Intervening in situations of intimate partner violence (IPV) is one of the most difficult aspects of social work practice and social workers often encounter victims/survivors during their years of practice. Recognizing this, the New Brunswick Association of Social Workers (NBASW) in partnership with the Muriel McQueen Fergusson Centre on Family Violence Research (MMFC) at the University of New Brunswick; the Government of New Brunswick’s Department of Social Development; and the Government of New Brunswick’s Women’s Issues Branch of the Executive Council Office developed “Understanding the Impact of Intimate Partner Violence – Helping Social Workers to Better Intervene”, a train-the-trainer program for social workers in New Brunswick. This program was designed to "assist those who are in a position to deliver training to social workers about the impact of and effective responses to intimate partner violence; in other words, to build the capacity of social workers to effectively intervene in situations of intimate partner violence" (Understanding the Impact of Intimate Partner Violence - Helping Social Workers to Better Intervene: A Train-the-Trainer Manual for Delivering Training on Intimate Partner Violence to Social Workers, p.3). An Advisory Committee comprised of social workers from diverse workplaces was created to guide the overall development of the content and to ensure that generally, the information contained in the manual would be useful to social workers in all fields of practice. A Working Committee comprised of social workers from different fields of practice was formed to provide specific input on the content of “Understanding the Impact of Intimate Partner Violence – Helping Social Workers to Better Intervene”. MMFC initially delivered the train-the-trainer workshop to four social workers. These four individuals subsequently piloted the educational program with a cohort of 18 social workers practicing in diverse fields who provided feedback on how the educational program could be adjusted and improved. Adjustments were made to the curriculum based on their feedback. MMFC then worked with the Department of Social Development to identify and recruit the first set of social workers to be trained through the program. Thirty-three social workers were trained in English and French in early 2010. Seventy-eight percent of these participants worked with the Department of Social Development and the remaining 22% were from First Nations communities, community agencies or other government departments. Subsequently, five of these individuals implemented workshops for their peers and other professionals.
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