Evaluation of Home Detention in South Australia: Report 1

In February 2017, following the completion of a competitive tender process, DCS commissioned research to evaluate the impact of newly implemented changes to Home Detention in South Australia. The findings show that the reforms to court-ordered HD (COHD) and release-ordered HD (ROHD) had a demonstrable positive impact across multiple domains. In May 2020, DC commissioned the same team of researchers to conduct an independent evaluation of Home Detention, to provide a longitudinal assessment of the impact of legislative and program changes. This report presents findings for the program outcomes for a two-and-a-half year period from November 2018 (when the first evaluation project concluded) to June 2021

Workforce issues across the family relationship services sector

Service quality and effectiveness in all community services depend on having a stable, capable and sustainable workforce, and family relationship services are no exception. Workforce quality and stability are essential if these services are to continue to meet the complex relationship services needs of families and individuals. This paper reviews and analyses workforce issues and challenges across the family relationship services sector, and identifies key models, responses and strategies through which the workforce can be supported and sustained. The main aim is to stimulate debate about strategies for improving the quality and sustainability of the family relationship services workforce, inform research and policy development, and encourage sectoral and organisational initiatives. Image: Shira Golding / flick

The implications of poverty on children's readiness to learn

Through a staged collaborative process, ARACY’s ‘Child readiness to learn’ project aims to identify the points of intervention where most benefit will be achieved in reducing the impact of poverty on children’s ability to learn. ARACY works with researchers, practitioners and experts in a range of fields related to poverty, social inclusion, early childhood development and education but also social entrepreneurs, business people and others who can help us drive ideas into action. ARACY will develop action plans for up to two significant community projects focusing on these points of intervention, and a business case to secure the resources required to establish sustainable collaborations to implement the projects

Is headspace making a difference to young people's lives?

Headspace aims to improve the mental health and social and emotional wellbeing of young people in Australia through the provision of evidence-based, integrated, youth-centred and holistic services. In January 2013, the Australian Government Department of Health (DoH) commissioned a consortium of researchers from the Social Policy Research Centre and the Centre for Social Impact, UNSW Australia; Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre, Curtin University; and the Telethon Kids Institute, University of Western Australia to evaluate the effectiveness of headspace. The evaluation aimed to: • examine young people’s access to and engagement with the centre-based program including the demand for services at centres and barriers and facilitators to service use • assess the outcomes of young people who have received services from headspace to determine the effectiveness of the treatment • assess the centre-based program’s service delivery model including aspects of the model that are most and least effective in assisting headspace to meet its objectives, and • conduct a cost effectiveness analysis of the program as it currently operates, as well as an expanded version of the program that seeks national coverage. This report presents the evaluation findings