Is headspace making a difference to young people’s lives?

1. Introduction
This is the final report of the second headspace evaluation. The Australian Government Department
of Health (DoH) commissioned a consortium of researchers, led by the Social Policy Research
Centre (SPRC) and Centre for Social Impact (University of New South Wales), to conduct the
evaluation. Other members of the consortium include researchers from the Bankwest Curtin
Economics Centre at Curtin University and the Telethon Kids Institute at the University of Western
Australia.
The two and a half year evaluation began in January 2013. The evaluation assesses the extent to
which the centre-based headspace program is achieving its objectives, with a specific focus on:
• young people’s access and engagement with headspace centres
• the centre-based service delivery model
• the outcomes of young people who have received services, and
• the cost effectiveness of headspace centre services.
A diverse range of methods were used to evaluate the headspace program. Methods included:
• fieldwork at five headspace centres including interviews with 25 staff and 50 young people
• analysis of program client, service provider and financial data across 56 fully operational
headspace centres opened during rounds 1-4 (see Appendix D for centre listing)
• surveys of 1,515 clients 10 using headspace services and 4,774 11 comparative young people
• surveys of 207 managers at headspace centres, centre staff and affiliated stakeholders
• a survey of 226 parents of young people with mental health concerns and interviews with 38
parents/carers.
This report brings together analysis from each methodological component of the evaluation, and
draws on the expertise and experience of multiple stakeholder groups.
The methodology used to evaluate headspace is summarised in Chapter 2, with further details
provided in Appendix C.
1.1 headspace background
headspace is the National Youth Mental Health Foundation. Since its establishment in 2006,
headspace has attempted to reduce the high prevalence of mental health problems, the low uptake
in service use, and poor outcomes among young Australians with mental illness (Patulny et al, 2013).
The Foundation’s overarching goal is to improve the mental, social and emotional wellbeing of young
10
1,515 clients were surveyed at wave 1 but only 1,364 clients completed surveys at wave 2.
11
4,774 young people were surveyed at wave 1 but only 2,622 completed surveys at wave 2.
Social Policy Research Centre 2015
headspace Evaluation Final Report
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