Preventing domestic violence – Multi-agency risk assessment (MARAC)

• In MARAC working groups, information is generally not recorded in client records systems.
• You will keep meeting minutes and use them to monitor the progress of actions taken by the working group.
• The focus of the working group is on improving the safety of the victim and any children involved. Information about the perpetrator is not intended to be discussed in the meetings.
• You may discuss violence disclosed by an adult, as adults participate in MARAC based on their own consent. Issues related to child custody may also be addressed in the meetings.

As chair, you will lead the MARAC working group meetings. The work is based on cooperation between various authorities and parties. Your task is to ensure that the working group operates in a consistent, open, and responsible manner.

Consistency

• Ensure that all necessary parties are present.
• Ensure that everyone knows their role and responsibilities.
• Follow up to ensure that the agreed measures are implemented between meetings.

Openness

• Make sure that the processing criteria and members' tasks are clear.
• Use discretion when it comes to the number of cases handled – keep the workload manageable and consistent.

Responsibility

• If the client is not present at the meeting, appoint a person who will bring the client's information to the meeting securely.
• Also designate a person to inform the client of the proposed measures (e.g., a support person or the employee who conducted the risk assessment) if the client does not attend the meeting.
• Create an atmosphere where everyone takes responsibility: attendance, completion of measures, recording and sharing of information.

Your key responsibilities as chair

• Sharing information: Make sure that all relevant information is brought to light and that the different parties hear one another's views on the situation.
• Safety plan: Guide the working group in drawing up a plan and measures for professionals to improve the victim's safety.
• Coordination of services: Encourage actors to offer services, but ensure that they come from the most appropriate parties, not just the most active ones.

Chair's checklist for MARAC meetings

1. Meeting atmosphere

Send the list of cases to the participants in advance in a secure manner (including clients' personal identification numbers).

At the beginning of the meeting:

• Introduce new representatives.
• Briefly explain how the meeting will proceed.
• Remind participants of their confidentiality obligations.
• Emphasise that the focus will be on risk assessment and management, not on details.

2. Follow-up on ongoing cases

• Before the meeting, ask the secretary to check the status of the agreed measures.
• During the meeting, bring up any incomplete or unimplemented measures and record them in the minutes.

3. Promote the exchange of essential information

• Encourage everyone to participate and share their information concisely.
• Ensure that the client’s needs and views are taken into account.
• Make sure the support person can provide information during the meeting if necessary.

4. Focus on risk

• Encourage participants to share information related to the current risk and the safety of vulnerable parties (e.g., children). Also consider the safety of professionals.
• Summarise the identified risks once all information has been shared.
• Ensure that no essential information or risks have been overlooked.

5. Ensure a high-quality safety plan

• Identify the measures required to address the identified risks and name any risks that cannot be managed.
• Check that the measures are appropriate and timely.
• Determine the parties who will contact the victim to inform them of the agreed measures in meetings where the victim is not present, and ensure that the contact is made safely.

6. Assess the effectiveness of the plan

• Ask: Do the measures increase the victim’s safety and encourage their future commitment to the support?
• Ensure that the MARAC working group has made use of all appropriate resources to protect the victim and other vulnerable individuals (including children).

7. Collaborate with the secretary

• Allocate time to review shared matters before the meeting.
• Identify questions and obstacles that reduce MARAC’s effectiveness and agree on corrective actions.
• Ensure that agendas and minutes are sent to all partner organisations. Minutes must not include the full names of the victim or the perpetrator – use first names only.

8. Promote local training

Together with the person coordinating violence prevention work in the wellbeing services county and the MARAC secretary, ensure that training on risk identification and the MARAC process is organised locally.

In social work, you will encounter clients who have experienced domestic or intimate partner violence. Always address the issue of violence with the client. When violence has come to light, assess its severity and offer support.

MARAC helps you:

• Systematically assess the severity of violence.
• Obtain broader information about the client’s situation from other professionals.
• Identify concrete safety measures to prevent the recurrence of violence.

As a professional in social work, you will present information about the violence from the victim’s perspective. You can speak openly about violence disclosed by an adult, as adults participate in MARAC based on their own consent. The risk assessment form also includes questions about the situation of children—make sure to address this information.

Work closely with other MARAC groupteam members to improve the victim’s safety. Provide social work services to the client according to their needs. If necessary, refer the client to services offered by other parties.

During the meeting, it will be agreed who will maintain contact with the client going forward. If some measures  are assigned to social work, your organisation’s representative will relay this information back to you.

The MARAC risk assessment form helps you assess the severity of violence in a family. The MARAC process guides actions that prevent both adults and children from becoming victims of violence.

Through the MARAC meeting, you gain a broad perspective on how the situation has appeared to other authorities and professionals. Domestic violence always affects children, even if they are not the ones directly experiencing it. At the MARAC meeting, you will receive information about the family’s situation from other participants, regardless of whether the family has had a client relationship with child welfare services prior to the meeting. This enables more comprehensive decision-making and supports your further work with the family.

The role of child welfare services in the MARAC meeting

• Share information about any violence disclosed by the client. You can speak openly about violence reported by an adult, as adults participate in MARAC based on their own consent.
• Detailed issues concerning children are not discussed in the meeting, but children are considered when creating the safety plan.
• Present information related to custody arrangements during the meeting.

Focus on improving the safety of children and work closely with other parties. Refer the adult to the services of other support organisations. Children can be offered help, for example, in the form of various types of therapy. Offer concrete assistance to support the family in coping with everyday life (e.g., housekeeping).

During the meeting, it will be agreed who will maintain contact with the client in the future if the client is not present. If it is agreed that some measures will be taken in child welfare services, the representative of child welfare services will inform the relevant employee about the measures. Completing the risk assessment form may lead to a client relationship through an anticipatory child welfare notification.

Many clients of healthcare services are subjected to domestic or intimate partner violence. However, they rarely seek help directly for issues caused by violence, which keeps violence hidden. Always bring up the subject of violence with your clients. When it becomes apparent that a client has experienced violence, your task is to assess the severity of the situation and offer help.

Follow these steps:

1. Conduct a risk assessment.
2. Forward the information to your organisation's designated MARAC representative.
3. The representative will forward the information to the MARAC working group and present the client’s case at its meeting. In some situations, you may be asked to present the case yourself.

Improve the victim's safety by working closely with other parties. Refer the client to services offered by other parties as needed. Offer your own services according to the client's needs (e.g., treatment, support, crisis assistance).

During the meeting, it will be agreed who will maintain contact with the client  going forward. If measures are agreed upon for health services, the representative will forward the information to you.

As a police officer, you will encounter many clients who have experienced domestic or intimate partner violence. It is important that you always assess the severity of the violence more closely, as the most recent incident may not give a full picture of the extent of the violence experienced by the victim. MARAC work aims to prevent new incidents of violence and provide victims with comprehensive assistance.

Referring victims of violence to services is part of a high-quality preliminary investigation. MARAC helps you obtain information about the client’s situation from other professionals and authorities, as well as concrete suggestions on how to most effectively prevent clients from becoming victims of violence again. The risk assessment form also includes several questions about the situation of children.

As a police officer, you bring information about the violence reported by the victim to the meeting. You can talk openly about the violence reported by adults, as adult clients are referred to MARAC based on their own consent.

Your role in the MARAC working group:

Improve the victim’'s safety by working closely with other parties.

Refer clients to other services.

Offer assistance, for example:

• In matters related to restraining orders
• Initiating a preliminary investigation
• Issues related to securing the home