Turning the Page: How Documentation Transforms Domestic Abuse Practice

By David Mandel, CEO and Founder, Safe & Together Institute 

When I developed the Safe & Together Model, I made a bet on the power of documentation. I bet that if we could help practitioners change how they document domestic abuse, it would create ripple effects throughout entire systems and, most importantly, change outcomes for adult and child survivors. This wasn’t just about better paperwork—it was about transforming how we see, understand, and respond to domestic abuse while keeping children’s best interests at the center. It was about increased accountability for perpetrators as parents and stronger partnerships with protective parents. It was about practitioner safety and well-being and the health and wellness of the community.

And this wasn’t just about the words written down on the page. It was about new ways practitioners needed to interact with families to gather domestic abuse–informed evidence. It was about paradigm shifts embedded in the documentation framework, moving from victim-blaming to holding perpetrators accountable as parents. It was about giving practitioners the lens to connect the dots between incidents to see patterns of perpetrators’ behaviors, instead of patterns of survivors’ “poor choices.” It was about helping save time, money, and other resources as practitioners built strong partnerships with adult survivors—partnerships that keep children safely with families, help close cases sooner while maintaining safety, and reduce unnecessary service utilization. And it was about providing a common language that improved collaboration and coordination.

Recent research from Australia on how the Model impacts practitioners demonstrates that this bet I made 20 years ago is paying off. The evidence shows the transformative power of domestic abuse–informed documentation practices and the wider changes it spurs.

Traditional documentation approaches have long undermined our ability to serve families experiencing domestic abuse. When practitioners document without a domestic abuse–informed lens, perpetrators become invisible, survivors get blamed, and the real impacts on children are obscured. But the research shows that when practitioners adopt our documentation framework, they develop stronger skills in gathering and documenting evidence, make more informed decisions about children’s safety and best interests, and create records that support meaningful accountability and change.

The impact ripples out in multiple directions. For children, decisions better reflect their actual experiences and needs, with clearer connections drawn between parental behavior and child impact. For survivors, their protective efforts become visible and valued, their experiences are validated rather than minimized, and their parenting strengths are documented objectively. Practitioners report increased confidence, especially in working with perpetrators, along with clearer frameworks for assessment and better evidence for court proceedings.

At a systems level, we see improved information sharing between agencies, more consistent and effective responses, and reduced victim-blaming practices. The comprehensive, fact-based nature of the documentation supports stronger risk assessment and safety planning while providing the evidence base needed for meaningful intervention.

The research particularly highlights how this approach helps practitioners maintain a clear focus on children’s best interests. By documenting perpetrators’ patterns of behavior and their impacts on family functioning, practitioners can better assess both risk and protective factors. This creates a more accurate and complete picture to inform child welfare decisions.

But achieving these benefits requires investment. Organizations need to prioritize training in domestic abuse–informed documentation, create time and space for quality documentation work, and support implementation through coaching and consultation. Documentation needs to be recognized as core professional practice, not just administrative busy work.

The evidence is clear: When we change how we document, we change how we practice. And when we change how we practice, we create better outcomes for children, survivors, and families. Twenty years ago, I bet on documentation as a lever for change. Today, the research shows that bet is paying off in ways that make real differences in people’s lives.

How have you seen documentation practices impact outcomes in your work with families?