Early Intervention under the microscope
21st December 2005
 |
UNSW researchers are leading a team that will assess the effectiveness of a new early intervention program introduced by the Department of Community Services (DoCS). The program is designed to reduce the growing number of children referred to the state’s child protection system.
The Social Policy Research Centre in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences has been awarded a $1.8 million grant from DoCS to conduct the four-year evaluation.
The comprehensive evaluation will examine how effective services are in providing support to vulnerable children and their families to keep them out of the child protection system. The early intervention program is a key initiative of the NSW Government’s $1.2 billion child protection reform package.
“If implemented well early intervention is the best way of preventing problems and abuse, and strengthening families before they reach crisis point,” Acting Director of the SPRC, Professor Ilan Katz, said.
“The project will monitor the effectiveness of the program and allow us to identify areas where improvements can be made. It will also include an economic assessment to determine whether the program is cost effective.
“The evaluation will also make a significant contribution to the growing knowledge base of what works best in terms of early intervention approaches for children and their families.”
The early intervention program is the largest ever implemented in Australia and will use an innovative evidence-based approach modelled on programs from the US and UK.
The SPRC-led consortium includes experts from the University of Technology, Sydney, the University of Western Sydney and the Gnibi College of Indigenous Australian Peoples at Southern Cross University.
The evaluation started this month and progress reports will be published from March 2006 on the Department of Community Services website.
The Social Policy Research Centre in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences has been awarded a $1.8 million grant from DoCS to conduct the four-year evaluation.
The comprehensive evaluation will examine how effective services are in providing support to vulnerable children and their families to keep them out of the child protection system. The early intervention program is a key initiative of the NSW Government’s $1.2 billion child protection reform package.
“If implemented well early intervention is the best way of preventing problems and abuse, and strengthening families before they reach crisis point,” Acting Director of the SPRC, Professor Ilan Katz, said.
“The project will monitor the effectiveness of the program and allow us to identify areas where improvements can be made. It will also include an economic assessment to determine whether the program is cost effective.
“The evaluation will also make a significant contribution to the growing knowledge base of what works best in terms of early intervention approaches for children and their families.”
The early intervention program is the largest ever implemented in Australia and will use an innovative evidence-based approach modelled on programs from the US and UK.
The SPRC-led consortium includes experts from the University of Technology, Sydney, the University of Western Sydney and the Gnibi College of Indigenous Australian Peoples at Southern Cross University.
The evaluation started this month and progress reports will be published from March 2006 on the Department of Community Services website.
Share on Facebook Add to Del.icio.us Digg this story |