Families and Children

1.What is the new Families and Children Activity?

From 1 July 2014, the Family Support Program (FSP) services will be delivered within the new Families and Children Activity, delivered under the new Families and Communities Programme.

The Families and Children Activity provides support to families to improve the wellbeing of children and young people to enhance family and community functioning, as well as increasing the participation of vulnerable people in community life.

2.What will the Families and Children Activity look like?

The Families and Children Activity will consist of the following Sub-Activities, some of which also include Components:

  • Family and Relationship Services Sub-Activity
  • Stronger Relationships trial
  • Children and Parenting Sub-Activity
  • Children and Parenting Support
  • Intensive Family Support Services
  • Child Support Advocacy
  • Family Law Services Sub-Activity
  • Family Relationship Centres
  • Children’s Contact Services
  • Supporting Children after Separation Program
  • Parenting Orders Program – Post Separation Cooperative Parenting Services
  • Family Dispute Resolution
  • Regional Family Dispute Resolution
  • Family Relationship Advice Line
  • Family Law Counselling (delivered under the Family and Relationship Services Sub-Activity)
  • Communities for Children Facilitating Partners Sub-Activity
  • Adult Specialist Services Sub-Activity
  • Find and Connect Support Services
  • Forced Adoptions Support Services
  • Royal Commission Community-Based Support Services
  • Young People Sub-Activity
  • Reconnect

3.Why has the programme changed?

The Families and Children Activity will build on the significant gains made under the FSP and strengthen service delivery by:

  • refocusing on early intervention and prevention, including early intervention to prevent relationship breakdown;
  • reducing the administrative burden on providers;
  • increasing the use of evidencebased practice;
  • moving towards true outcomes measurement and reporting;
  • working in a more integrated way with other services;
  • reducing the complexity of having multiple small funding streams; and
  • encouraging innovation.

The new activity will be supported by the establishment of the Families and Children Expert Panel, which will include research, evaluation and practice experts to advise, mentor and train service providers and support other capacitybuilding activities.

Funding arrangements from 1July2014 for the former Family Support Program

4.What are the funding arrangements?

Funding arrangements fall into two broad categories:

  • Most organisations providing Family and Relationship Services, Family Law Services and Communities for Children Facilitating Partner services will be offered five year grant agreements that will commence 1 July 2014.
  • Most other former FSP services will have their grant agreements extended for six months to 31December 2014 (and will be provided with an opportunity to apply for longer term funding for 1 January 2015 onwards).

(Please note current funding agreements for the Reconnect programme will remain in place until 30 June 2016).

5.Why are Communities for Children Facilitating Partners (CfC FP), Family and Relationship Services (FaRS) and Family Law Services (FLS) receiving five year agreements under the new Families and Children Activity?

Refunding FLS, FaRS and CfC FP for five years reflects the maturity of those subactivities and their central place in the Families and Communities Programme, but still provides the opportunity to strengthen them through a number of measures.

These longer funding arrangements will reduce the problem of staff turnover in this sector and provide organisational stability to ensure better service delivery and a long-term strategic outlook.

6.Why are some former FSP providers receiving 6-12 month extensions?

While the Government believes the former FSP has been providing valuable services to children and families, there is an opportunity to review elements of the Programme to ensure it reaches the people who need it most and to avoid service duplication with other Commonwealth, state or territory services.

Taking the time to consider these arrangements in DSS does not diminish the important work that services are doing. Providing six month extensions to existing activities will provide more time to put these new arrangements in place within the new Families and Children Activity without disrupting service continuity.

These agreements have been modelled closely on current arrangements to limit the impact on how service providers do business. Funds will be administered on a case by case basis and are subject to performance arrangements.

7.What will be the funding levels for former FSP providers?

The five year grant agreements for CfC FP, FaRS and FLS and other 6 to 12 month extensions will be at existing levels.

8.What are the arrangements for the Social and Community Services Supplementation (SACS) for five-year contracts?

Eligible organisations will continue to receive SACS as part of their funding agreement. Further information can be found at

Funding arrangements from 1 July 2014 for the former Support for Carers (MyTime Peer Support Groups Programs)

9.What are the funding arrangements?

Most of the former Support for Carers Program (MyTime Peer Support Groups) services will have their grant agreements extended for six months to 31 December 2014 (and will be provided with an opportunity to apply for longer term funding for 1 January 2015 onwards).

Reporting

10.In 2013 the Minister made a commitment that the data reporting system would be replaced with simplified reporting requirements. Can you provide an update on this?

New and improved reporting arrangements will be adopted through a phased transition across client based activities in DSS funding agreements from 1 July 2014 onwards. These include:

  • Families and Children
  • Financial Wellbeing and Capability
  • Settlement Services
  • Community Mental Health

This new approach is based on standardisation, prioritisation and collaboration and is geared towards adding value to the way you undertake your business by:

  • reducing the amount of reporting to priority information requirements;
  • simplifying ways to collect and provide this data;
  • being outcomesfocused; and
  • sharing this collective knowledge with providers, to support improved business practices.

