Additional guidance for using SCORE with clients

(SCORE:Standard Client/Community Outcomes Reporting)

Introduction

The following guidance should be read in conjunction with the Data Exchange Framework document and the Data Exchange Protocols which are available on the DSS website.

The SCORE approach used in the Data Exchangeallows service providers to measure outcomes using a range of self-selected service specific tools and methods —but to report the outcomes in a consistent and comparable manner.

Organisations that do not have an existing outcomes measurement tool can choose to use the SCORE Likert scale as an interim tool to measure outcomes for their clients. Toassist these organisations in applying SCORE as part of their everyday business practises, the Department has developed a version of SCORE that explains the domains and Likert scale from a client’s perspective.

This information is intended as a guide to support organisations moving towards outcomes measurement. Organisations seeking a more formal outcomes measurement tool should seek a validated instrument appropriate to their clients.

The approach underpinning SCORE, and the underlying measurement construct for all of the SCORE components and domains remains unchanged.

This version of SCORE has been made available as a guide, to assist in understanding the intent of the SCORE outcomes measurement framework from a client’s perspective.

SCORE circumstance domain / 1:
Very poor / 2:
Poor / 3:
Moderate / 4:
Good / 5:
Very good
Community participation & networks
Consider the extent to which you generally:
have contact with friends, family or other people;
feel isolated or connected; and
the amount of support you receive from others / I feel very isolated. I have very little contact with friends, family or people in the community and very little support. / I feel fairly isolated. Ihave little contact with friends, family, or people in the community and have little support. / I feel somewhat connected. Ihave some contact with friends, family, or people in the community and I have some support. / I feel fairly connected. Ihave a reasonable amount of contact with friends, family, or people in the community and pretty good support. / I feel very connected. I have a lot of contact with friends or family, or people in the community and I have great support.
Family functioning
Consider how well you generally: get along and communicate with your partner or children, manage your children, and resolve conflict / I have a lot of difficultly and conflict with my family and this has a profound negative impact on my daily life. / I have some difficultly and conflict with my family and this has a negative impact on my daily life. / Sometimes I do not get along with or communicate well with my family and this occasionally impacts negatively on my daily life. / I get along with and communicate adequately well with my family and this rarely impacts negatively on my daily life. / I get along and communicate very well with my family and this has positive impacts on my daily life.
Managing money
Consider how easy or difficult is it for you to make good decisions about money / I have a lot of difficulty managing my money and this has a profound negative impact on my daily life. / I have some difficulty managing my money and this has a significant negative impact on my daily life. / I occasionally have difficulty managing my money and this sometimes has a negative impact on my daily life. / I am quite good at managing my money and this rarely has a negative impact on my daily life. / I am very good at managing my money and this has positive impacts on my daily life.
Material well-being
Consider your current income from work, business or Government payments; assets like homes, cars, household and personal goods; and expenses like rent and bills / I consider that my access to the basic material resources I need is very poor and this has a profound negative effect on my daily life. / I consider that my access to the basic material resources I need is poor and this has a negative impact on my daily life. / I consider that ‘I am just getting along’ and generally I have access to the basic material resources that I need. Occasionally my lack of material resources has a negative impact on my daily life. / I consider that I am ‘reasonably comfortable’ and that I have access to the material resources I need. Material resources rarely have a negative impact on my daily life. / I consider that I am ‘very comfortable’ and that I have access to all the material resources that I need. Material resources never have a negative impact on my daily life.
Housing,
Consider the suitability of your current housing taking into account: quality, stability, affordability and appropriateness / I am living in housing that is very unsuitable or I don’t have any suitable housing and this has a profound negative impact on my daily life. / I am living in housing that is unsuitable in many ways and this has a negative impact on my daily life. / I am living in housing that is suitable in some ways and not suitable in others. This occasionally has a negative impact on my daily life. / I am living in housing that is suitable in most ways and that rarely has a negative impact on my daily life. / I am living in housing that is very suitable in all ways and never has a negative impact on my daily life.
Physical health
Consider your current physical health in relation to your overall wellbeing and ability to meet the demands of everyday life, including if you suffer a chronic condition or chronic pain / My physical health is very poor and this has a profound negative impact on my daily life. / My physical health is quite poor and this has a negative impact on my daily life. / My physical health is okay and it only sometimes negatively impacts my daily life. / My physical health is quite good and it only occasionally negatively impacts my daily life. / My physical health is very good and rarely if ever negatively impacts my daily life.
Mental health, wellbeing & self-care
Consider your current mental/ emotional health in relation to your overall wellbeing and ability to meet the demands of everyday life / My mental health is very poor and this has a profound negative impact on my daily life. / My mental health is quite poor and this has a negative impact on my daily life. / My mental health is okay and it only sometimes negatively impacts my daily life. / My mental health is quite good and it only occasionally negatively impacts my daily life. / My mental health is very good and rarely if ever negatively impacts my daily life.
Personal and family safety / Significant negative impact of poor personal and family safety on independence, participation and well being / Negative impact of poor personal and family safety on independence participation and wellbeing / Progress towards improving personal and family safety to support independence, participation and wellbeing / Adequate short-term personal and family safety to support independence, participation and well being / Adequate ongoing personal and family safety to support independence, participation and wellbeing
Employment, education & training
Consider your current employment, education or training / I have a lot of difficulty finding and remaining in work or education and this has a profound negative impact on my daily life. / I have some difficulty finding and remaining in work or education and this has a negative impact on my daily life. / I occasionally have difficulty finding and remaining in work or education and this sometimes has a negative impact on my daily life. / I am in work or education that is suitable in most ways and rarely has a negative impact on my daily life. / I am in work or education that is very suitable in all ways and this has a positive impact on my daily life.
Age-appropriate development,
Consider the following areas of development: language, gross and fine motor skills, cognitive, social and emotional development ( this includes understanding things, getting along with their peers and dealing with everyday ups and downs) / Compared to other children the same age, my child is generally well behind in many areas of development and this has a profound negative impact on their daily life. / Compared to other children the same age, my child is generally somewhat behind in areas of development and this has a negative impact on their daily life. / Compared to other children the same age, my child is generally doing as well as other children in some areas of development and this only sometimes negatively impacts their daily life. / Compared to other children the same age, my child is generally doing as well as other children in most areas of development. / Compared to other children the same age, my child is generally doing better than other children in all areas of development.

