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National evaluation (2004–2008) of the Stronger Families and Communities Strategy 2004–2009

9. Invest to Grow

9.1 Nature and scope of projects
9.2 ItG funding
9.3 Participants and occasions of service
9.4 ItG outcomes
9.5 Facilitators and barriers to ItG project outcomes
9.6 ItG conclusion

Background

Invest to Grow (ItG) funded 26 established and developing early intervention programs and resources to help families, professionals and communities improve outcomes for young children aged 0 to 5 years. It also aimed to build the Australian evidence base about what works in early intervention and prevention, and to support the expansion of successful program models for early childhood.

Projects delivered included:

Of the 26 ItG projects, 22 produced evaluation and progress reports. This data has been used to examine the nature and scope of the ItG projects, the number and types of participants, the outcomes for families, parents, children and services, and factors that facilitate and hinder outcomes. A detailed discussion of these issues is provided in Web Appendix B56 and a summary is below.

This report relies on the final evaluation reports provided by 22 ItG projects (10 were draft final reports), progress report data from the same organisations (which gives more detail), and some provided progress report data on the other four projects.

The evaluation methodologies used by ItG local evaluators varied. Although some programs found their evaluation plans overly ambitious, local evaluations generally progressed according to plan, with some feeding emerging findings into project design and implementation. Most used mixed methodologies, with many documenting difficulties with pre and post tests, including inadequate sample sizes and a lack of control group data.

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9.1 Nature and scope of projects

ItG projects were tailored to local needs or those of particular groups. As a consequence, they differed in nature, size and scope. While this made difficulties for classification, ItG projects can be broadly clustered into six groups (Table 14):57

