In 2019, ATODA worked in partnership with 360Edge who were engaged by the ACT Health Directorate to undertake an assessment of the domestic and family violence (DFV) capabilities of ACT specialist alcohol and other drug services.
The project was intended to assist specialist AOD services to reflect on their current capabilities to respond to service users experiencing or using domestic and family violence. The project used the Domestic and Family Violence Capability Assessment Tool (DFVCAT), which was developed by the ACT ATOD sector in 2017, to conduct assessments of DFV response capabilities in ten AOD programs across the range of specialist AOD services.
The project provided participating programs with detailed feedback on their current DFV response capabilities and provided recommendations for enhancing these capabilities in line with their service types and scopes of practice. A sector-level report to the ACT Health Directorate also provided recommendations on potential measures to enhance sector-wide DFV response capabilities.
The resources developed during the 2017 AOD Safer Families Program, including the Domestic and Family Violence Capability Assessment Tool (DFVCAT), are available at https://www.atoda.org.au/dfvtools/