ISR report shows families better protected

  • Anne Tolley
  • Amy Adams
Social Development Justice

An evaluation of the Integrated Safety Response (ISR) pilot has confirmed that families are safer and better protected as a result of the pilot, say Justice Minister Amy Adams and Social Development Minister Anne Tolley.

The final evaluation report released today by Superu found that the level of seriousness and the frequency of family violence incidents reduced significantly in the six months after people came into contact with the pilot.

“This report confirms that the ISR pilot is helping to transform lives by significantly changing the way family violence is responded to,” says Ms Adams.

“Since the pilot began in Christchurch in July 2016 and the Waikato in October 2016, more than 30,000 people have been supported through the development of nearly 10,000 family safety plans.

“These plans help ensure that victims are safer and better protected, and perpetrators are better supported to stop hurting their loved ones.”

The final evaluation report proves that a collaborative multi-agency approach is what is needed to tackle New Zealand’s high rate of family violence.

“The report shows the ISR pilot is delivering on many of its core aims and is well-placed to achieve better outcomes for more families,” says Mrs Tolley.

“Key achievements highlighted in the report include improved information sharing, risk assessment and safety planning, as well as more families taking up offers of support.

“The report also identifies some issues for further development. Budget 2017 invests $22.4 million to extend the ISR pilots for two years which will enable us to address these issues before we look to roll out the ISR nationally.”

The final evaluation report is available here.