Statewide Evaluation of Best Start

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Statewide Evaluation of Best StartFinal Report
Early Childhood Consortium Victoria Centre for
Health Policy, Programs Economics University of
Melbourne
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Overview of presentation

• Principal evaluation questions
• Reminder of main outcome indicators and other
  important measures
• Our main methodological instruments (briefly)
• Principal findings (partnerships, service
  cooperation, outcome indicators) (briefly)
• Conclusions, significance, implications (most
  importantly)

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The principal evaluation questions for Best Start
were 1

• Have the enhancements to universal early years
  services and their liaison with education
  providers introduced through Best Start resulted
  in improvements in the outcome domains of Health
  and wellbeing, Education and schooling, and
  Housing/Child Protection?
• What local strategies were deployed to implement
  Best Start by each of the partnerships in order
  to improve outcomes in relation to the outcome
  domains as measured by Best Start outcome
  indicators? How successful were they?
• What local strategies were deployed to engage
  vulnerable children and families who are not
  currently using universal services? How
  successful were they?

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The principal evaluation questions for Best Start
were 2

• Specifically, how successful was the Breaking
  Cycles Building Futures project in developing and
  implementing strategies to improve service access
  by children and families not currently using, or
  prematurely disengaging from universal services?
  Which were the most effective strategies?
• With regard to the effective strategies
  identified above, where and in what way can these
  strategies be more widely applied to other
  services and in other communities?
• What other improvements have been achieved as a
  result of Best Start?
• What are the characteristics of the partnerships
  that are associated with achieving better
  outcomes? Does the type of funding (category A,
  B, or C) have a bearing on the level of outcomes
  achieved?

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Best Start Outcome Indicators
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Other outcomes and indicators

• Better access to child and family support, health
  services and early education
• an improvement in parents capacity, confidence
  and enjoyment of family life
• Communities that are more child and family
  friendly.
• Service planning and co-operation, (mobilisation
  of community resources) at both the levels of
  partnership and local project
• Community infrastructure such as playgrounds,
  libraries etc,

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11 Best Start (disadvantaged) Sites 2 Indigenous
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Eight main data collection instruments 1

• Statewide Best Start Indicator datasets (plus MCH
  municipal datasets) (ongoing)
• Facilitator-derived profile of Site inc. of
  project implementation (6-monthly)
• Site visits and interviews with Best Start
  facilitators (3 monthly)
• VicHealth Partnership Analysis Tool (Early
  Late)
• Service co-operation co-ordination survey Tool
  (Early Late)

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Eight main data collection instruments 2

• Omnibus survey of parents of three year old
  children (Early Late)
• Vulnerable families strategy (including as part
  of the evaluation of Breaking Cycles Building
  Futures) (eg playgroup visits informal
  interviews)
• Most Significant Change in Indigenous Sites

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Characteristics of Partnerships

• Leadership management
• Broad, active participation
• Broad based influence control

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Barriers

• Workload commitments
• Dedicated support resources
• Parent engagement
• Historical philosophical attitudes

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Maintaining Strengthening Partnerships

• Shared vision
• Developing a culture of collaboration
• Allowing time for development
• Getting the balance right
• Facilitating the process
• Widening the scope
• Recognising outcomes
• Adequate funding resourcing

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Partnership Survey
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Systems Services

• Joint Planning
• Cross Service Promotion
• Joint Projects
• Joint Professional Development
• Sharing Information Cross Referral
• Sharing resources
• Child family information sessions

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Implementing service co-operation activities
the latest surveyComparing before Best Start
with last 6 months of 20051Never, 4All the
time. Average of all responses.
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How much was Best Start responsible for changes
in the service co-operation activities?
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Barriers

• Funding
• Resources
• Time

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Better Transition Strategies (BTS)

• Informed staff about BTS, the benefits how BTS
  are consistent with their own goals and values
• Helped staff understand why BTS should be
  implemented the limitations of current practice
  
• Had professional leaders who were actively
  involved in BTS demonstrated their success
• Recognised staff achievements addressed
  barriers to implementation
• Provided staff training on-going professional
  support for BTS
• Allocated staff time for BTS activities, included
  BTS in staff role descriptions made BTS a
  part of programming advice/work plans

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Projects and outcome indicators - strategies used
in projects

• Promoting service co-operation
• (staff-related) eg joint professional development
  activity,
• (parent-related) development of service
  directories, locality-based network groups
• Health promotion/social marketing
• eg community festivals project-based expos
• New program infrastructure
• (for mainstream) playgroups and parents groups
• (for at risk) eg family resource centres in
  primary schools offering professional
  consultations outreach services (eg lactation
  consultants),

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Number of projects by indicator(Red hi Blue lo)

• Health and wellbeing (65)
• Breastfeeding (30)
• Smoking (0)
• Immunisation (2)
• MCH (20)
• Attendance ED child asthma, infant gastro (1)
• Diet and Physical Activity (7)
• Community safety (5)

• Education schooling (37)
• Parents reading (14)
• Preschool (7)
• Reading abilities (9)
• Absenteeism (7)
• Housing/Child Protection
• Changes of Housing (1)
• Re-notifications child protection (0)
• Subsidiary aims (57)
• Better access to services (19)
• Parents confidence (19)
• Communities child friendly (6)
• Service co-operation (13)

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Early effects on outcome indicatorsHealth and
Wellbeing (7 areas)

• 3.5 year Ages and Stages MCH visit
• indicator set omnibus survey
• Breastfeeding
• indicator set
• Physical activity
• omnibus survey (some evidence)

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Early effects on outcome indicators Education
and schooling (4 areas)

• None directly however
• For parents reading to children - 2 of 6 literacy
  related materials (uses PC enjoys playing
  adverts/junkmail)
• Omnibus survey

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Early effects on outcome indicators

• Housing and Child Protection projects
• Little activity
• Parental confidence and Communities child
  friendly projects
• Community child-friendly
• Omnibus survey

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Conclusions, significance implications

• Best Start has been a considerable success.
• Enthusiastic take-up of partnership arrangements
  across the early childhood sector.
• Contrasted with earlier experience of (most)
  agencies working in isolation or competition.

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Conclusions, significance implications

• Working as a partnership led to
• Action plans new projects to meet service gaps
  with early positive effects as identified above
  and
• enhanced service co-operation between agencies
  across the early childhood sector (beyond their
  involvement in Best Start alone)

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Improved understanding in accessing vulnerable
groups

• Not easy - hard to reach groups are
  hard-to-reach
• Staff should be approachable, trustworthy and
  above all non-judgemental.
• Project selection is important - should be
  geographically accessible build on services
  already well regarded (eg the Patricia Smith
  Childrens Centre - Breaking Cycles project
  within the Parkside estate in North Shepparton)

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• Evaluation confirms the value of continuing Best
  Start in existing Sites extending it to other
  disadvantaged communities.
• Best Start makes an important contribution to the
  state governments children and equity agendas
  and local government Early Years Plans.
• points the way to better strategies of service
  co-operation, community involvement, improving
  parenting skills etc

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Characteristics of successful Best Start Sites

• Role of the facilitator is central
• Role of the auspicing body is also very important
• Role of the partnership is important experience
  shows most settle-down function harmoniously
  and productively.

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• Not only community partnership important but also
  Government-community partnerships
• Important for best funding, best evidence, best
  analysis of local needs provided that
• medium-term stability in strategic direction
  maintained
• Avoid short-term chop and change
• Give agencies time to adapt to new partnership
  practices (replace existing own-agency practices
  not add to them)