Table 14: ItG projects, nature, scope and target groups
Project name Type and scope of project Target groups
Projects aimed at supporting children’s transitions to school
Bumblebees Therapeutic Preschool (TPS), Phoenix House Interventions for children at risk of sexual abuse in Bundaberg, Queensland. Parents offered home visits, counselling, parenting course; training for care and education providers; works with Department of Child Safety. Children under school age, traumatised by sexual or other abuse, or who demonstrate sexualised behaviours.
Let’s start: exploring together for Indigenous preschools A 10-week, two-hour-a-week program of parenting management sessions, parent–child interaction sessions and children’s social skills learning in a children’s group. Indigenous children aged 4 to 6 years in the Tiwi Islands, Darwin and rural areas around Darwin. Non-Indigenous children in Darwin.
Goonellabah Transition Program: ‘Walking together, learning together’ Intensive, individualised early learning program for children moving from home or preschool to kindergarten. Based on the Box Ridge Transition to School Program, which began in 1999. Run two days a week and includes regular home visits for families in northern New South Wales. Children aged 3 and a half to 5 years moving from home or preschool to kindergarten and their families.
Projects aimed at children and families with disabilities, learning or behavioural difficulties
Starting Blocks™ early intervention service (Autism Spectrum Australia) Individualised interventions for children with autism to help them integrate into preschool and the community; support and information for parents; promotion of service provider awareness and collaboration. Children aged 2 to 4 years with autism and their families.
Remote early learning program, Royal Institute for Deaf & Blind Children Support for rural and regional families of young children with sensory disabilities. Provides parent training and resources and local services. Rural and regional families with a young child with hearing or vision impairment.
Healthy start, Australian Supported Parenting Consortium Enhance the capacity of practitioners to support parents with learning difficulties through practitioner ‘learning hubs’, developing and disseminating practice resources and training to deliver parent education programs. Practitioners and parents with learning difficulties who have young children.
Rural beginnings, Kurrajong Early Intervention Service Fortnightly outreach early intervention program for children with developmental delay and their families in communities in the Riverina/Murray area of New South Wales; in own homes or local communities; multidisciplinary practitioner teams. Children aged 0 to 5 years with developmental delay and their families in rural communities around Wagga Wagga, New South Wales.
ProAQtive early intervention program, Autism Queensland Early intervention program for preschool-age children with autism and their families; develop children’s skills and competence; 12-months, two days a week to bridge the gap between diagnosis and start of formal schooling. Children with autism between 3 and 4 years.
Vital early years therapy and family support program, St Giles Society Speech pathology outreach and psychologist-led family behaviour therapy. Children 0 to 5 years with speech development difficulties or disabilities, autism and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
Parent child interaction therapy (PCIT), Lifeline Short-term, voluntary family therapy to improve children’s behaviours by teaching parents positive communication, effective discipline and problem solving skills. Universal therapy, available to families at moderately functional levels; high-need, high-risk families excluded.
Early intervention projects in child care settings
Partnerships in early childhood, Benevolent Society Early intervention worker in child care settings to train staff in understanding children’s needs; services for parents; supported playgroups. Aim: strengthen relationships between children and centre staff and between children and their parents; connect families to services and the community. The program was implemented in 14 child care centres in three communities in New South Wales.
KU early language & literacy initiative Promotion of language and literacy development of socioeconomically disadvantaged preschool children seen to be educationally at-risk when starting school by (a) working with families and (b) working with early childhood staff. Preschool children 2 to 5 years, their primary care givers, staff at two preschools in south-western Sydney.
Through the looking glass, Lady Gowrie Collaborative health, education and welfare early intervention strategy for high-risk families in five child care settings across Australia: free or reduced-cost child care for two days a week, individual and group work, video-taping for parents’ self-reflection, partnerships with other agencies, staff training and a clinician at each centre. Mothers of children aged 0 to 5 years with multiple risk factors including anxiety, depression, social isolation and early trauma in their own lives.
Special teaching and research (STaR) inclusive early childhood project Interventions for children with disabilities in mainstream child care settings to prepare them for regular education; education, respite and social support for their families; education of regular child care centre staff. Children with disabilities and delays 0 to 5 years, their families and child care centre staff.
Projects in playgroup settings
Sing and grow, Playgroup Association Queensland; National implementation of a group music therapy program delivered with Playgroup Associations to promote child development, parenting skills and parent networks. Marginalised parents and their children aged 0 to 5 years.
Good Beginnings Australia: (a) Play and learn
(b) Working with dads
(c) Parents and play
(d) Contact play and learn		 Four programs implementing strategies to boost parents’ confidence and self-esteem: (a) playgroup and education sessions for parents
(b) parenting sessions for dads
(c) free playgroup program in schools
(d) parenting education and playgroup for parents whose visits with their children must be supervised.		 (a) families with preschool children
(b) first-time expectant and new fathers
(c) parents of young children (d) parents, largely fathers, whose visits with children must be supervised.
Projects aimed at promoting nutrition
Child nutrition program, Ngaanya-tjarra Pitjantjatjara Yankuny-tjatjara Women’s Council (NPYWC) Case management, education, community development and outreach programs to ensure adequate nutrition of young children and break the cycle of statutory intervention related to nutritional deficit and child protection. Young Indigenous mothers and children aged 0 to 5 years in 26 NPYWC member communities in the remotest areas of the Northern Territory, South Australia and Western Australia.
Good food for new arrivals, Association for Services to Torture and Trauma Survivors (ASeTTS) Nutrition awareness; establishing good nutrition practices among parents and carers. New immigrants to Western Australia from Sudan, Ethiopia, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Rwanda, Burundi and Democratic Republic of Congo.
Projects developing and providing information and resources
Mothers, fathers and newborns psychoeducational program for parents (PEPP) Promote parenting confidence and reduce parental distress by educating about partner relationships and infant sleep. First-time parents, four to eight weeks after birth, English-speaking and in a committed relationship.
Core of life Promote awareness of short and long-term consequences of parenthood among adolescents. This project trains health and education practitioners throughout Australia as facilitators. High school-aged students in areas of high need: high teenage pregnancy rates or social disadvantage, cultural and ethnic diversity, Indigenous.
Parent support project (PSP) Expand local support services for parents of infants: website, newsletters, service directory, parenting classes. GPs, to engage in distributing information and train to provide parenting classes, and parents in need but not identified by other agencies.
Every child is important, Australian Childhood Foundation (ACF) Multimedia publicity campaign affirming the value and significance of children. Four components: awareness raising; education; communicating with culturally and linguistically diverse communities; and publication of ACF research. All parents of young children.

