Working with Families Reflection
OMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, CHILD WELFARE, AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
SERVICE AGENCIES
Colleen MacPherson
Abstract: Although coordinated community responses to domestic violence are widely
encouraged in the literature as a best practice approach, collaboration between multiple
domestic violence response service agencies and government systems is often not
achieved. Because of the fragmentation of domestic violence services, this literature
review examines community engagement in general and the need for coordination
between child welfare agencies and women serving anti-violence services in particular.
The skills and strategies necessary for community engagement are explored along with
the historical relationship between the two service streams. Also included is a review of
the barriers to collaboration between child welfare and women serving agencies along
with recommendations to overcome these hurdles. By way of summation, a discussion is
provided on how information learned through this review process may be applied to
practice for Child and Youth Care Practitioners and others who take up the difficult task
of responding to the complex needs of families experiencing domestic violence.
