1. Victoria’s Vulnerable Children – Our Shared Responsibility 2013–2022Children and Youth Area Partnerships – reducing child vulnerability together

2. Background and context: Activity to date February 2012 • Report of the Protecting Victoria’s Vulnerable Children Inquiry released. May 2012 • Victoria’s Vulnerable Children – Our Shared Responsibility Directions Paper released. • Ministerial Committee and Children’s Services Coordination Board established. May 2013 • Victoria’s Vulnerable Children – Our Shared Responsibility Strategy 2013–2022 and first implementation bulletin released. Nov 2013 • Release of service sector reform – A roadmap for community and human services reform. December 2013 • Baseline Performance Data Report and second implementation bulletin released. 2014 • Out-of-home care: a five year plan released in • Implementation of Area Partnerships. • Annual performance report. • Further Implementation Updates.

3. Background and Context: Service Sector Reform • The Service Sector Reform project aims to improve how government and the community sector work together to improve the lives of vulnerable and disadvantaged Victorians. • In responding to Professor Shergold’s report, Government endorsed a number of principles including that there would be genuine partnership with the community sector and shared governance through joint contributions to service design and sharing responsibility for program delivery. • Area Partnerships are an important first step for the Victorian Government in developing a new way of working to better join-up social services in Victoria.

4. Background and context • Victoria’s Vulnerable Children – Our Shared Responsibility Strategy 2013–2022 • A shared definition • “Children and young people are vulnerable if the capacity of parents and family to effectively care, protect and provide for their long-term development and wellbeing is limited.” • A shared responsibility across sectors • Including health, housing, education, community service organisations, justice, police and local government.

5. Background and context Collaborative governance

6. Background and context Shared accountability

7. Why Children and Youth Area Partnerships? • A collaborative approach is needed. • Vulnerability and disadvantage has a geographical context. • A practical mechanism to effect change. What will Children and Youth Area Partnerships focus on? “What will it take in your community to keep vulnerable children safe from harm and have every opportunity to succeed in life?” Key functions for Children and Youth Area Partnerships • Priority setting, service coordination, service co-design, community engagement; and performance monitoring. • The partnerships will not: make policy; respond to individual cases; pool funding; commission services; or undertake holistic area planning.

8. Developing the Area Partnership model • Collective impact • Large-scale social change comes from better cross-sector coordination rather than from the isolated intervention of individual organisations. • Evidence of the effectiveness of this approach is still limited, but examples suggest that substantially greater progress could be made in alleviating many of our most serious and complex social problems if not-for-profit organisations, governments, businesses, and the public were brought together around a common agenda to create collective impact. • Achieving change requires a systematic approach to social impact that focuses on the relationships between organisations and progress towards shared objectives. This project is an opportunity to test a new way of working. It can be used across a range of public sector services to fundamentally change the way in which we provide services to Victorians.

9. Making collective impact work

10. Information sharing Collective Impact and the Area Partnership model Performance monitoring and accountability Planning and priority setting Community and sector engagement Service coordination Service co-design Five critical enablers for success 1.Good data2. Dedicated resources3. Right people in the room 4. Local flexibility5. Knowledge of leading practice

11. The right people in the room – getting the balance right Area Partnerships bring together Victorian Government departments, including: the Departments of Education and Early Childhood; Health; Human Services; Justice; and Victoria Police, to work with local government and the community sector to reduce child and youth vulnerability. Group needs to have authority to make decisions and effect change Decisions informed by practice and grass roots experience • Members need to have necessary authority to share data, endorse priority issues, direct actvity, commit resources, and change internal operating procedures. • Members will likely be: • DHS: Area Director (potential chair) • DEECD: Deputy Regional Director (potential chair) • VicPol: SuperIntendent. • DH, DoJ: Regional Directors • Local government: Director Human Services • Community Sector: CEO, Deputy CEO or equivalent. • Connecting senior management and practitioners. • Achieved through working group membership, requirement that responses to any priorities engages through reform of practice • Evaluation to include extent of practice change

12. Engagement with practice? Each partnership will need to consider how each member organisation can act to enable change in service practices to improve outcomes for clients. This will require a mechanism to identify what needs to change in on-the-ground practice and a range of reform options for senior decision-makers to consider which will drive improved practice (for example, behaviour) in their organisations. Minister (governor) Level of Seniority Area Partnership level (authoriser) Action to enable changed practice Information on what needs to change Front-line staff (practitioners) Level of contact with clients and residents

13. Engaging with the community sector • Representation for the sector drawn from existing structures (e.g. Child and Family Alliances). • Other members based on local priorties and needs. • The group will be most effective where: • Values match between participants. • Individual members believe their participation makes a difference. • Shared belief in positive long-term outcomes. • Some individuals, agencies or networks will always be relevant and need to be at • the table. We will work with the Victorian Council of Social Services (VCOSS) to develop options.

14. Area Partnership Model with mechanism for broad inclusion AreaPartnershipForum

15. Developing shared work priorities • Enabling partnerships to organise around a shared set of priorities for which the members share a common ownership will be critical to success. • Action should align with the Victoria’s Vulnerable Children – Our Shared Responsibility Strategy 2013–2022 Performance and Accountability Framework. • Centrally set broad priorities: • Safety and neglect • Participation in early childhood services and schools Area Partnerships determine local priorities and approach to implementation

16. Possible process Launch group develops long list Consultation Shortlist and prepareframework for action Provide for endorsement Engaging government and other key partners Launch group members identify key priorities and emerging issues (informed by data and local experience). Engaging the sector Launch group hosts workshop/ meetings to test priorities with sector and local stakeholders • Refining priorities • Agreed shortlist is developed based on where members can have impact and affect change. • A framework for action is developed which details the theory for change and steps to achieve improved outcomes. Being accountable Priorities and framework for action forwarded to the CSCB to note. Networks provide six monthly progress reports to Children’s Services Coordination Board.

17. Possible framework for relationships with other networks • Relationships with existing networks will be tested in each launch site. • Those consulted to date have highlighted the number of networks which already exist. • Area Partnerships seek to build on existing good practice and work, not duplicate or waste effort. • The following schema provides a framework for considering these relationships. Area Partnerships offer an opportunity to simplify existing governance structures

18. Potential launch process

19. A backbone of support is required Creating and managing collective impact requires a separate organisation or unit with staff and a specific set of skills to serve as the backbone for the entire initiative and coordinate participating organisations and agencies. Backbone provided by Vulnerable Children’s Reform Unit Driven by local champions • Divisonal and Regional partners are a critical factor to success – in particular the chair. The chair will need to acting as an influential championto ensure the right people are around the table and engaged from the relevant sectors. This would need to at least include: • The chair (likely from DHS or DEECD) actively overseeing the priority projects and relationships. • Project managers – support staff funded by the Victorian Government. • During the establishment phase of all 17 Area Partnerships, the VCRU will act as the backbone of the initiative, to provide support and ensure a consistent approach is applied to implementation across the state. • Data. • Facilitation. • Guidance material. • Accountability and monitoring. • Evaluation. • Principles for engagement with Aboriginal communities and groups.