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9.2 ItG funding

A total of $26,096,204 was provided to 25 of the 26 ItG projects during the period 2004–2008.58 Amounts for each project ranged from $95,516 to $3,005,699.

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9.3 Participants and occasions of service

Because ItG supported the development of resources and tools (as well as activities for families), and these differed so greatly in scope, intensity and nature, the question of how many participants were involved in ItG is not very important. However, it is important to know that 21 ItG projects provided a total of 36,097 occasions of service, that each project provided an average of 1,719 occasions of service to children during the period 2004–2008, and that 11 of the organisations reported the participation of 12,522 families.

In total, 11,415 different children were engaged in 18 ItG projects and these children participated in 28,421 occasions of service (an average of 40 contacts each). Of these children, 57 per cent were male and 43 per cent female. ItG projects engaged children from Indigenous as well as culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds (approximately 5 per cent were Indigenous and 13 per cent were CALD). Children from CALD backgrounds were more likely than Indigenous children to have repeated contact (that is, more occasions of service) with ItG projects. While CALD children represent 12.9 per cent of Australian children, they accounted for 14.3 per cent of the children involved in ItG occasions of service. In contrast, Indigenous children, who constitute 4.9 per cent of all Australian children, made up 3.6 per cent of the children receiving ItG services.

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9.4 ItG outcomes

The 22 ItG evaluations varied widely in quantity, quality and comprehensiveness in their reporting of program outcomes. While some evaluators conducted thorough outcome evaluations by using a number of standardised and purpose-designed surveys, administering these to a large sample of program participants and conducting several waves of data collection, others used small samples and focused on gathering process data rather than program outcomes. However, while small sample sizes, poor survey response rates, and the lack of control groups presented challenges for the collection of outcome data for some projects,59 the evaluations do report positive outcomes for children, parents or services. These outcomes are summarised in Table 15.

