How we create change
We adopt a socio-ecological and person-centred approach to our services, holistically meeting the needs of families, which begins with addressing individual client needs.
Evidence shows that personal wellbeing is strongly linked to our interpersonal relationships. These can be family relationships, couple relationships and social connections. By building and empowering individuals’ knowledge, awareness, skills and attitudes to create and maintain healthy relationships, we contribute to thriving, resilient and cohesive communities.
Figure: Theory of change illustration
Our theory of change animation explains how and why we create change for individuals, families and communities across 5 key domains, with a focus on strengthening healthy relationships and improving mental health and wellbeing across all our services.
Outcome domains
By strengthening families and relationships we improve outcomes across 5 key domains. These domains have been refined in consultation with our practice specialists, practitioners and clients.
For many of our services, we routinely collect and record client outcomes at the start, at regular intervals throughout and at the end of service delivery.
This is done across 4 of our 5 key outcome domains: mental health and wellbeing; child wellbeing; personal and family safety; and family functioning.
Clients are asked to rate their circumstances in each domain over the past week on a scale of 1 (very poor) to 5 (excellent). The average change in each domain is calculated from paired client-assessed data from the Australian Government Department of Social Services (DSS) Data Exchange. This reflects the difference between the average earliest and latest rating for each domain. Clients’ self-assessments of change indicate improvements in subjective wellbeing across all these domains.
Mental health and wellbeing encompasses an individual’s overall social and emotional wellbeing, including the ability to enjoy life, cope with normal stresses, set and achieve goals, and build and maintain relationships. We support families during particularly challenging times, including relationship breakdown and coping with the impact of trauma, as these situations can negatively affect mental health and wellbeing. Conversely, healthy relationships are a known protective factor for mental and emotional wellbeing. Our services directly contribute to promoting positive mental health and strengthening personal relationships (see figure below).
Services that contribute to mental health and wellbeing include our many counselling and case management services.
Figure: Mental health and wellbeing, average client assessed change for 2023–24
Domain 2: Child wellbeing
Child wellbeing encompasses overall social and emotional wellbeing, and is understood in the context of family relationships, school and community environments. Parent and family relationships are the most important protective and preventive factors in safeguarding the healthy development of children and young people (Moore, 2021). Good mental health and wellbeing is crucial for enabling children to thrive from early childhood into adolescence and young adulthood.
Across our services, clients’ self-assessments show the greatest average improvements in child wellbeing (see figure below).
Figure: Child wellbeing, average client-assessed change for 2023–24
Domain 3: Personal and family safety
Personal and family safety encompasses feeling safe, secure and protected at home and in relationships.
Family violence is a significant national health and wellbeing issue. Many of our programs contribute to enhanced personal and family safety, either directly through safety planning and holding perpetrators to account, or indirectly through strengthening relationship skills, improving social and emotional competencies, and promoting gender equality (see figure below).
Figure: personal and family safety, average client-assessed change for 2023–24
Domain 4: Family functioning
Family functioning relates to the overall cohesion within a family and the ability of family members to interact, communicate, make decisions, solve problems and maintain relationships with each other. Families typically include people who live in the same household, but can also include co-parenting relationships.
Our programs improve family relationships by building the skills, knowledge and attitudes to support family members to effectively communicate, make healthy decisions and resolve conflict (see figure below).
Figure: Family functioning, average client-assessed change for 2023–24
Domain 5: Connection and belonging
Connection and belonging are crucial for mental health and wellbeing and overall quality of life. Relationships, communities and culture can all provide essential sources of connection and belonging, offering purpose and meaning.
Finding, building and sustaining these connections or places where one feels a sense of belonging can be challenging, particularly for those experiencing trauma or difficult times. Strengthening connection and belonging assists with parenting and managing distress, helps to reduce loneliness, supports learning and empathy and enhances feelings of safety, resilience and overall mental health and wellbeing.
An example of a service that contributes to improvements in connection and belonging is the Open Place support service for Forgotten Australians.
‘It has connected me with such a wonderful community that I wasn’t aware of, thank you.’ – Open Place service user
‘[Open Place has given me] a sense of belonging to people who care and will always be there to help you.’ – Open Place service user
