Updates on the Targeted Earlier Intervention and Family Connect Support Evaluations
TEI Evaluation
An independent evaluation of the TEI program is currently underway to understand the program’s impact to date and identify opportunities for improvement in the future. The TEI evaluation is being undertaken by Taylor Fry in partnership with Social Ventures Australia and Gamarada Universal Indigenous Resources (a 100% Aboriginal owned organisation) and will include a process, outcomes and economic evaluation.
The TEI evaluation team are currently finalising three deep dives, occurring at five provider sites across Hunter, Murrumbidgee, and Southwest Sydney districts. A short list of deep-dives topics and locations was provided by the evaluation team based off insights gained from their early qualitative and quantitative analysis, where significant themes were identified that needed to be explored in more depth. Providers and locations ensure a representative mix of:
- providers offering services under the Community Strengthening stream, and the Wellbeing and Safety streams
- large and small providers
- regional and metro providers
- Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations and providers who offered a large number of services to culturally and linguistically diverse communities.
In addition to the deep dives, the TEI evaluators will be refreshing the process evaluation with updated data and will finalise the outcomes and economic components of the evaluation, which will be included in the final report.
The TEI interim evaluation report is estimated to be ready near the end of April 2024 with the final report expected near the end of October 2024. Both reports will be available on DCJ’s website. Early insights from the evaluation are being embedded into the recommissioning process and will be reflected in the program specification redesign work currently underway.
FCS Evaluation
The FCS program is being independently evaluated by the Research Centre for Children and Families, in partnership with Curijo (a 100% Aboriginal owned organisation). The evaluation includes a comprehensive process, outcomes and economic evaluation. The evaluation will provide a thorough and in-depth analysis of the FCS program, the findings of which will be used to ensure FCS is delivering the best possible support for families in need.
The
evaluation’s interim report was published in September last year and is available on the DCJ website. More recently, we published the findings of the
Aboriginal sector consultation summary. Both reports found that the FCS program is a critical element of the child and family services sector and performing well to meet the needs of families.
The FCS evaluation team is currently working on their outcomes and economic analysis, which will be included in the final report.
The final FCS evaluation report is expected to be delivered by mid-2024 and will be published on DCJ’s website. Early insights from the evaluation are being embedded into the recommissioning process and will be reflected in the program specification redesign work currently underway.