Table 15: Outcomes reported by ItG evaluations
Project name Outcomes reported by evaluations(a)
Bumblebees Therapeutic Preschool (Phoenix House)
  • Improved child behaviour.
Let’s start: exploring together for Indigenous preschools
  • Improved child behaviour.
  • High parent satisfaction with the program.
Goonellabah Transition Program: ‘Walking together, learning together’
  • Improved child behaviour, social, motor, language and academic skills; successful transition to school.
  • Improved parent attitudes towards children’s health and education.
  • Improved access to allied health and support services.
  • Improved school staff attitudes towards families.
Starting Blocks early intervention service (Autism Spectrum Australia)
  • Improved child functional communication and social interaction, motor skills, behaviour, self care and pre-academic skills; helped transition to mainstream programs.
  • Increased parent knowledge of autism, better understanding of their child, increased confidence and coping, larger supportive networks; but: reduced family communication.
  • Increased staff knowledge and understanding of autism, increased collaboration with other agencies.
Remote early learning program (Royal Institute for Deaf & Blind Children)
  • Improved child cognitive, communication and social interaction skills.
  • Improved parenting skills and confidence, improved family functioning.
  • Increased staff skills and knowledge, increased collaboration with other agencies; new service delivery opportunities through video-conferencing.
Healthy start (Australian Supported Parenting Consortium)
  • Improved parenting involvement with the child, increased knowledge about child health risks; greater improvement to parents’ social networks and mental health than similar programs.
  • Increased staff commitment, skills and knowledge, increased collaboration with other agencies; but: trained staff not confident about delivering the program themselves.
Rural beginnings (Kurrajong Early
Intervention Service)
  • Gains in child social and emotional development, motor skills and self care, especially in children receiving outreach services.
  • Improved family relationships and community engagement.
  • Improved service access, frequency and consistency.
ProAQtive early intervention program (Autism Qld)
  • Improved child social and behavioural development and self care, increased readiness to attend mainstream educational services.
  • Reduced social isolation, improved ability to relate to their child’s needs and development.
  • Improved awareness of and access to services.
Vital early years therapy & family support program (St Giles Society)
  • Improved behaviour, social and skill development and language abilities.
  • Improved parenting skills, less stress and frustration; high parent satisfaction with the speech pathology component of the program, less with the psychology component.
  • Improved access to speech pathology and family psychology in a rural area.
  • Improved service networks.
Parent child interaction therapy (Lifeline)
  • Improved child behaviour.
  • Improved family function.
Partnerships in early childhood (Benevolent Society)
  • Improved children’s comfort in child care centres, positive social–emotional development.
  • Increased parenting efficacy, but changes inconsistent over time.
  • Access to support from project staff.
  • Child care staff felt supported by the specialist project worker.
KU early language & literacy initiative
  • Increased child involvement with books and stories, improved literacy.
  • Increased parental involvement in children’s development.
  • Preschool staff gained better understanding of early language and literacy development; staff learnt to sustain the program autonomously.
Through the looking glass (Lady Gowrie)
  • Improved child wellbeing, involvement and emotional availability.
  • Improved parent competence, confidence and family relationships; decreased anxiety, depression and stress; increased social support; high parent satisfaction with program content and delivery.
  • Co-facilitators valued the training received through the program.
Special teaching & research (STaR) inclusive early childhood project
  • Improved child adaptive, cognitive, fine motor and social skills.
  • Increased family coping; parent satisfaction with program content, staff and the child’s progress increased as the program progressed.
  • Improved child care staff knowledge, skills and attitude.
Sing & grow (Playgroup Association
Queensland)
  • Improved behaviour, communication and social interaction.
  • Improved parent mental health and parent–child relationships (especially in vulnerable families); use of course materials and techniques at home; high parent satisfaction with the program and staff.
Good beginnings Australia:
(a) Play and learn
(b) Working with dads
(c) Parents and play
(d) Contact play and learn
  • Improved child play opportunities and social, emotional, physical and cognitive skills.
  • Increased parent confidence and knowledge of parenting techniques; fathers involved; reduced parental isolation.
  • Increased knowledge of services and access to parenting information.
Child nutrition program (Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara Yankuny-tjatjara Women’s Council NPYWC)
  • Crisis support, intensive case management.
  • Increased agency collaboration and capacity to work in remote areas.
Good food for new arrivals (Association for Services to Torture and Trauma Survivors ASeTTS)
  • Increased parent awareness of nutrition issues and health services.
  • Improved service networking and partnerships.
Mothers, fathers & newborns psycho-educational program for parents (PEPP)
  • Increased parent health; high parent satisfaction with the program; parents applied program materials and techniques at home.
Core of life
  • Increased awareness and understanding of parenting responsibilities among adolescents.
  • Health and education practitioners trained to deliver the program.
Parent support project (PSP)
  • High parent satisfaction with program content and facilitators.
  • Project could not establish GPs as a widely-used first source of non-medical parenting advice.
Every child is important (Australian Childhood Foundation ACF)
  • Increased community awareness.
  • Reduced parental hostility.
(a) ItG local evaluations varied in terms of design, sample size and focus. As a result, it is difficult to compare results across projects. This table presents outcomes as reported by independent local evaluators; they have not been validated by the national evaluators.

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9.5 Facilitators and barriers to ItG project outcomes

According to the ItG evaluation reports, a range of factors contributed to successful implementation and outcomes for ItG projects. These included staffing and leadership, collaboration, cultural appropriateness, and project design and targeting.

Staffing and leadership

Quality staffing and leadership emerged repeatedly in the reports as a critical success factor. Evaluators reported that quality leadership and committed, experienced staff were crucial to successful projects. Particularly important were staff understanding of both the theoretical basis of the program and its practical components, and their acceptance and adoption of practices conducive to its smooth introduction. Cultural competence and bicultural workers were also important for projects that supported families from different cultures.