Client Goal SCORE

Instructions:

This version of SCORE has been made available as a guide, to assist in understanding the intent of the SCORE outcomes measurement framework from a client’s perspective.

SCORE goal
domain / 1:
Very poor / 2:
Poor / 3:
Moderate / 4:
Good / 5:
Very Good
Knowledge
Consider the knowledge that you may need in relation to the area (s)that you are seeking assistance with including the ability to readily access relevant information / I have very poor knowledge in the areas relevant to meeting my needs and improving my current circumstances. / I have poor knowledge in the areas relevant to meeting my needs and improving my current circumstances. / I have reasonable knowledge in the areas relevant to meeting my needs and improving my current circumstances. / I have good knowledge in the areas relevant to meeting my needs and improving my current circumstances. / I have very good knowledge in the areas relevant to meeting my needs and improving my current circumstances.
Skills
Consider the skills that you may need in relation to the area(s) that you are seeking assistance with / I have very poor skills in the areas relevant to meeting my needs and improving my current circumstances. / I have poor skills in the areas relevant to meeting my needs and improving my current circumstances. / I have reasonable skills in the areas relevant to meeting my needs and improving my current circumstances. / I have good skills in the areas relevant to meeting my needs and improving my current circumstances. / I have very good skills in the areas relevant to meeting my needs and improving my current circumstances.
Behaviours
Consider your behaviours and the impact and influence they may have on the area(s) that you are currently seeking assistance for / My behaviour has a profound ongoing negative impact on my ability to meet my needs and improve my current circumstances. / My behaviour has an ongoing negative impact on my ability to meet my needs and improve my current circumstances. / Sometimes my behaviour has a negative impact on my ability to meet my needs and improve my current circumstances. / My behaviour generally has a positive impact on my ability to meet my needs and improve my current circumstances and only occasionally has a negative impact / My behaviour has a positive impact on my ability to meet my needs and improve my current circumstances and does not have a negative impact.
Confidence to make own decisions
Consider your level of confidence in relation to being able to make the decisions needed to improve your circumstances / I have no confidence to make the decisions needed to improve my circumstances and the lack of confidence has profound negative impacts. / I have limited confidence to make the decisions needed to improve my circumstances and the lack of confidence has negative impacts. / I have some confidence to make the decisions needed to improve my circumstances but a lack of confidence sometimes has negative impacts. / I have reasonable confidence to make the decisions needed to improve my circumstances and a lack of confidence rarely has negative impacts. / I have very good confidence to make the decisions needed to improve my circumstances.
Engagement with relevant support services
Consider how well you engage and work with the types of services that you need to help you meet your needs and improve your circumstances / I have a lot of difficulty engaging and working with services that are relevant to assisting me to meet my needs and improve my circumstances. / I have some difficulty engaging and working with services that are relevant to assisting me meet my needs and improve my circumstances. / I occasionally have difficulty engaging and working with services that are relevant to assisting me meet my needs and improve my circumstances. / I seldom have difficulty engaging and working with services that are relevant to assisting me meet my needs and improve my circumstances. / I very rarely have difficulties engaging and working with services that are relevant to assisting me to meet my needs and improve my circumstances.
Ability to cope with the immediate crisis
Consider your ability to influence and reduce the impact of your current crisis / I have had no success in influencing or reducing the impact of the current crisis on my life. / I have limited success in influencing or reducing the impact of the current crisis on my life. / I have had mixed success in influencing and reducing the impact of the current crisis on my life. / I have been somewhat successful in influencing and reducing the impact of the current crisis on my life. / I have been successful in influencing and reducing the impact of the current crisis on my life.

Client satisfaction SCORE

Instructions:

This SCORE component is already depicted from a client’s perspective. As such, current guidance from the Data Exchange Protocols has been included below.

SCORE client satisfaction domain / 1:
Disagree / 2:
Tend to disagree / 3:
Neither agree nor disagree / 4:
Tend to agree / 5:
Agree
The service listened to me and understood my issues
I am satisfied with the services I have received
I am better able to deal with issues that I sought help with