March 25, 1996
(Executive Council)

Provincial Strategy Against Violence Team Established

Julie Bettney, Minister Responsible for the Status of Women, is pleased to announce that the members of the Provincial Strategy Against Violence Team have been chosen and the coordinator hired. One of the key elements of the Provincial Strategy Against Violence Action Plan was the establishment of a coordinating team with representatives from the Departments of Health, Social Services, Justice, and Education who have at least 25 per cent of their work time dedicated to coordinating initiatives that address violence. The team is led by a full-time coordinator located within Women's Policy Office. "This is truly a cooperative effort with all initiatives to be carried out in partnership. Coordination between government departments and collaboration between government and community groups is central to the successful implementation of this Action Plan" said Ms. Bettney. The team members are as follows: Jim Oldford, coordinator; Joy Maddigan, Department of Health; Rosalind Smyth, Department of Social Services; Mary Hatherly, Department of Justice; and Phyllis Mullowney, Department of Education.

The Action Plan is based on a recognition that solutions to the problem of violence must be a collaborative effort between governments and the community. "It is very encouraging to learn how much input was received from throughout the community in developing the Action Plan. We all have an important role to play in eliminating violence in our society," stated Ms. Bettney. Coordinator Jim Oldford emphasized that it will be important to their ongoing evaluation process for the team to receive feedback from members of the community who are directly impacted by the initiatives that are being set in motion. The vision, which is the foundation of the Action Plan, is that the people of our province will live in safe, caring communities, where there is an inherent respect for each other and where violence is unacceptable.

The Provincial Strategy Against Violence is a five year plan which involves the coordination of service delivery to women, children, the elderly and other vulnerable adults who have experienced violence, and the coordination of violence prevention initiatives. Strategies to achieve these goals are recommended in four areas: legislation and policy; service delivery; public education; and research and evaluation.

During their first meeting the coordinating team focussed on developing a working process, reviewing progress made to date, and began developing a clear implementation plan for the initiatives outlined in the Action Plan Towards the Year 2000. One of the priorities is to complete the planning phase and begin implementation of pilot projects to test a number of service delivery models that promote a coordinated approach, including: a multidisciplinary service centre; crisis intervention, assessment and referral services at a district social services office; an intervention and treatment centre which deals not only with individual victims but with other family members; and co- location of staff from one agency to another. Another priority initiative will be the development of regional coordinating committees. Other priorities also include the development of a multi-phased, multi- year public awareness campaign concerning violence.

The strategy was developed over a three year period, under the leadership of the Women's Policy Office in conjunction with the Departments of Justice, Social Services, Health and Education. The process involved the release of a consultation paper, a year-long consultation process with community groups, including five regional workshops, and the finalization of the strategy which was released in June 1995.

The Provincial Strategy Against Violence Action Plan is available on the World Wide Web at the address:

www.gov.nl.ca/exec/wpo/strategy.htm

Print copies or additional information are available by contacting Women's Policy Office at (709) 729-2987.

Contact: Cindy Christopher, (709) 729-5730, Public Relations Specialist for Women's Policy Office.

BACKGROUNDER
TEAM MEMBERS - PROVINCIAL STRATEGY AGAINST VIOLENCE
JIM OLDFORD- COORDINATOR
Mr. Oldford holds a Masters of Social Work from the University of Toronto and Bachelor of Social Work and Bachelor of Arts from Memorial University of Newfoundland. He has worked in child and adolescent mental health with the Adolescent Health Counselling Service and most recently with Janeway Mental Health Services. He has experience in child welfare, residential treatment with adolescents, worked in health care and has been involved in advocacy training and teaching and program development. Much of Mr. Oldford's clinical work has been in working with victims of violence.

MARY HATHERLY - DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Ms. Hatherly has a B.A. from Kenyon College in Ohio, a Bachelor of Law from Dalhousie University and a Masters of Law from Osgoode Hall and is a Member of the New Brunswick bar. She is on leave from the New Brunswick Department of the Solicitor General and is currently employed as a solicitor with the Civil Division, Newfoundland Department of Justice. While employed as a senior policy advisor to the New Brunswick Department of Justice she assisted in the Administration of the Crimes Compensation Program and was responsible for the development of internal policing and correctional policy, including aboriginal policing and women's abuse protocols.

ROSALIND SMYTH - DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES
Ms. Smyth is employed in the position of senior policy analyst with the Division of Social and Strategic Planning. She has worked as a child management specialist and spent 11 years in the position of provincial coordinator of Direct Homes Services Program, which is a home based early intervention service for children aged 0 - 5 with developmental disabilities. In 1994, she chaired the Provincial Government Interdepartmental Year of the Family Working Group and since 1992 represented the Department of Social Services on the Provincial Federal-Program Management Committee of the Community Action Program for Children. Her educational background is in child development and adult education.

PHYLLIS MULLOWNEY - DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Ms. Mullowney is a career education and cooperative education consultant with the Division of Program Development, Department of Education. She has been an educator in the system for over 20 years and has worked as a teacher, counsellor and administrator. Her training in the area of counselling and educational psychology combined with extensive work with youth at the Brother T.I. Murphy Centre allows her to bring both a theoretical and practical background to the team.

JOY MADDIGAN - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
Joy Maddigan is the psychiatric mental health nursing consultant with the Department of Health, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. She has a Bachelor of Nursing and a Master of Nursing from Memorial University of Newfoundland. She has worked as a staff graduate and clinical nurse specialist in psychiatry and as a community mental health nurse. She has also been a faculty member of the School of Nursing at Memorial University and the Faculty of Nursing at the University of New Brunswick. In addition to her role as consultant, Joy works as a clinical nurse specialist with an adolescent counselling service affiliated with the Janeway Child Health Centre and maintains a small private psychotherapy practice.