Below is an account of the discussions that directly relate to the current review of the Community Services Grants Program, from the workshop that YAPA convened with a small number of CSGP funded youth services and DoCS.
The workshop process was facilitated by Nadia Fletcher from DoCS, using the results-based decision making model, pioneered by US consultant, Mark Friedman. The results-based accountability framework he created is being used across a number of government agencies and will form the basis upon which DoCS will formulate its case to be put forward to Treasury, to argue for a long overdue increase in funding for CSGP as a whole. The DoCS representative responsible for the CSGP Review, Geoff Patton, was present throughout the workshop.
Please note: This information below has not been formally endorsed by YAPA, DoCS or any of the services represented at the workshop, however this may form good starting point for further discussion around the CSGP Review.
After a general discussion around the general conditions and experiences that the youth services saw as desirable for young people in NSW, services identified the Key Results for young people that CSGP-funded youth services could work towards achieving, as linked to the client groups identified previously in the CSGP Review process (see CSGP Review diagram & DoCS Communiqué 2). These Key Results are listed in Table 1.
Table 2 is a list of observable factors that services thought could be used as indications that positive progress is being made towards the Key Result for Client Group 1.
Table 3 shows measures for a number of the indicators, as identified in Table 2, which could be assessed to show (either directly or as a proxy) that improvements have been made towards achieving the Key Result for Client Group 1.
Due to time constraints, Indicators and Measures of the Key Results for the remaining three CSGP Client Groups were not discussed.
Table 1:
CSGP Client Groups & Key Results for Young People
CSGP Client Group 1: Disadvantaged communitiesKey Result: Young people in and from disadvantaged communities are safe, healthy (physically, mentally, spiritually, emotionally & culturally), resilient and happy.
CSGP Client Group 2: Disadvantaged families and young peopleKey Result: All young people in NSW have the opportunity to reach their full potential.
CSGP Client Group 3: Young people at riskKey Result: Young people at risk cease to be at risk.
CSGP Client Group 4: Young people in crisisKey Result: Young people in crisis are identified and supported to overcome the crisis. |
Table 2:
Key Result for CSGP Client Group 1Young people in and from disadvantaged communities are safe, healthy (physically, mentally, spiritually, emotionally & culturally), resilient and happy.
Indicators
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Table 3:
Key Result for CSGP Client Group 1Young people in and from disadvantaged communities are safe, healthy (physically, mentally, spiritually, emotionally & culturally), resilient and happy.
Indicators and MeasuresYoung people are confident:
Young people are not involved in crime:
Young people interact positively with adults and children as well as other young people:
Young people engage in community events:
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Where to from here?
The outcomes from this workshop will form part of the feedback to be taken into account by DoCS throughout the CSGP Review, along with input from YAPA and other peaks and feedback from services and individuals provided directly to DoCS. YAPA will also use this feedback in future discussions with DoCS relating to the Review.
All interested youth services and young people are encouraged to examine the CSGP Review diagram, the latest DoCS Communiqué and the feedback above to ensure that their experiences and views on CSGP are taken into account.
If you have any feedback or questions on the CSGP Review, you can email DoCS directly at CSGPReview@community.nsw.gov.au, and / or contact YAPA on (02) 9319 1100 or info@yapa.org.au.
