CWSW was thrilled to launch the Code of Pratice for Specialist Family and Domestic Violence Services yesterday.
The Code of Practice for Specialist Family and Domestic Violence Services for Victim-Survivors provides ten guiding principles that exemplify best practice in service design and delivery for specialist family and domestic violence services working with adult and child victim-survivors. The Code of Practice development drew on the expertise of a multi-agency Expert Reference Group and specialist family and domestic violence services, government and sector partners, and victim-survivor advisors.
Specialist family and domestic violence services can use the Code and the Audit Tool for continuous quality improvement by evidencing their progress against the standards and indicators, identifying gaps and trends, and making action plans for organisational change and improvement. Services may wish to use the Code for a range of other activities such as:
- Strategic planning and visioning
- Developing policies and procedures
- Organisational change management processes
- Staff induction, supervision, and reflective practice
- Systemic advocacy for the rights of victim-survivors and role of specialist services.
- Internal and external education, training, and mentoring.
CWSW has developed an Implementation Plan to ensure all staff – from leadership and practice management to frontline practitioners – have role-relevant tools to align with the Code. Further information about the implementation plan and training schedules will be released shortly.
