Updated Manual for Quality and Accreditation Standards for Domestic Violence Services
11-11-2014
Amman June 28th –Petra (Majedah Ashour)- With the participation of HE Minister of Social Development Reem Abu Hassan, the National Council for Family Affairs (NCFA) launched an updated version of a procedural manual on Quality and Accreditation Standards for Domestic Violence Services.
The updated manual which is a translation of HM King Abdullah's directives of paying extra attention to the domestic violence issue is the result of participatory work and partnership between NCFA and national and international governmental and non-governmental institutions and experts in the field. It is also a continuation of institutionalization in the field of the family and a step to impart a global character to the manual.
In the ceremony organized by NCFA, Secretary General Fadel Al-Hmoud delivered Abu Hassan a copy of the manual which she considered a springboard for institutionalized response to domestic violence cases and a national reference guide in this field. She also noted that the manual is a sign of institutional excellence and helps relevant entities expedite their engagement with the requirements of good governance standards. Abu Hassan expressed her hopes that the manual will be applied by relevant entities and followed upon and evaluated by NCFA, and that it may be regarded as an innovative mature idea that can applied, monitored and assessed by relevant institutions and as an example to follow in enhanced delivery of social services and institutionalization of social work.
Al-Hmoud indicated that the manual was developed in partnership with the National Team for Family Protection and several experts, and was based on national studies and field visits to institutions involved with domestic violence cases, benefitting at the same time from international standards and criteria. In this regard, an initial pilot phase was conducted on several service-providers involved with domestic violence cases where quality and accreditation standards were applied on their services. Consequently, a new updated version of the manual was prepared based on the outcomes of the pilot phase.
According to Al-Hmoud, the Manual offers those institutions an opportunity to evaluate themselves and upgrade their service delivery, calling on upper managements in all national institutions to use the manual as a reference guide to organize their work mechanisms, formulate family policies and adjust them in accordance with the specificity and quality of those standards.
The ceremony included a presentation showcasing the manual and it holistic institutional approach which incorporates professional standards related to domestic violence service delivery, employee code of ethics, data management, assessment criteria and quality control of services provided for domestic violence cases including psychological, social, educational, residential and police services.
The ceremony also included discussions where attendees emphasized the importance of the manual as it adds a comprehensive institutional nature to professional practices while handling domestic violence case
