How accessible are child-abuse prevention services for families?

The most common form of advertising was "word of mouth". Many providers commented that if families hear positive reports about the service from other families, then this is a very effective form of engagement.

Provisions to facilitate use

Agencies can encourage the use of services through measures such as limiting costs and providing transport, child care and flexible hours of operation.

In the Accessibility Study, respondents reported that almost all of their services were provided to clients free of charge.

According to respondents, services in 85 per cent (11) of parent-education groups were affected by a general lack of public transport or service-owned transport available to clients. With regard to home visiting, 37 per cent (seven) of the home visiting staff also commented on the matter of transport and the large distances entailed for workers carrying out their visits. They noted that resources were fairly thinly spread across the catchment area and a consequent reduction in the numbers of clients that could be seen.

While service providers were not directly asked about child-care provisions, child care emerged as an important issue. Services that had child-care facilities saw this as a positive factor in increasing accessibility, while services without such facilities saw it as a negative factor. This was especially the case for the group-based parent education services where 54 per cent stated that the presence or absence of child care was a major factor affecting accessibility.

Another factor having a negative impact on accessibility was the operating hours of services. Many services were being offered only during office hours (66 per cent), which was seen by some respondents as useful in that clients could attend while their children were at school. However, narrow hours of operation were seen as a hindrance by other respondents who acknowledged that operating during standard working hours often excluded the participation of fathers. Several providers (six) stated that they were aware that accessibility would be increased by the extension of hours of operation but they were unable to afford to do so.

Servicing those most in need

Are those most in need of a child abuse prevention service able to access and receive the services they need? Service providers were asked whether they believed their service was attracting and assisting those most in need of a child abuse prevention service.

Two-thirds (22) believed that they supported those families most in need. However, when asked to explain, several (five) qualified their answers. For example:

The service does include quite a few families who are in serious need, but we also service some families who don't fit into this category.

In 31 per cent of responses (10), providers stated that they believed they did not assist those most in need of a child abuse prevention service. Typical responses included:

Sometimes those most in need of a child abuse prevention service lack the confidence to attend and often these families are hidden in the community and we don't know they exist.

It is likely that those families and children most at risk are also likely to be the most difficult families to engage. With this in mind, providers were asked about the sorts of initiatives they used to assist potential participants to engage with the service. They mentioned an array of methods for attempting to increase engagement, including encouraging client input into service delivery, verbal encouragement, telephone calls and active outreach, the provision of child care and transport, and arranging social events and activities.