The revised reporting arrangements will be supported by a simple and easy to use data collection system known as the DSS Data Exchange.

11.What does this mean for Families and Children service providers?

The Department will be transitioning organisations from existing reporting systems (such as the Family Support Program Data System (FSPDS) and smart forms) over the next 6-12 months, with Families and Children services (apart from Reconnect) to be among the first to make the transition.

FSPDS will continue to operate until the new system is fully implemented to ensure business continuity for service providers. After organisations have transitioned to the new system, FSPDS and other current reporting systems will be decommissioned.

This includes:

  • Reconnect Online Data System (RODS)
  • Family Mental Health Support Services (FMHSS) Online Portal
  • Smart form and qualitative reporting for client programmes
  • Online Settlement Client Activity Reports (OSCAR)

The department recognises that organisations will need time to adjust their own systems and internal processes to benefit from this changes streamlined and automated approach to reporting. The Department will support this change process by being flexible in the timing of when organisations commence the collection of the new data set and provide support material and training support.

12.How will the new data system work?

A standardised client level data collection framework will be implemented across all relevant DSS programmes. The information requested will be limited to a set of mandatory priority reporting requirements.

The priority requirements consist of a small set of questions that service providers will need to ask of clients.

In addition, service providers can choose to voluntarily participate in a partnership approach to provide an additional set of information to the Department, in exchange for the receipt of regular and relevant reports on service footprints, benchmarking and service delivery trends over time.

For further detail please see fact sheets Cutting Red Tape and A Partnership Approach.

13.When can I stop submitting data to FSPDS?

You can stop submitting data to FSPDS when you start using the new data system (the DSS Data Exchange). This is a phased transition over 12 month from 1 July 2014 onwards.

The mandatory requirements will be available from 1 July 2014. It is expected the partnership approach will be available from March 2015.

14.Do I have to submit my service reports in July 2014?

Yes, please submit your service reports as you would normally do in July. The new arrangements will take effect progressively from 1 July 2014.

15.What happens if I don’t ‘opt in’ to report additional information?

You will still be required to provide the minimum data stipulated by the Department.

National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children

16.Will the Families and Children Activity still be aligned to the National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children?

Yes. It is important to ensure that all DSSfunded programmes support the ongoing wellbeing of children.

17.Will the Families and Children Activity still have a focus on Closing the Gap on Indigenous disadvantage?

Yes. As part of the broader government agenda to Close the Gap, all Families and Children activities will still be required to have a focus on Closing the Gap on Indigenous disadvantage

18.Do I still have to submit a Vulnerable and Disadvantaged Client Access Strategy (VADCAS)?

Many organisations found the VADCAS to be a useful tool that enabled them to systematically review and improve their capacity to support the most vulnerable children and families in their communities.

However, there was broad consensus during the consultations that the reporting requirements were too onerous for service providers.

From 1 July 2014, agencies will still be required to develop an Access Strategy to increase access for vulnerable children and families to their services as part of their funding requirements.

However, they will no longer be required to complete a comprehensive form, nor submit it to the Department and there will no longer be specific Indigenoustargets.

19.How will changes to the programme guidelines affect the way we deliver our services?

Changes are minimal in terms of service delivery, except for the renewed focus on early intervention and prevention and the increased use of evidence-based practices.

20.What is the Families and Children Expert Panel? How is it going to assist the sector to use more early intervention and prevention approaches?

To support more robust early intervention and prevention approaches, the Minister has recently agreed to the establishment of a panel ofresearch, evaluation and practice experts.

The role of the expert panel will include:

  • providing implementation support and training for organisations in the use of evidencebased practices;
  • supporting the development of outcome measures that organisations can use to evaluate the extent to which they have helped their clients;
  • providing training in the use of those outcomes measures; and
  • supporting organisations to trial and evaluate new approaches, particularly in early intervention and prevention.

21.Does the Department have a list of what it considers to be effective early interventions?

No. The expert panel will help organisations identify and implement appropriate interventions.

22.Our organisation is run by volunteers, will we get assistance to reapply for funding?

No. The Government is not able to assist organisations to apply for funding, apart from providing general guidance to all potential applicants.

23.My organisation provides services under Communities for Children Facilitating partner / Communities for Children Direct / Intensive Family Support Services. Do we need to meet all 15 Standards under the Families and Children Administrative Approval Requirements?

No. Your organisation is only required to meet the following Standards:

Standard 2 – Governance

Standard 10 – Accessibility of Services

Standard 12 – Client Confidentiality and Privacy

Standard 13 – Client Safety