Backed by research, Family DOORS is a tool that allows professionals to quickly identify risks, support family wellbeing and safety, and strengthen relationships.
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The Family Law DOORS screening tools were created in 2011 by Professor Jennifer McIntosh and integrated into the Family DOORS Framework by Professor McIntosh and Dr Claire Ralfs.
This was an Australian first which brought family-wide risk screening for clients in the family law, mediation and post-separation services. In 2016, Family DOORS was widened to include clients of counselling and case management services by Professor McIntosh and Dr Jamie Lee at Relationships Australia SA with MyDOORS. Young people were included in 2019 by Professor McIntosh and Dr Jamie Lee in YPDOORS (Lee & Mcintosh, 2024). The suite of tools was completed with Kids’ DOORS in 2023 (by Professor Jenn McIntosh, Allie Bailey, Dr Jamie Lee & Claire Ralfs, 2023) following extensive piloting at Relationships Australia SA
The Family DOORS is an evidence-based, universal screening tool designed for helping professionals to detect and assess family risks.
The DOORS screening tools are for professional use only, not a substitute for assessment or diagnosis, and must be used in accordance with the Terms of Use and appropriate training.
Jenn is a clinical and developmental child psychologist, family therapist and developmental researcher. She is the Director and Professor of Systemic Practice (Family Therapy) at the Bouverie Centre, La Trobe University. In 2019, Jenn was appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia for her contribution to child developmental psychology. Jenn is also director of ChildrenBeyondDispute.com which harnesses Jenn’s work of the past 30 years, for all to enjoy and benefit from. Over 36 years, Jenn has completed extensive training and research programs for the Australian Attorney General’s Department, the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, Department of Health and Human Services, Office for the Status of Women, and national family services including Relationships Australia and Anglicare. In particular, Jenn was commissioned in 2020 to adapt the DOORS into the customised DOORS Triage tool in the Lighthouse Project.
Jenn was previously Professor of Psychology at Deakin University and head of the perinatal science stream of the Centre for Social and Early Emotional Development. She was also Fellow at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute from 2015 to 2019. In that role, she directed the Australian Temperament Project Generation 3’s Melbourne Attachment and Caregiving Lab (the ATP MAC Lab).
Her interests as a researcher and educator in parenting and childhood trauma arise from a blend of clinical and research experiences, studies and work in Australia, the UK and the USA have focused on the experiences of children subject to attachment trauma and loss, particularly examining the effects of parental deprivation and conflict in early childhood and the experiences of children in foster care.
Dr Claire Ralfs is an experienced executive leader, educator and counsellor with more than 30 years in the community and family services sector. She is a co-author of Family DOORS and led its organisation-wide implementation at Relationships Australia South Australia (RASA), embedding universal risk screening into practice. She has shaped a wide range of child-focused and post-separation services, including Family Group Conferencing, and co-designed workforce education initiatives addressing family violence, suicide prevention, racism and restorative practice.
Claire was CEO of RASA and its Registered Training Organisation, the Australian Institute of Social Relations from 2016 to 2026. During her tenure, she championed trauma-responsive, evidence-informed practice and strengthened the use of data, research and lived experience to design services around the needs, strengths and circumstances of children, families and communities.
Claire served on the South Australian Gambling Advisory Council from 2021 to 2026 and was an inaugural member of the South Australian Child Protection Expert Panel from 2023 to 2025. Committed to social justice, cultural respect and meaningful inclusion of lived experience, she continues to contribute to service design, workforce development and policy reform through cross-sector collaboration.
