The purpose of the submission
This submission aimed to provide answers to a consultation paper that promotes stakeholder engagement and input into developing a Family and Friends Outcomes Framework for AOD services.
Stakeholder input is particularly sought on three critical issues in the development of a Family and Friends Outcomes Framework:
- What does high-quality AOD service delivery to family and friends look like?
- i.e. what outcomes (benefits, positive changes) should be the goal of service delivery to family and friends?
- What activities or results show progress towards/achievement of high-quality AOD service?
- i.e. what specific indicators can be used to monitor and assess these outcomes?
- How can information about these results or activities be collected?
- i.e. what information and data should be collected to measure/assess these indicators?
An outcomes framework is a resource designed to guide the identification and assessment of the outcomes of a program, service, policy, or other activity. The Family and Friends Outcomes Framework will be a practical resource that:
- Supports AOD services to develop a greater understanding of current service quality
- Provides AOD services with a set of standards to measure the quality-of-service delivery and outcomes
- Offers the sector a set of standard metrics that can be used to track the quality and success of delivery across services over time and allow for benchmarking
- Supports the integration of customer satisfaction as a critical marker of service quality and success. This consultation paper summarises vital ideas and research on:
- Defining and identifying outcomes for information and service providers to families and friends
- The purpose and benefits of outcomes frameworks in service provision
- Existing research on the information and support needs of family and friends (to inform the identification of outcomes within the Framework)
- Existing measures of families’ experience of health and welfare services (to inform the development of standards within the Framework).
