This report presents the results of a consultation conducted by the Australian National Council on Drugs (ANCD) on behalf of the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA) with services and organisation in the alcohol and other drugs (AOD), family support (FS), and child protection (CP) sectors about directions for a refocused Strengthening Families Program funded under the National Illicit Drug Strategy (NIDS). The consultation involved two parts: (i) an online survey open to interested parties working in the AOD, FS, or CP sectors and (ii) structured telephone interviews with key nationally focused bodies in the AOD, FS, and CP sectors. It was designed to primarily focus on collecting views about the most appropriate service models, programs and investments that could be made within the context of two new initiatives, the Family Support Program (FSP) which now incorporates the Strengthening Families Program, and the National Framework for Protecting Australia's Children which informs the new policy direction of the Strengthening Families Program and the existing funding allocation. The national annual budget for the Strengthening Families Program is $3.1 million. The consultation process took place between 23 June and 14 July, 2009.
Information from 171 respondents from the survey and six phone interviews was analysed. This analysis indicated that most respondents work for not-for-profit organisations which are part of larger organisations that provide multiple services. Many services and/or organisations were found to operate in more than one state or territory and in a variety of sites. More than half of the services were small services, having an annual budget of less than $1.5 million.
Key Findings
The key findings identified from the consultation on the most appropriate service models, programs and investments that could be made within the context of the two initiatives and the existing funding allocation to provide the best outcomes for families affected by substance misuse are provided below.
Most supported
- The expansion of existing AOD service providers to respond to children and family issues and the development of a program to enable existing AOD, FS and CP services to become better equipped in identifying children at risk in families affected by substance misuse were identified as the most appropriate service models to achieving the best outcomes for families and children at risk within a context of an annual budget of $3.1 million.
- Aftercare support for families with members who have undergone AOD treatment/intervention; early identification and prevention; treatment/intervention; case coordination between AOD, FS, and CP services; referral between sectors; and outreach services were identified as the most important services to achieve the best outcomes for families and children at risk.
- A focus on direct service delivery was considered the most important factor when allocating funding under the Strengthening Families Program.
- Evidence of current service capacity and performance, likelihood of service sustainability in the medium to longer term; ensuring services are located in areas of need were considered the most important factors when determining which service providers receive funding under the refocused Strengthening Families Program.
- Tailoring services and prioritising responses to disadvantaged populations was identified as being the most important factor to consider when determining which programs/projects receive funding. Populations identified by respondents to the survey include Indigenous people, at risk children and families, vulnerable families, people with multiple and complex issues, and youth.
Least supported
- A single service provider to roll out a standardised program across Australia was the least appropriate service model to achieving the best outcomes for families and children at risk within a context of an annual budget of $3.1 million.
- A national social marketing campaign was considered the least important service to achieve the best outcomes for families and children at risk.
- A focus on IT infrastructure and sector development were considered the least important factors when considering the allocation of funding under the Strengthening Families Program.
- The least important factor when determining which service providers receive funding under the refocused Strengthening Families Program is whether a service provider is situated within a larger service or organisation.
Ways to improve linkages and collaboration between sectors and services
- A top down approach to the Strengthening Families Program that includes an interdepartmental approach and requirement for service agreements to include the establishment and use of memorandum of understandings between services and sectors.
- Providing financial incentives to support linkages and collaborations between the sectors.
Ways to improve access to relevant sectors and services
- Provide funding to support the provision of case coordination.
- Provide funding to support an increase in services that cater to the needs of families affected by AOD issues.
- Enhancing organisational development to promote knowledge about appropriate services in other sectors.
Ways to improve the identification and response to children at risk
- Development of information that provides a clearer understanding of ‘at risk’ and the levels of risk, as well as how services can best respond to each of these levels.
- Training of staff to be able to identify and respond to risk.
- Development and dissemination of policies and procedures to AOD services on identification and response to children at risk.
- Dissemination to, and training of, staff in the AOD sector on assessment tools for identifying children at risk.
- Funding to support the provision of services that cater to the specific needs of individual children.
Comments and Conclusions
If the needs of children at risk are to be prioritised then the focus for the new Strengthening Families Program would be best directed towards improving the skills of workers in the AOD, FS and CP sectors in identifying and responding to children at risk. If the funding allocation prevents this from occurring across the three sectors then it would seem most appropriate that the focus be placed on the AOD sector. This is based on the identified need and the overall support for the expansion of existing AOD service, particularly from CP services.
No one sector was identified as being the ideal one to be primarily responsible for ensuring that families access all of the services they need but rather the importance of services being able to respond to the multiple needs of families was noted. It is therefore important that services within the three sectors have good linkages and be able to collaborate well with one another.
The amount of funding currently available was noted and identified as relatively small for a national program and therefore significantly limited respondents’ suggestions.
There is a need for common tools to identify and assess AOD-related risk. This will require a common understanding of what is meant by the term ‘risk’ and training of staff in the use of such tools.
Each sector in the survey tended to see themselves as the most appropriate to deliver better responses to children and families at risk. However, in the context of AOD services, which are generally funded only to provide specific treatment interventions to individuals affected by substance misuse, additional resources are necessary if they are to extend their scope and address the children and families of people affected by substance misuse.