Children Living with Domestic Violence: A Differential Response through Multi-agency Collaboration

Developing appropriate pathways to assist children living with domestic and family violence (DFV) is challenging, particularly given the rise in police notifications to Child Protection (CP) relating to exposure to domestic violence. In this article, the argument is put that strong collaboration between organisations can provide a differential response in which only those children requiring an investigation are referred into CP, while all other children and their families are diverted to community-based organisations. This is foundational for the development of a more ethical and supportive response to children and their families living with DFV. The article draws on findings from a case study of the Multi-Agency Triage project in Melbourne, which developed through a collaborative risk assessment process a differential response to manage referrals of children living with DFV. The case study drew from observations of the triage, nine interviews, and analysis of administrative data.IMPLICATIONSStrong collaborations between organisations need to provide the foundation for differentiated referral pathways for children living with DFV based on informed risk assessment.Through multi-agency risk assessment, children and their families who do not meet the threshold for a child protection investigation can be diverted early into a community sector organisation for attention.