Evaluating a new approach to supporting vulnerable families in NSW

Young Australian Aboriginal Boys Having Fun Playing on a Laptop Computer

In partnership with Monash University and the Cultural and Indigenous Research Centre Australia, CEI is leading a two-year outcome evaluation of the trial of the NSW Government's Brighter Futures Voices and Choices model across three sites in NSW.

Voices and Choices is a new model of a person-centred approach to support vulnerable families who are working with Brighter Futures service providers, to support their engagement in the program and enhance their capacity to make decisions and have greater control over outcomes with the aim of supporting those families to stay together.

The purpose of the evaluation is to develop high quality evidence on the effectiveness of the Voices and Choices approach compared to current service provision, with a specific focus on identifying whether the new model of service delivery in the three Voices and Choices trial sites is more effective at engaging and supporting families to make change in their lives.

The CEI-led consortium is using a hybrid-design evaluation approach to facilitate rapid translational gains from research into policy and real-time adoption of more effective implementation strategies, generating more actionable insights for FACS policy makers than traditional process and outcome studies. The findings will inform future policy decisions and program directions for the Brighter Futures Voices and Choices program.