The Common Screening of Risk Framework is a project funded by the Commonwealth Attorney General’s Department, to develop a standardised process for frontline screening of safety and identification of other risks, for clients across the family law system. It is being undertaken by the Australian Institute of Social Relations (AISR) (the training division of Relationships Australia South Australia), in association with Family Transitions, a clinical and research organisation specialising in the study of complex family separation. This screening of risk framework will help frontline family law professionals to detect and respond to safety and well-being risks in families at the point of entry into their services.
A key aim of the project is to create a shared understanding across all disciplines, in the Family Law System, about the predictors of risks to safety, how they can be better identified and how to effectively respond to these risks.
There are three distinct but related components of this project:
- The common screening of risk framework including a frontline screening tool and risk identification framework
- A software program which analyses input from the standardised screening process and provides a PDF report which will flag the evident risks and provides simple recommendations in relation to follow up assessment and other important responses, and
- A training package that will support implementation of the common screening of risk framework, by a range of practitioners within the family law system.
The common screening of risk framework will be simple, practical and flexible enough to meet the needs of different professionals, locations and client demographics. It will also facilitate the referral of clients to appropriate services when required.
Should you have other questions or input about this project, please contact Pam Carden through her email p.carden@rasa.org.au or via phone on (08) 8245 8100.
Thank you for supporting the development of this tool – we look forward to learning from your feedback.
Project Co-Directors Claire Ralfs, PhD., Relationships Australia (SA) and Jennifer McIntosh, PhD., Family Transitions.