MARAM practice guidance

What MARAM practice guidance is being developed?

Family Safety Victoria (FSV) is developing the MARAM practice guidance for:

• direct risk and wellbeing assessment of children and young people victim survivors
• identifying and responding to young people using family violence in the home and in intimate partner/dating relationships (recognising young people using violence often experience family violence risk).

This new practice guidance will support workforces prescribed under the MARAM Framework to respond to children and young people as victim survivors in their own right and support their wellbeing in the context of family violence. The guidance will support professionals to respond to young people using violence with a trauma and violence-informed, and age and developmental stage lens. The practice guides and tools are anticipated for release in 2023.

What has been achieved so far?

In 2022, 37 consultation sessions were held to support the development of the child and young person-focused MARAM practice guidance.

The Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare, YSAS, Safe and Equal, RMIT University and Monash University were contracted to contribute to the development of the Practice Guides. Monash University, RMIT University and YSAS have now completed their work on the project.

In December 2022, RMIT published the Adolescents using Family Violence (AFV) MARAM Practice Guidance Project 2022: Review of the Evidence Base. The report, led by Elena Campbell, reviews the evidence base in relation to tools currently used to assess adolescent violence in the home (AVITH), adolescent intimate partner or ‘dating’ violence and harmful sexual behaviours.

In February 2023, Monash University published their report, I Believe You. The report presents findings from 17 in-depth interviews conducted with Victorian children and young people with lived/living experience of family violence.

What is happening now?

FSV is undertaking a thematic analysis of the consultation feedback and working collaboratively with The Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare and Safe and Equal to draft practice guidance across the 10 MARAM responsibilities. FSV will test draft material in consultation with workforces in 2023.

What is planned next?

In December 2022, ACCOs were invited to submit a funding submission to contribute to the development of the child and young person-focused MARAM Practice Guides and tools. The successful ACCO will ensure that the consultation and user testing is culturally safe and supported, and an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander lens is centred throughout the development of the Practice Guides and tools. Submissions closed 30 January 2023 and FSV is now evaluating submissions. The successful ACCO will be announced in February 2023.

A procurement process has commenced to secure a provider to develop the MARAM child and young person family violence risk and wellbeing identification and assessment tools. The Request for Quote closed on 10 February 2023. The successful provider will be announced in March 2023.

FSV will be testing draft material in consultation with workforces in 2023. If you would like to be involved in consultation, please contact infosharing@familysafety.vic.gov.au.

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