Families with Multiple and Complex Needs (Australian Research Council multi-state project)
Children and families with multiple and complex needs are a priority group for Safe and Supported: The National Framework for Protecting Australia's Children 2021 to 2031.
However, there is no single, consistent definition of multiple and complex needs.
The Australian Centre for Child Protection and Adelaide University together with the University of Melbourne, the University of NSW and the University of Sydney are using population level linked data (within New South Wales, South Australia and Western Australia) to understand the prevalence and typologies of families with multiple and complex needs to investigate outcomes and trajectories over time, including at different stages of life.
This in turn will enable government to tailor future services to this group, with the aim of improving outcomes and reducing the risk of child protection involvement.
The work is funded by an Australian Research Council Discovery Projects Grant.
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Collaborators
Investigators:
Prof Melissa O'Donnell, Adelaide University
A/Prof Rhiannon Pilkington, Adelaide University
A/Prof Catia Malvaso, Adelaide University
Prof Amy Conley Wright, University of Sydney
A/Prof Kathleen Falster, University of NSW
Prof Sandra Eades AO, University of Melbourne
Post-doctoral Research Fellows:
Dr Miriam Maclean, Adelaide University
Dr Olivia Octoman, Adelaide University
Dr Fadzai Chikwava, Adelaide University
Jessica Judd, Adelaide University
PhD Student:
Kelly Winslade, Adelaide University
International Collaborators:
Prof Barbara Fallon, University of Toronto, Canada
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Publications
Intergenerational population-level linked data: an opportunity to inform prevention and early intervention for families with multiple and complex needs
Published: Under Review
Abstract: This paper outlines key challenges in understanding the scale and types of family support needed in whole populations and opportunities to use linked, population-level data to strengthen evidence and inform inter-agency responses. These families are inherently unique and require flexible coordinated approaches that respond to the complexity and changing needs over time. High-quality evidence is required on prevalence, typologies, service use, developmental transitions, critical intervention points, and outcomes for families. Growing investment in deidentified population-level linked administrative data offers an important opportunity. This data can generate evidence to strengthen understanding of family needs across systems, inform earlier and more targeted interventions, evaluate effectiveness, and help design integrated supports that meet families’ needs and improve outcomes.
