A review of the Tier 1 Family Group Home Services model is underway. The Alliance for Children at Risk has engaged Shawn Boyle and Associates to conduct the review

In 2009, the first contracts were awarded to non-government agencies to run Tier 1 family group homes for children in the then Department for Child Protection CEO’s care.

Five years on and the environment within which Tier 1 services operate has changed substantially. Fair Work Australia determinations have introduced a range of employment conditions not originally included in the model, bringing potential impacts on operating costs. The employment market has changed since the Tier 1 model was first conceived, with implications for staff recruitment and retention.

In addition to these factors, case management practices and increasing complexity of relationships between agencies involved in Tier 1 services and support affect the outcomes that can be achieved for children in care. There is also discussion amongst Tier 1 providers about how therapeutic expectations are met through case management and care planning practices.

Tier 1 service providers have expressed concern through the Alliance for Children at Risk about the long-term financial sustainability of the Tier 1 service model in its current form, and the capacity of the model, as it is currently practised, to deliver acceptable outcomes for children in care.

This review will explore these and other issues with the Tier 1 service providers and the Department for Child Protection and Family Support.

Shawn Boyle and Associates will be gathering data and interviewing stakeholders through May and into June 2014.

If you have information you would like to contribute to the Alliance for Children at Risk's Tier 1 Family Group Home service review, please contact us.

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