Staffing problems constrained implementation of many of the projects. Recruitment and retention of staff were a challenge for some projects, especially in rural and regional areas. Staff recruitment could delay project implementation, limit support provided to families, and increase costs for organisations because of the necessary extra recruitment and training. Some projects had poor staff retention because workers burnt out from higher numbers of referrals and family engagements than was anticipated in project development. Lower skill levels and reluctance to undertake training presented further problems for some organisations.

Collaboration

The evaluation reports also highlighted effective interagency collaboration as a factor integral to successful implementation. Some projects were collaborative in essence and worked across jurisdictions such as health, education, child care and community services. Effective relationships were developed through formal and informal meetings, learning hubs, networks and reference groups. Having projects integrated into the existing service network and making sure they met community need was also important.

Collaborative relationships took substantial time to develop, but not all projects invested, or were able to invest, the time and resources required to build effective relationships. There were challenges in actively involving staff of other organisations in some projects that required collaboration. Challenges also emerged when staff from different organisations or different disciplines failed to understand each other’s roles and responsibilities. Some projects had particular difficulty working with state and territory government departments.

Cultural appropriateness

The evaluation reports also pointed out that cultural appropriateness was a factor contributing to successful implementation of ItG projects. It was important not only to have culturally competent staff, but also to have appropriate resources, services and strategies. Working collaboratively with specific cultural groups or advisors could assist projects to improve in relation to cultural appropriateness.

Project design and targeting

A further factor conducive to the effectiveness of ItG projects was sensitivity of project design to individual settings. This could mean being community-based, and as far as possible, allowing community members to be involved in contributing to the design, implementation and management of the project. It could also mean tailoring strategies for specific groups or individuals, for example, using soft entry points to build relationships and trust between workers and families, or providing outreach services to families in rural locations.

Projects also benefited from implementing changes as a result of early feedback, evaluation and experience. One project, for example, changed its target group after receiving feedback that Indigenous families in a particular location preferred to attend mainstream, rather than Indigenous-specific programs. Another project continued to evolve program content as a result of feedback and experience.

Project design and basic assumptions about project needs and targeting could also present challenges for some projects. One project, for example, had difficulty recruiting a key stakeholder to contribute to service provision and then found that families were reluctant to utilise the service offered. This suggested either that there was insufficient need in the community for this kind of project, or that people were not aware of the existence of the service. Other projects found that target groups required either more or less support than was anticipated when the project was developed. Project design also did not always match the resource levels required (staffing, time, funding) to achieve the aims of the project.

The social circumstances of children and families also presented challenges for some projects. Life circumstances and events, including deaths, but also fear of child protection agencies, affected the participation of parents and, in turn, their children. Lack of transportation could also hinder family engagement.

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9.6 ItG conclusion

Over $26 million was invested into 26 ItG early intervention programs and resources to help families, professionals and communities improve outcomes for young children (0 to 5 years). These projects:

ItG projects provided 36,097 occasions of service to 12,522 families and 11,415 children. These projects engaged children from Indigenous and CALD backgrounds and most engaged the groups they aimed to target.

The reliability of reported outcomes differed between evaluations. However, some positive outcomes were reported by all ItG evaluations, both for children (primarily around skill development), for parents (largely focused on awareness of, and access to, services and improved parenting skills), and for services (increased staff knowledge, skills and collaboration). Positive outcomes were dependent on staffing, service collaboration, cultural appropriateness and appropriate project design and targeting. Small sample sizes and lack of control groups limits the reliability of some of the reporting of outcomes, but a number of ItG projects appear to be promising early intervention programs.

Some of the ItG projects could be more easily adapted to new circumstances or were easier to implement than others. On the whole, the main barriers to broader implementation seem to relate to staffing issues—in particular, recruitment and retention of trained staff and management issues-—as well as relationships with other services locally. Where these issues had been addressed the projects tended to be successful, irrespective of the particular nature of the early intervention itself.

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