Fund training and education programs for disability workers

The department’s disability workforce have been trained to recognise and respond to family violence. Training is also available as part of the phased rollout of the Family Violence Risk Assessment and Risk Management (MARAM) Framework for workers in prescribed organisations.

Phase 2 MARAM organisations will be prescribed from 2021 and will include service providers delivering forensic disability services, including the department through its Disability Forensic Assessment and Treatment Service; disability justice coordination teams and the state-wide access service; and funded service providers delivering residential services under the Disability Act 2006.

A Skills First-funded, accredited family violence training Unit has been developed to be delivered through the Vocational Education and Training system.

The department and Family Safety Victoria continue to work with the disability sector and the Commonwealth Government to acknowledge the importance of disability workers being trained in identifying and responding to family violence.

MARAM aims to continue to upskill the disability workforce so workers can better identify and report family violence among people with disabilities. MARAM Collaborative Practice Training has been funded and delivered from 2019 for all professionals who respond to family violence, including disability workers. This course focuses on both collaborative practice and the foundational aspects of MARAM that enable collaboration. Training is delivered by Principal Strategic Advisors in the 17 DHHS areas.

Through its contract with Women with Disabilities Victoria, the Department of Health and Human Services continued to provide Family Violence and Disability Learning Program for frontline disability staff. Nine sessions were run across Melbourne and regional Victoria in 2019, training 115 staff. More sessions have been made available in 2020 to cater to any further requests for training.

An accredited course, 22510VIC - Course in Identifying and Responding to Family Violence Risk, has been developed so training is available to deliver the knowledge and skills for workforces intersecting with family violence, including disability workers.

The course is aligned with the MARAM framework, and the Responding to Family Violence Capability Framework and the Preventing Family Violence and Violence Against Women Capability Framework

The Course In Identifying and Responding to Family Violence Risk comprises the family violence unit VU22733 - Identify and provide initial response to family violence risk and provides core foundational family violence knowledge and skills. It captures MARAM responsibilities 1 and 2, which cover identifying family violence risk, appropriate referral and effectively engaging those accessing services

There is an exemption from the eligibility criteria for this training to support broad up-take of this course.

The unit will also be delivered as part of five Victorian accredited courses funded to upskill the disability under Keeping our Sector Strong: Victoria’s workforce plan for the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

Implemented