The Health and Wellbeing
Service Framework
An integrated approach to service delivery
Background to the Framework
•
The creation of the Department of Education and Early Childhood
Development (DEECD) in late 2007, brought together a range of health and
wellbeing services for children and young people from birth to 18 years.
•
The joining of these services under DEECD creates the opportunity to
examine how they can work together more effectively to improve services for
children, young people and their families.
•
The development of the Framework involved an extensive consultation
process including regional forums, DEECD regional leadership and program
manager meetings and feedback from a wide range of key stakeholders,
based on the Towards a Health and Wellbeing Service Framework
discussion paper.
•
The Framework is a Blueprint for Education and Early Childhood
Development 2008 Year 2 commitment, that progresses the Blueprint
strategies.
Progressing Blueprint reform strategies and the life course approach
Every child
thrives,
learns and
develops
DEECD Health and Wellbeing Services
The Framework
focuses on
DEECD partially
or fully funded
services that
identify health
and/or wellbeing
as their core
business and
directly support
children, young
people and their
families.
The Health and Wellbeing Services Framework
The Framework describes how DEECD health
and wellbeing services can work in an
integrated way to optimise children and
young people’s health, wellbeing, learning
and development outcomes.
There are four key elements of the Framework:
1. Common service delivery domains
2. Shared principles for service delivery
3. Stronger relationships and
partnerships
4. Effective leadership.
Element 1 - Common Service Delivery Domains
The eight domains will help to services to:
•
•
•
clarify and articulate their core business
identify services with which to build partnerships and referral practices
identify service gaps and duplication and decide how to best use existing resources.
The domains are:
• Health promotion and primary prevention
• Population health monitoring for children and young people
• Early identification of risk vulnerability and need
• Early identification for children and young people at risk of compromised health
and wellbeing
• Effective support, intervention and monitoring for those requiring complex
responses
• Reducing barriers to learning and development
• Restoring wellbeing
• Linking children and young people to their community
Element 2 - Shared Principles for Service Delivery
The eight shared principles create a shared language and platform for
services to work together. The principles should underlie the work of all
DEECD health and wellbeing services and become embedded in the
guidelines, standards and daily work of these services.
• Universal access
• Focus on outcomes
• Evidence-based services
• Integrated approach to service delivery
• Child, youth and family centred practice
• Cultural competence
• Partnerships with family and community
• Commitment to service excellence
Element 3 - Stronger relationships and partnerships
Smoother transitions between early childhood and school based services and
links and partnerships among DEECD health and wellbeing services are
needed to develop a coordinated and responsive service system for children
and young people. This requires:
• Working within existing governance structures and
network groups to address priority health and wellbeing
issues and development of service coordination
practices
• Forging new partnerships and governance structures
where required
• Strengthening partnerships with other relevant
government, non government and community services,
educators and families.
Element 4 – Effective Leadership
• Strong leadership and good governance is fundamental to
successfully implementing the Framework
• Regional leaders, managers of DEECD health and
wellbeing services and community leaders, should consider
how they can champion the framework and drive its
implementation in their area, building on existing work
• Health and Wellbeing Service Framework leadership teams
can support this work.
The Framework’s implementation will mean that services will:
• Better understand their roles and responsibilities and those of
other services both locally and regionally;
• Share a common vision, set of values and understanding with
other DEECD health and wellbeing services;
• Develop shared skills and knowledge that build their capability to
work with children, young people and their families and
effectively support their transition to another service as required,
• Build relationships with other DEECD and community-based
health and wellbeing services and well as with families,
educators, and relevant community services.
Projects to support implementation of the Framework
• A number of DEECD projects will support regions in implementing the
Framework. These include:
• Governance Demonstration Projects to develop and trial
regional governance structures that reflect the Framework’s
integrated approach. These projects will help inform
implementation of the Framework across all nine regions.
• Exploring the possibility of developing a common data set
and client record across multiple services. This will include
investigating relevant data collection and IT systems, and
mapping legislative requirements for sharing client
information.
• Developing a Performance Measurement Framework to
monitor and assess the difference health and wellbeing
services are making to children and young peoples’
outcomes.
The Framework conveys a vision that is already
being pursued across Victoria; it supports this work
and offers a common language and approach to
further the development of a service system that
supports children and young people’s health,
wellbeing, learning and development outcomes.
This is your Health and Wellbeing Service
Framework; its results will be seen in how you
translate it to your context and use it to inform
your work.
Further information
The Health and Wellbeing Service Framework: Webpage
www.education.vic.gov.au/hwsframework
Email:
health.wellbeing.feedback@edumail.vic.gov.au