Responding to Domestic and Family Violence in the Context of Child Protection: Advanced Understanding and Leadership

This course contributes to strengthening the Department for Child Protection’s response to children, young people and families experiencing domestic and family violence.

The course is designed for staff in leadership positions (Senior Practitioners, Practice Leaders, Principal Aboriginal Consultants and other relevant staff).

Course participants will build leadership capacity to respond to, and improve outcomes for, children and families who experience domestic and family violence in the context of child protection.

When it's run
1 August – 30 December 2022

Duration
Six months, part-time

Mode of delivery
Blended Learning Mode (online content and in-person masterclasses at Flinders University’s Victoria Square campus).

All participants must attend three Masterclasses.

Masterclass dates:
Masterclass 1 - 13th or 20th September (9:15am - 1 pm)

Masterclass 2 - 18th or 25th October (9:15am - 1 pm)

Masterclass 3 - 15th or 22nd November (9:15am - 1 pm)

To enrol, contact Amy Selway.

E: amy.selway@sa.gov.au

Enrol now

Who should attend?

This offering is open to practitioners in senior positions and other key staff within the South Australian Department for Child Protection.

It is envisaged the course will be opened to other participants in 2023.

Course content

During this course you will:

Enhance your specialised skills in responding to children, young people and families experiencing DFV;
Further develop a shared language and understanding of DFV to inform your work with children, young people, and families with complex needs;
Develop your awareness, skills and strategies in strengthening collaborative interagency partnerships;
Develop and refine your skills in leading, modelling and mentoring child protection practice that is domestic and family violence informed; and
Develop strategies for improving practice outcomes for children, young people, and their families who are experiencing domestic and family violence.

Learning outcomes

On completion of this course, you will:

Demonstrate an in-depth and advanced understanding of the dynamics of DFV in the context of child protection that is both child-centred and inclusive of intersectionality, power, gender;
Critically analyse statutory responses and demonstrate practice leadership by applying a DFV informed lens, that is both trauma and culturally responsive;
Demonstrate integrity and capacity in working collaboratively with partner agencies and community with children, young people, families, and community; and
Demonstrate high-level leadership skills to promote and advance cultural and practice change.

Assessment

Assessment will comprise both written and skills-based assessments.

Recognition

This is a professional development course and participants will be awarded a certificate demonstrating their participation and completion of the course.

A collaborative project building skills and capacity

The traumatic impacts of domestic and family violence on children have been well established in research, both nationally and internationally. A large proportion of the children receiving services from the Department for Child Protection are, or have been, exposed to domestic and family violence; strengthening responses, and ensuring that these are grounded in current evidence, is therefore critical. Developed as part of a collaborative project between Flinders University’s Social Work Innovation Research Living Space (SWIRLS) and the South Australian Department for Child Protection, this course aims to, both, support the leadership of key DCP staff in this area, and build the skills and capacities of DCP staff more generally, equipping them to respond appropriately to domestic and family violence in the lives of children and their families.

This course is informed by contemporary research, evidence, and peer-reviewed literature

You will learn from experts in the field who have, between them, over 30 years experience in social work practice and management (including within the Department for Child Protection), and hold key leadership roles at Flinders University’s Social Work Innovation Research Living Space (SWIRLS) - Australia’s highly esteemed centre for social work research

The course is a custom-designed professional development opportunity to meet the needs of practitioners in senior positions involved in the management of domestic and family violence in the context of child protection.