The importance of data in improving
social wellbeing policies
Anne Hampshire
National Manager, Research & Social Policy
Mission Australia
The Community Indicators Summit
Brisbane, July 2009
Mission Australia
 National NGO - homeless, children/ family, youth, employment &
training services.
 2008: supported 330,000+ low income & disadvantaged Australians
 Vision: To see a fairer Australia by enabling people in need to find
pathways to a better life
 Strong commitment to research (what impact are we making),
innovation (testing new models) & advocacy (fairer Australia)
A 4 component organisational wide approach
Outcomes hierarchy
Program
Logic
Program
Theory
Evaluation
Framework
Pathways to prevention: The importance & challenge of data
Recommendation 16, 1999
 Target multiple risk & protective factors at multiple levels
(individual, family, immediate social group, & larger community)
 At multiple life phases and transition points in an individual’s
development.
 Planning began 1999 – MA, GU, phil $, (Dept of Educ, QLD)
 Most disadvantaged urban community in QLD; significant
ATSI, Pacific Islander & Vietnamese communities
 Whole-of-community model incorporating range of programs
& services, rather than single program.
Some child, family & school support activities
Individual Support
Counselling; ER;
Therapy; Family
Mediation; Intensive
Parenting/Home
Visiting; Advocacy
School Liaison
Early Childhood
Initiatives
Playgroups
Sing and Grow
SKiLLS
Child Support Program
Personal Development
programs, Recreational
programs
Parent Support Groups
Supporting children’s
school success
Lifeskills ;Healthy
lifestyle; Craft
General support
Linking to Learn &
Learning to Link
Strengthening homeschool relationships
Parent Education
Effective parenting and
behaviour management
Circles of Care
Integrated model of
support for children’s
+ve development
Community Liaison
Family Literacy
Program
Comprehensive
approach to literacy
development
Festivals
Meetings
Measuring inputs and impact

2005-08 600 families participated - 108 Indigenous 123 Vietnamese - 89 PI  reaching ‘hard to reach’

Multi-layered responses require multiple measures:
- Standard Statistical tests highlight key changes: child
wellbeing; family empowerment; child behaviour;
school performance; system connectedness; teacher
stress & strategies for connecting with families
- Quotes - Rich & informative on what’s happening for
individuals, families, institutions
- Journey mapping - Quantifies ‘small victories’
Pathways to prevention
Measuring impact: P2P Phase 1
PIP: Preschool Intervention Program & FIP: Family Independence Program
Initial Effects & 1 Year follow up: Matched Samples
Effect of program participation on preschool
children's level of difficult behaviour
32
30
28
RBRI Score 26
24
22
20
None
FIP Only
PIP Only
Program Group
FIP + PIP
Pathways to prevention
Measuring impact: P2P Phase 1
Grade 1 performance: Initial Effects & 1 Year follow up: Matched Samples
Main outcomes reported by clients
  social isolation
  support networks, people to trust, someone who cares
  behaviour of child in school
  parenting strategies
 Better $ management strategies  debt reduction
  in family conflict
  relationship with schools/  retention/ more support accessed for
child
Cost effectiveness: Phase 1
 $ of Pathways (pre-school) social skills & communication programs =
$62,000
 $ of Local behavioural management (school) program = $236,000
 $ of Special School (Dept Ed) program = $417,000
(Note: numbers supported by each program vary)
 Even assuming ‘worst case’ scenario eg Pathways 25% effective &
Special school 100% effective:
- $ per participant for Pathways = $560
- $ per participant for Special school = $19,879
(Note: Comparing similar numbers)
 Important work for policy considerations (but $)
Pathways is a model that is:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Flexible, multi-layered, comprehensive, enduring
Effective – i.e it works
Cost-effective
Sustainable
Replicable
Can be brought to scale
But it’s messy, complex & not (easily) understood in
1 sentence  challenging in a policy context!
Some Pathways learnings
 The model of intervention works!
 Development is ongoing process
 Change is sometimes (often) slow and incremental – need
measures that capture such change
 Changing institutions (eg schools) v important
 Invest in development phase, research, data collection & analysis
 Research – practitioner partnership v challenging, time
consuming but v valuable - find lingua franca
 Agreement on what outcomes are important
 Explaining complexity of such initiatives for policy audience is
complex but essential