MARAM practice guides

What MARAM practice guidance is being developed?

FSV have commenced the development of 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 own their own right and support their wellbeing in the context of family violence. The guidance will also 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?

FSV has engaged the following subject matter experts to support the development of content for both sets of practice guidance:

• Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare
• YSAS
• Centre for Innovative Justice
• RMIT
• Bendigo & District Aboriginal Co-operative (BDAC)
• Monash University

Monash University will undertake a project to engage directly with young people who have lived experience of family violence, which will include voices of young people from across diverse communities.

A project advisory group will be established, which will be made up of 6-7 youth advocates. If you are interested to learn more, please take a look at the project website.

Sector consultation has been held with around 200 professionals on responding to young people using family violence and direct engagement with children and young people as victim survivors, identifying both risk and wellbeing needs. To date consultation has occurred with professionals in child and family services, specialist family violence services, AOD, mental health, justice, courts, corrections and police.

A Request for Tender was released for the development of child and young person risk and wellbeing assessment tools. The tools will complement the practice guidance and be designed for use across all workforces prescribed for MARAM.

What is planned next?

Sector consultation will continue during Quarter 4, including consultation with professionals responding to children and young people experiencing family violence. This will include understanding experience of children and young people who have disabilities, are Aboriginal, LGBTIQ or culturally and faith-diverse. Professionals in education services will be consulted in August.

If you are interested in nominating to join this list please email your name, role, program area and organisation to infosharing@familysafety.vic.gov.au.

Links and resources