ABSTRACT
Typically, those social services departments which have taken a more positive approach have started with the introduction of an overall policy (for example in the context of community care planning or a corporate stance on taking domestic violence seriously) and/or a set of guidelines that outlines good practice and gives an indication of the standard of service women should expect to receive. A range of examples will be given in this chapter. Coherent policies and consistent guidelines represent a major advance over individual workers either ignoring the problem entirely, or taking inappropriate action, or happening to be able to give useful assistance but without consistent support from their agency. There have been moves within the Department of Health’s Social Services Inspectorate (SSI) to encourage such progress. Two conferences were held during March 1995, in London and Leeds, to urge social services directors to take an urgent and coordinated approach to the issue of domestic abuse (Ball, 1995).
