Anonymous

Question 1 – How have you adapted service delivery in response to the bushfires, floods and Coronavirus pandemic? When has it worked and when hasn’t it worked? How will this affect how you deliver services in the future? Have your service adaptations included better integration with other initiatives?

Group work was able to transition to online quite well. Many parents reported they found it easier to get to group when they didnt have to travel or arrange childcare. Childcare is often a barrier to parents attending groups but the idea of children wandering in the background to a group is not ideal either.
Many dads who worked in trades found it easier to attend as they had to take less time off work and could attend a group online on their phone during a lunch break.
in the future this will mean we will continue to offer some online groups as well as face to face for those who prefer face to face.
Technology at times was glitchy but overall parents were patient and understanding of this.
the lack of face to face work diminished work in early primary and kindergartens and as such need to reform those relationships again

agency ability to match the data required to head back in to the office in the future and still offer digital formats will be challenging

Question 2 – Are the proposed key outcomes for the families and children programs the right ones? Are there any major outcomes missing? How can we include strengths-based outcomes that focus on family or child safety?

I would support the addition of an outcome related to “connection to community and culture”
the measuring tools would need to be consistent and have clear guidelines otherwise we are comparing apples and oranges between agencies
who will measure the outcomes – client self report or practitioner assessment? at present its either/or and is not clear when entered who did the assessment

Question 3 – What tools or training would support you to effectively measure and report outcomes through the Data Exchange Partnership Approach?

if there was a system where clients could complete a survey which was entered directly as SCORE without double handling of data then this would improve collection rates.

Question 4 – Do you already have a program logic or theory of change outlined for your program? Did you find the process useful? If you do not have one, what has stopped you from developing one? What capacity building support would assist service providers to develop program logics and theories of change?

i do not have much experience in developing program logics and theories of change. i do believe there are people in my agency who will assist me with this

Question 5 – If longer-term agreements are implemented, how can the department work with you to develop criteria to measure and demonstrate performance? How can the Data Exchange better support this?

annual reviews seem achievable. the current activity work plan is not too onerous, nothing bigger.

Question 6 – What does success look like for your service, and how do you assess the overall success of your service?

success for me as a practitioner is when a client tells a story that shows they have recognized and made changes which benefit their family. increased reflective capacity is evident in small every day stories of families but hard to record in outcomes.

Question 7 – Do you currently service cohorts experiencing vulnerability, including those at risk of engaging with the child protection system? If not, how does service delivery need to adapt to provide support to these cohorts?

at present we do not offer a service to anyone who has open child protection case at DHHS.
we do however have links with local Child FIRST and orange door and encourage referrals where eligible.

Question 8 – If you are a Children and Parenting Support or Budget Based Funded service provider, do you currently link with a Communities for Children Facilitating Partner or other regional planning mechanism to understand what other services are provided in the community and what the community identifies as their needs? How does this work in practice? Would you value the increased support of being attached to a local Facilitating Partner?

I’m wondering about the inclusion of the “at risk of engaging in child protection” – is there a sense that CaPs programs will be asked to priorities based on risk?
as someone who worked in Child protection and Family services at the beginning of Child FIRST and what was called “innovations” programs this feels a little like there is a need to help those who are now seeking support but cannot access family services due to high levels of demand at that entry point.
what work has been done with Family services alliances to look at the demand and overflow to see what the current “vulnerable” population are seeking support for ?

Question 9 – For all providers, are there other ways to improve collaboration and coordination across services and systems?

i am in a regional area and at present do not have contact with a facilitating partner.
I have made contact with the local Family services alliance project manager to discuss referral pathways and needs mapping.

Question 9 – For all providers, are there other ways to improve collaboration and coordination across services and systems?

is there a lost of providers by region to assist in getting to know the other providers we are along side and dont even know about?

Question 11 – Aside from additional funding, how can the department best work with you to support innovation in your services while maintaining a commitment to existing service delivery?

we need to consider how well regional areas are covered in these funding’s.
consider the restrictions associated with LGA’s or postcodes.
consider the funded groups aligning with current funded bodies – ie a CaPS funded agency to be funded to the same LGA’s as a local family services alliance in order to create clear and full collaboration with the agencies in the same area.

at present if i am funded for just 3 suburbs out of 20 my child FIRST is less likely to remember me as a referral option because they have to match location criteria