MacKillop Family Services (MacKillop) is a non-government organisation providing a wide range of community services across three states in Australia including out-of-home care, family services, education and disability... [ view full abstract ]
MacKillop Family Services (MacKillop) is a non-government organisation providing a wide range of community services across three states in Australia including out-of-home care, family services, education and disability services. MacKillop is a Sanctuary-certified organisation. The Sanctuary Model is an organisational framework that integrates trauma theory with the creation of therapeutic communities to promote safety for all.
This paper will outline the MacKillop Therapeutic Residential Care (TRC) Outcomes Monitoring Project that commenced in 2015 and which monitors client outcomes across our TRC program. The presentation will focus on the project aims, methodology, six months of client outcomes data and our learning.
MacKillop operates ten TRC homes in Victoria, Australia. The TRC homes are based on a program implemented by the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services in 2007 and associated with positive outcomes for young people across a range of indicators (McLean, Price-Robertson and Robinson, 2011; McNamara 2015). Residential homes typically accommodate 4 children or young people in houses in the community.
The key components of the TRC model include: Therapeutic specialists attached to each home, therapeutically trained staff, reflective practice, higher staffing levels with consistent rostering, therapeutic assessments, planned transitions, placement matching, a home-like physical environment and organisational congruence and commitment to the therapeutic model.
MacKillop is undertaking this project with Verso Consulting. Client outcomes are monitored and measured through regular daily observations from residential carers and therapeutic specialists using three psychometric tools: the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), the Health of the Nation Outcome Scales for Children and Adolescents (HoNOSCA) and the Brann Likert Scales.
These tools together enable positive and negative client outcomes to be measured covering key outcome domains. Use of App technology allows the innovative collection of the data at each shift change and particular data to be entered monthly by the therapeutic specialist and care staff.
Residential home staff and managers have real time access to the daily observations for all young people in the residential home. This also provides for the real time management of risk. Aggregated and trend data is used throughout the therapeutic intervention to inform better targeted and more responsive short and long term interventions.
Customised data reports can be used for discussion and reflection with the young person, use in reflective team meeting, staff handover, care planning, the development of therapeutic treatment plans and management of service improvements.
Using the data from the project, the outcomes for young people will be benchmarked against the findings of evaluations of other TRC programs.
The MacKillop TRC Outcomes Monitoring Project aims to support good practice, promote the effective implementation of the TRC model and ensure improved outcomes for children and young people in care.
References
McLean, S., Price-Robertson, R. and Robinson, E. (2011), Therapeutic residential care in Australia: taking stock and looking forward, Australian Institute of Family Studies National Child Protection Clearinghouse, no 35.
McNamara P (2015) ‘A new era in the development of therapeutic residential care in the State of Victoria’ in Whittaker, J.K., del valle, J. & Holmes, L. (Eds.) Therapeutic residential care with children and youth: identifying promising pathways to evidence-based international practice, London and Philadelphia: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, pp.126-141.
Residential child care , Program evaluation and quality in child welfare
