Department of Human Services

7th INTERNATIONAL LAC CONFERENCE, SYDNEY 2006

Looking After ChildrenIn Victoria, Australia

Looking After Children Symposium Presentation

“Giving every child in out of home care every chance- How the Looking After Children framework is being used in Victoria”

Presenter: Ruth Champion

Senior Policy and Program Adviser, Office for Children, Department of Human Services.

Looking After Children in Victoria, Australia

Context

• Child welfare responsibilities shared between government and community based sector:– Department of Human Services (DHS)

responsible for child protection– Community service organisations (CSOs)

provide foster care & residential care– DHS authorises, funds, and monitors

placement agencies

Looking After Children in Victoria, Australia

Context cont

• Victorian population 5 million (Australia 20 million)

• 7,586 children /young people in care (total annual unique throughput)

• 4,556 of these are in CSO supported placements

• (others in kinship care or permanent care)

Implementation features

• Whole of sector partnership DHS and CSOs

• Whole of state – best practice framework

• Ongoing long term practice change • Care team - Sharing the parenting• Whole information, planning, review and

assessment system (not just A&ARs)

Adapting LAC to Victorian context

• Records used as placement agency client records (complementing Child Protection client information system)

• Revision of basic LAC records (except A&ARs)

Revised records

• Essential Information Record (replaces EIR1& 2)

• Care and Placement Plan (replaces Care Plan & PP1& PP2)

• Review of Care & Placement Plan (replaces RoA)

• Also new placement referral record (used by DHS when arranging placement with CSO)

Note: paper based A&ARs (Barnardos LAC Project original version for Victoria) not

further revised at this stage

Implementation monitoring

What is being monitored? • Use of LAC records• Participation in LAC processes• Exchange of informationHow ?• Voluntary manual six monthly throughput

data summary collated by CSOs• Regional and statewide collation, analysis and

feedback to inform implementation effort

Three data sets

1. First six months data (July-Dec 2003)2. January – June 20053. October 2005 to March 2006• Ongoing six monthly April-Sept and

Oct to March collections (planned until electronic monitoring capacity fully operational)

Implementation progress: Use of LAC

LAC record used

July-Dec 2003

Jan-June 2005

Oct 2005-March2006

Essential Information Record

42% 63.2% 67.9%

Care & Placement Plan

34% 58% 64.7%

Review of C&PP 9% 34.3% 44.8%

Assessment & Action Record

13% 23.8% 24.7%

Implementation progress-C&PP use in home based care by region

Percentage use of Care and Placement Plans Hom e based c are (full t ime)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Statew ide Barw onSouth

Wes tern

Eas ternMetropolitan

Gippsland Grampians Hume LoddonMallee

North &Wes t

Metr opolitan

SouthernMetropolitan

Re gion

Pe

rce

nta

ge

(%)

Jan 2005 - Jun 2005

Oct 2005 - Mar 2006

Percentage use of Care and Placement Plans Res idential care (full tim e)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Statew ide Barw on

SouthWestern

Eas tern

Metr opolitan

Gipps land Grampians Hume Loddon

Mallee

North &

WestMetropolitan

Southern

Metr opolitan

Re gion

Per

cen

tag

e (

%)

Jan 2005 - Jun 2005

Oct 2005 - Mar 2006

Implementation progress-C&PP use in residential care by region

Implementation progress: Participation in C&PP – Jan-June 05 and Oct05-March 06

Servicetype

Child/yp Parent/Other signifadult

Foster carer/ resi worker

Child Protect’n worker

Home based care

51.7%48.4%

57.7%51.1%

88.1%82.8%

65.3%63.6%

Resi care

71.5%69.7%

50%49.2%

87%87.8%

69.1%66.9%

Implementation progress: Exchange of C&PP Jan-June 05 and Oct05-March06

Service type

Child/yp Parent/other signifadult

Carer/Resi worker

Child Protect’nworker

Home based care

22.3%19.9%

28.7%29.1%

40.5%46.2%

33.5%36.8%

Resi care

37.7%41.7%

28.1%33.7%

50.3%53.6%

43.7%49.8%

Implementation progress to date (cont)

• Variable but steady improvement• Still a way to go…Eg set ourselves initial take up targets for 6

monthly throughput:• EIRs 90% (started within 1st few weeks)• C&PP 90% (1st plan due within 1st few weeks

) • Review66% (1st review due after 6weeks)• A&AR 30% (due after 6months – only

approx 33% of throughput in placement >6months)

Using LAC to effect change

• Link to Quality Assurance approach• Practice based record keeping – LAC Review

records collect key client information KPIs• Link to client outcomes focus – giving every

child in out of home care every chance of a good life

• However not yet harnessing client outcomes information potential of A&ARs (not collated)

• Incorporating LAC within new comprehensive IT based client information system being implemented for both DHS and CSOs

Impact of new legislation

• Child, Youth and Families Act 2005• Registration of community services

external audit compliance with standards benefit of LAC as best practice approach

• Best interests of child principles:– Safety– Positive Development (based directly on LAC

domains)– Stability– Age & stage and culture

which extend and build on LAC foundation

Conclusion• So .. has LAC helped us give every child in out

of home care in Victoria every chance of a good life?

• LAC involves a long term commitment to improving the outcomes for children and young people in out of home care

• Ambitious whole of sector practice based change management process

• Proud of our achievements so far • But … we know we still have long way to go-

before we can say we are fully implementing LAC and before our way of using LAC can provide us with all the client outcomes information we know we need to know.

More information

www.dhs.vic.gov.au/lac-victoria