What factors should be taken into account in determining the range of FSP services required for a region or community? There are a number of large scale research projects that have the potential to inform FSP service planning. Examples include the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (AIFS), Separated Parents Study (ANU), Family Law Reforms Evaluation and the Evaluation of the Stronger Families and Communities Strategy. In addition, there are local and program factors to be taken into account, such as:
- Demographics of the local area
- Local community needs as articulated (and tested) by a range of stakeholders
- Availability of other existing family support service infrastructure
- Capacity of the service system, particularly in rural and/or remote areas
- State/Territory and Local Government funded programs operating in the area
There may be value in developing an agreed system for identifying areas with 'high' or 'changing' need. Such a system should take into account:
- Expected population growth especially in outer metropolitan growth corridors etc
- Socioeconomic indicators including household income, employment status, education levels, income to housing ratio
- Proportion of young parent and sole parent families
- Cultural mix – Indigenous and multi-cultural
FRSA believes that some services should be 'universal' or widely available. This links back to the way the FSP conceptualises 'vulnerability' and the relative value of investing in building resilience at a 'whole of population level'. This does not mean engaging every family in direct service delivery – universal approaches are more likely to be preventative and delivered through strategies like public education campaigns or collaborative projects with schools or health services and/or may involve the delivery of low-intervention support such as parent education seminars as a means of engaging with families and encouraging help seeking if problems arise. In addition to universal preventative strategies there are also 'essential' services that respond to risk and common types of need. Statutory child protection services must be available in every community, similarly support for separated families and children need to be widely available.
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FRSA has recommended a tired approach to program design and planning that would incorporate local advisory groups and national advisory mechanisms. At both levels the relativity of priority needs and potential benefit of alternative approaches can be examined. While consensus may not always be possible, decision making will benefit from debate and consultation.
What is the best way to specify service catchments/service delivery areas? For example: In delivering services should your delivery area be defined by statistical sub-divisions, local government regions, postcodes or by other means? FRSA recognises that there is some value in having one consistent approach to specifying service delivery areas across the country. We believe that the 'Local Government Area' is the approach best understood by the general population and most likely to align with related service delivery systems. In moving to a consistent approach it would be important to allow some flexibility under existing service delivery agreements where there may not be a clear 'fit'.
It is also important to define what a 'catchment' area means. In some cases it is used to describe the area in which services are to be provided – recognising that clients may come from a broader area. For example, the catchment area is Sydney CBD but the service can be accessed by anyone who travels into this area. Alternatively, catchment can mean the area in which a client must live in order to be eligible or automatically entitled to a service, such as the catchment area for public schools. This may legitimately vary across programs.
Decisions on both the need for and location of specific services will always be challenging. High level mapping and/or national profiling of populations by Local Government Area or Statistical Sub Division are a logical starting point. However, the relevance of this data also needs to be tested and informed by local area planning/consultation groups that understand local community characteristics including people movement along local transport corridors which are significant factors influencing accessibility to and use of 'local' services.
The reality of limited resources always requires difficult decisions between competing priorities on a national, state and local level. Involving a wide range of stakeholders in planning at each of these levels will more accurately inform local priorities. One approach would be for Commonwealth & State/Territory Governments to jointly sponsor a community needs assessment or consultation process on a rolling 2 yearly basis.
Recommendation 9: Establish decision-making processes informed by local consultation and needs assessment.