Child Protection & Families

Perpetrator work

Strength to Change is a brief, holistic, one-to-one engagement and treatment programme for men from families where a child protection plan is in place due to domestic violence concerns.

The programme safely and effectively reduces numbers of children on child protection plans, or at risk of being taken into local authority accommodation. It increases family functioning and reduces risk, allowing targeting of scarce resources and creating cost-savings by promoting sustainable change in families.

Strength to Change is relevant to Local Authority Children's Services, Local Safeguarding Boards, or any agency working to protect women and children and help abusive men change, such as Women's Aid organisations, or other statutory or voluntary sector family projects.

The programme model is running successfully in a local authority child protection context and has been independently evaluated very positively [LINK TO Phillips 2013 document?]:

  • 'Most perpetrators and partners felt that their relationships with their children had improved as a result of the positive change in perpetrator's attitudes and behaviour, encouraged by the programme'
  • 'Partners felt that the reduction or cessation of abuse encouraged by the programme had helped children to feel less afraid and anxious, and had promoted more positive family relationships'
  • 'All of the perpetrators & partners interviewed stated that the programme had helped them to prevent further abusive behaviour...to learn practical coping strategies'
  • '...partners reported that they no longer feared perpetrators and felt happier, safer, more secure and more equal in their relationships'

Ignition has a proven track record of quality, innovative practice for domestic violence and intimate partner violence and abuse work.

The programme is therapeutically informed, respectful and strengths-based, combining Motivational Interviewing and meaningful experiential methods.

Strength to Change is a holistic two-stage model, promoting engagement and helping a man to develop intrinsic motivation to change, before developing a semi-tailored treatment programme, meeting research-based needs for this client group.

  • Integrated package of training & support
  • Training offered in-house at your agency
  • Dates arranged at your convenience
  • Trainee numbers negotiable
  • All programme materials, management & full theory manual included

Please contact us to discuss your interest in the programme.

Engaging Fathers

Parental resistance is a commonplace in child protection work, and fathers are often the most difficult members of the family for services to engage.

The Engaging Fathers programme is a brief, structured motivational intervention, working to remove barriers to engagement, help fathers to find the intrinsic motivation to stop viewing the social worker as the enemy and to re-connect with the system, promoting safer outcomes and reducing 'hidden harm'.

The programme is relevant to child protection social workers or any other statutory worker dealing with issues of domestic abuse within families.

  • Integrated package of training & support
  • Training offered in-house at your agency
  • Dates arranged at your convenience
  • Trainee numbers negotiable
  • All programme materials, management & full theory manual included

Please contact us to discuss your interest in the programme.