Integrated client service delivery, featuring mental health support ...

41The Family Law Courts’ Integrated Client Service Delivery ProgramEvaluationEvaluation was an essential part of the project.The Courts and the Department of Health and Ageing agreed it was important tocontribute to the evidence base for suicide prevention and to provide informationas a starting point for similar initiatives in other organisations that may be fundedunder the National Suicide Prevention Strategy.Feedback was also important to ensure any products provided under thearrangement were of a high standard. Finally, for public accountability the Courtsneeded to track progress against intended outcomes before investing more timeand effort into the Integrated Client Service Delivery Program model.Given the above, the evaluation was intended:n to assess project results against agreed outcomes and performance measuresn to increase the evidence base for similar projects (consistent with the NationalSuicide Prevention Strategy) through which the funding was specificallyprovided.nnnto provide the Courts’ management and the Department of Health and Ageingwith concrete information about the effectiveness of the Programto provide continuous improvement information as the project progressed,andto inform decisions on the future of the Program such as refreshment of skillsand training for new employees.The evaluation approachThe Courts used the following approach to evaluation:nnnAn independent evaluator, Colmar Brunton Social Research, conducted a majorevaluation including telephone surveys and interviews with clients, staff andreferral agencies to measure outcomes against key performance indicators upto six months after project delivery.Training evaluation was held after each major training module was presented.Staff focus groups were held in all major sites at critical points throughout theProgram.The key results of these different evaluation approaches are embedded in thisreport. The stages on page 42 give a brief overview of the evaluation components.