These publications from the Department of Health and Human Services share the complexities of work with children, youth and families and some of the innovative practice approaches being used to address them. This is an annual publication shining a spotlight on examples of good practice and the variety of practice approaches available.

Identify

OPEN Quick Guide: Client Experience (Practitioner)

Client Experience, Quick Guide

This OPEN Quick Guide provides a useful overview of how to keep your clients, with their unique values, preferences and experiences, at the centre of planning and decision making.

Identify

OPEN Quick Guide: Client Experience (Program Design and Development)

Client Experience, Quick Guide

This OPEN Quick Guide provides a useful overview of how to keep clients, with their unique values, preferences and experiences, at the centre of program design and development.

The voices of children and young people in out-of-home care 2021

Out of Home Care (OOHC), Young People, Client Experience, Children, Care Leavers

This report from the New South Wales Office of the Advocate for Children and Young People presents the experiences of 99 children and young people aged between 6-24 years old who spent time in the out-of-home care system in NSW. It covers their experiences of entering the care system and their education, health, and wellbeing; exiting the care system; and the advice they would provide to government. Further results are detailed in the report.

Tri-peaks webinar: Voice Of The Client Framework And Implementation Tool

Client Engagement, Client Experience, Conference presentation

In this webinar Sarah Bendall (DFFH) gave an overview of the Client voice framework for community services and how it helps to ensure the quality and safety of community services for everybody, every time. This webinar also included a panel of representatives from across community services who are passionate about client voice and will share some practical examples and ideas about how to engage clients well.

VPS Evaluation Network Lunch and Learn Session: Lived experience/client voice in evaluation

Evaluation, Client Engagement, Client Experience, Webinar

This webinar from the Victorian Public Service Evaluation Network 'Lunch and Learn' series featured presentations from Helen Casey (Department of Justice and Community Safety) and Jacqueline Storey and Sharika Jeyakumar (Victoria Legal Aid) speaking about the importance of lived experience and client voice in their evaluation practice, with a focus on family violence as a case study for their reflections. Click the external link to view a video recording of this session, or use the download link to access the presentation slides.

“They thought it was safe – but it wasn’t”: Recognising children’s rights as a means of securing children’s safety in Australia’s family law system

Family Violence, Client Experience, Children, Adolescents, Family Law

This report from the Whitlam Institute at Western Sydney University outlines the findings of a multiple case study project with adult victim-survivors of family violence whose parents went to court when they were children. The study found many common themes and includes recommendations to minimise harm to children in family courts, underpinned by a child right’s approach.