New Brunswick Domestic Violence Coordination Framework

Organizational DV partnership guidelines for provincial agencies across New Brunswick.

New Brunswick Domestic Violence System Coordination

Provincial DV System Overview

New Brunswick’s domestic violence response operates within a mixed provincial–community system that includes government departments, community-based organizations, law enforcement, health authorities, Indigenous governance structures, and Francophone institutions. Coordination focuses on aligning justice, social services, housing, health, and community programming within a relatively small but linguistically and geographically diverse province.

Provincial direction is generally provided through policy units and interdepartmental tables that address family violence, gender-based violence, and related public safety issues. Community-based domestic violence organizations, shelters, second-stage housing providers, legal support programs, and specialized counselling services operate under a combination of provincial funding, federal project support, and philanthropic or municipal contributions.

Operationally, the New Brunswick landscape is characterized by:

• A network of provincially funded shelters and transition houses with varying regional mandates
• Justice-sector responses involving specialized risk assessment practices, peace bonds, and family law processes
• Social development services that address income, housing, child protection, and disability supports
• Health and mental health services, including primary care, community mental health, and addictions programs
• Indigenous-led and community-led agencies addressing violence in First Nations and urban Indigenous contexts
• Francophone, Anglophone, and bilingual agencies operating within corresponding education and health networks

Provincial strategies increasingly reference gender-based violence and intersectionality, but implementation remains regionally differentiated. Formal memoranda of understanding (MOUs), standardized referral pathways, shared risk assessment tools, and joint training are key levers for improving consistency across the system.

Agency Integration

Agencies in New Brunswick benefit from structured integration models that clarify roles and reduce duplication. Integration is often pursued at three levels: case-level coordination, program-level alignment, and system-level planning.

Case-Level Integration Models

Case-level integration focuses on information flow and coordinated actions among agencies involved with the same household or situation. Typical components include:

• Standardized referral protocols between shelters, legal supports, housing, and health services, including criteria for urgent versus routine referrals
• Risk and needs screening tools used consistently by participating agencies to guide service pathways
• Multidisciplinary case discussions or case conferences for complex situations, with clear documentation standards and attendance criteria
• Role clarity documents that outline how law enforcement, child protection, shelters, and community agencies interact on files with overlapping mandates

Agencies can formalize these practices through bilateral or multilateral MOUs that define participation conditions, communication channels, and escalation procedures.

Program-Level Integration

Program-level integration involves aligning service design, eligibility, and workflows across organizations. In New Brunswick, this can include:

• Co-located or outreach models where domestic violence workers provide services within health centres, community hubs, or justice settings
• Aligned intake processes so that similar baseline information is collected and can be shared (where permitted) without repeated screening
• Joint program development for specialized initiatives (e.g., culturally specific programming, rural outreach, or technology-enabled supports)
• Shared staff training plans on domestic violence dynamics, risk assessment, and provincial policy frameworks

Program integration is supported by written service pathways, referral algorithms, and joint performance indicators that define how agencies measure coordinated outcomes rather than only individual outputs.

System-Level Integration and Governance

System-level integration depends on governance structures that bring together senior representatives of key sectors. In the New Brunswick context, this may include:

• Provincial interdepartmental committees that address domestic or family violence within broader justice, social development, or health strategies
• Steering committees or advisory groups that include shelters, transition houses, Indigenous organizations, and Francophone and Anglophone partners
• Working groups focused on discrete issues such as data standards, rural and remote access, or cross-ministry funding mechanisms

Additional coordination resources are available through the broader ecosystem hosted at DV.Support, which can complement province-specific structures.

Regional Collaboration

Regional collaboration in New Brunswick is shaped by linguistic duality, rural and remote geography, and variable access to specialized services. Effective collaboration frameworks distinguish between regional planning, operational coordination, and crisis-response alignment.

Regional Planning Structures

Regional planning structures can be anchored in existing bodies (such as regional health zones or school districts) or in community-based coalitions. Typical elements include:

• Regional domestic violence tables that bring together shelters, community agencies, police, probation, health, and child and family services
• Annual or biannual planning cycles to review service gaps, coordinate funding applications, and adjust referral pathways
• Regional inventories of services that map public, non-profit, Indigenous, Francophone, and specialized programs
• Cross-region knowledge exchange sessions to share practices between areas with similar demographic or geographic profiles

Operational Collaboration Mechanisms

Operational mechanisms help regional partners manage day-to-day coordination issues. Examples include:

• Regional referral directories that are updated at agreed intervals and shared across partners
• Standardized contact points (e.g., dedicated liaison roles) between shelters, police, health, and social services
• Regional protocols for after-hours coordination, including how agencies notify partners of urgent situations within their operational mandates
• Shared transportation or outreach arrangements for rural and remote communities where travel is a barrier

Collaboration frameworks may also incorporate regional performance indicators, such as response times for referrals, cross-agency case conference frequency, or uptake of co-delivered programs.

Coordination with Indigenous Communities

Given the presence of multiple First Nations in New Brunswick, regional collaboration models benefit from distinct engagement processes with Indigenous leadership and service providers. This can include:

• Formal partnership agreements between First Nations agencies and regional non-Indigenous organizations
• Joint working groups on issues such as jurisdictional coordination, transportation, and access to culturally grounded supports
• Protocols that recognize Indigenous governance and decision-making in the design and evaluation of services affecting their communities

Francophone Community Considerations

New Brunswick’s official bilingual status and substantial Francophone population require explicit attention to language, culture, and institutional structures in domestic violence coordination. Francophone communities are served through a mix of Francophone and bilingual organizations, Francophone school and health systems, and community-based associations.

Service Design and Accessibility

For Francophone populations, service design considerations include:

• Availability of French-language services across shelters, counselling, legal supports, and outreach programs, not limited to interpretation
• Bilingual or Francophone intake processes that ensure accurate information collection and clear explanation of service options
• Written materials and forms consistently provided in both official languages, including consent forms and referral documents
• Coordination with Francophone institutions such as school districts, health authorities, and community networks

Integration with Francophone Institutions

Francophone institutions can be integrated into domestic violence coordination frameworks through:

• Formalized liaison roles between domestic violence agencies and Francophone school and health networks
• Joint training initiatives delivered in French and adapted to the Francophone context
• Participation of Francophone representatives in provincial and regional planning tables, with access to French-language documentation
• Collaborative funding initiatives targeting Francophone-specific service development or enhancement

Data, Monitoring, and Equity

Monitoring language-based access and outcomes supports more equitable system design. Agencies and system planners may:

• Collect language preference data (where appropriate and in line with privacy requirements) to assess access to French-language services
• Track wait times and referral pathways by language to identify bottlenecks or gaps
• Review whether Francophone agencies have proportionate access to partnership opportunities, training, and joint funding
• Include Francophone stakeholders in the interpretation of regional data and in the design of response strategies