It is widely established that children’s exposure to domestic and family violence can have significant and damaging short- and long-term impacts on their development, health, behaviour, and psychological and emotional wellbeing. The co-occurrence or co-reporting of domestic and family violence and child harm often brings families into contact with the child protection system (the system)1 resulting in the reported prevalence of violence among this population being higher.
Since it was established, the Board has observed a high prevalence of child death cases2 where domestic and family violence was present and was a factor in system responses to the child and their family. In most cases, violence was not directly related to, or did not immediately precede, the child’s death. However, reviewing service delivery and responses to these children and families presents opportunities to identify recurring issues and discuss any changes required for improving systems and practices.
The Board reviewed a sample of agency and Board child death reports to analyse system responses to children and families in the year prior to the child’s death, and identify opportunities for improvements. This report outlines the findings from this review, supplemented by a review of Australian and international literature outlining what is known about service engagement (including perpetrator programs), comorbidity of risk factors and coordinated system responses to children and families who experience domestic and family violence. While based on a small sample of child deaths, findings highlight areas where system responses could be strengthened.