follow-up (Stage 4 of the FGDM Process – VITALLY IMPORTANT) Strengths What’s Working  Family  Referral Source  Coordinator  Community Partners(Service Providers)/Stakeholders  Facilitators

Follow-up (Stage 4 of the FGDM Process – VITALLY IMPORTANT) CONCERNS We Can Improve  Family  Referral Source  Coordinator  Community Partners/Stakeholders  Facilitator

Learning Outcomes #3 Review the positive outcomes that can be achieved associated with safely coordinating a FGC with known elements of domestic violence.

Recommendations A task force report recommended an approach to policy, practice and evaluation that: o Inclusive, dialogic, transparent and responsive. o Sustained and developed through constituencies and partnerships. o Developed from broad definitions of safety and security at the individual, family and community levels and embraces prevention. o Sensitive to the ways victims are blamed and re- traumatizing. o Based on respect for the privacy and confidentiality of victims personal information.

o Organized around the principle of holding perpetrators of domestic violence accountable. o Differentiated as to the type and level of violence in individual situations yet based on the need to standardize and promote consistency within and across settings and departments. o Continuously monitored thorough mechanisms of evaluation that are responsive to marginalized constituents and the changing needs over time. Source: Source: 2005 report from the Agency of Human Services Domestic Violence Task Force

Improved Cross Systems Collaboration “Through the FTC, men who have been violent can link up with batterer intervention programs and other services that can support them in ending their violence, improve their relationships with their children, and address other needs such as employment or substance abuse treatment”. Source:

Benefits 1) increasing the number of solutions to safety issues; 2) matching appropriate services to needs; 3) better informing the child welfare agency about the family’s strengths; 4) fostering coordination of services and supports; 5) eliminating duplication of services; 6) creating a system of support that will sustain the family over time; 7) holding community agencies accountable for providing the services they have promised.

Studies indicate that FTCs can also reduce rates of child abuse and domestic violence. In cases involving domestic violence, an FTC may decrease the likelihood that the children are removed from the non-offending parent, and increase the chances of children who have already been removed being safely reunified. Source:

FTCs Can Empower Families To: Recognize their strengths, Make decisions about the safety and well- being of the children, Rally services and informal community supports to address their needs. An adult victim who may not talk about domestic violence in the first FTC, may, after several safe FTCs, begin to discuss how domestic violence affects her and her children and get help from the team of participants to plan how she and her children can be safe in the future. Over time, FTCs can build a new team of support for the mother and the family. Enhance existing support networks, particularly during critical times like when a woman is leaving the shelter. Source:

Family team Conferences can also be used to engage abusers in changing their behaviors and in getting appropriate services. Gives advocates the opportunity to correct misconceptions that may come up in the meeting regarding domestic violence dynamics or the decisions or motives of the adult survivor. FTCs can serve as starting points for building a network of support for the adult and child victims They can be used for clarifying the agency’s expectations of the offending parent. Family members’ involvement in the development of their own service plan will likely increase the willingness of the family to follow through with the plan. Source: FAMILY TEAM CONFERENCES IN DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CASES GUIDELINES FOR PRACTICE

Sources and Resources Pennsylvania Child Welfare Resource Center. (2012). 207: Introduction to Family Group Decision Making (FGDM): Part I. Mechanicsburg, PA. Part1/Hndts/HO07_TheVlsAndBlfsOfFGDM.pdf Part1/Hndts/HO07_TheVlsAndBlfsOfFGDM.pdf Pennsylvania Family Group Decision Making Toolkit: A Resource to Guide and Support Best Practice Implementation. Fall M%20Evaluation%20PDFs/FGDM%20Toolkit.pdf Strang, H., and Braithwaite, J Restorative Justice and Family Violence, ‪ Cambridge University Press, J2002 ‬ LUCY SALCIDO CARTER, M.A., J.D., FAMILY TEAM CONFERENCES IN DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CASES GUIDELINES FOR PRACTICE df