Web resource:	http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/10766/20020721-0000/www.familycourt.gov.au/papers/pdf/magellan.pdf
Type:	Report
Title:	Resolving family violence to children
Authors:	Frederico, Margarita Hewitt, Lesley Brown, Thea Sheehan, Rosemary
Keywords:	Interagency work;Family law;Early intervention;Child protection
Year:	2001
Publisher:	Monash University, Caulfield
Notes:	Comprehensive evaluation report of Project Magellan, a pilot project conducted in Victoria for managing Family Court residence and contact disputes when allegations of serious child physical and or sexual abuse have been made. The principles underlying the programme were: an inter-organisational approach: a focus on the children in the disputes; a priority on early intervention so that resources are injected into the dispute from the outset; the use of a judge-led, tightly-managed and time-limited approach; the use of court-ordered expert investigations and assessments from the State child protection service and the court counsellors; the use of a court-ordered legal representative for every child funded by legal aid; and the use of a multidisciplinary team. The evaluation was extremely positive. In comparison with an earlier study, the pilot programme involving 100 cases reduced the number of hearings such disputes had taken in the immediate past by almost 50 per cent, from an average of five court events to three. It reduced the time taken by almost 50 per cent, from an average of 17.5 to 8.69 months. Cases proceeding to the lengths of a judicial determination were reduced from 30 per cent to 13 per cent, thereby increasing consent orders accordingly. The breakdown rate of final orders was reduced from 37 per cent to 5 per cent. The numbers of highly distressed children were reduced from an incidence of 28 per cent to 4 per cent. There was also a reduction in the cost of these cases. These savings were achieved by directing court resources to new tasks undertaken in new sequences, particularly by investing resources in the very early stages of the disputes rather than towards the end. In addition, a study showed legal aid costs of cases in Project Magellan, as compared with legal aid costs of group of 20 similar cases not in Project Magellan, had been reduced by almost 50 per cent. The evaluation concludes that Project Magellan achieved the outcomes sought for it by using less resources than had previously been used for such cases in an innovative, collaborative inter-organisational programme based on new principles and procedures.
URI:	https://anrows.intersearch.com.au/anrowsjspui/handle/1/19452
ISBN:	9780732621827
Appears in Collections:	Reports

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