Child, Youth and Family and the National Collective of Women’s Refuges (NCIWR) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) formalising the working relationship between the two organisations. 

“The MOU is the first formal alignment with a government agency undertaken by the National Collective,” Heather Henare, National Manager NCIWR, said. “This agreement recognises that we have a shared interest and expertise in the area of family violence.

“The National Collective and Child, Youth and Family have a history of successful collaboration at both local and national levels.  Over the past ten years the organisations have worked with police to develop and implement a Child Abuse Reporting Protocol and a world leading three day training package ‘Family Violence: An Introduction to an Inter-Agency Approach’,” Ms Henare said.

“This MOU will help us formalise, define and increase understanding of each other’s role in promoting the rights of families and children to be safe from family violence. We can do this by recognising the value of collaboration as well as enhance the quality and scope of policy initiatives and service delivery that can be produced and shared for the benefit of the community,” Ms Henare said.

“Child, Youth and Family are already collaborating with the women’s refuges,” Child, Youth and Family Deputy Chief Executive Ray Smith said.  “This MOU recognises the importance and value of the partnership between our two organisations, and the opportunities that exist to improve responses for women, children and families experiencing or affected by domestic violence.”

“We recognise that many of the families that we work with are clients of both organisations.  By working together we can get a better understanding of a family’s circumstances and ensure that they get the right level of intervention at the right time. 

“The refuges are experts in family violence and around the country we’re drawing on their expertise.  Often the best outcome is that the family gets the support they need without ending up in our system,” Mr Smith said.

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