Their Futures Matter brings together services and evidence from across government to deliver one connected response to the needs of vulnerable children and families.
Our approach is fundamentally different: we‘re moving from a system based on placements to one that positions children and families at the centre of everything we do.
Their Futures Matter is both a landmark reform and cross-agency implementation unit of the NSW Government. It is a response to the findings of the Independent Review, which found the existing system to be siloed and ineffective. A key recommendation was for a single commissioning entity to be responsible for driving the reform process.
The reform represents significant change – it requires a whole-of-government approach with an unprecedented amount of collaboration across government to identify areas where the greatest impact can be made.
Our Implementation Board brings together representatives from across government including NSW departments of Education, Family and Community Services, Health, Justice, Premier and Cabinet, and Treasury. These partner agencies each contribute to building evidence, designing solutions, and implementing the reform.
The work of the Their Futures Matter Implementation Unit, the single commissioning entity, will:
Our cohort approach will enable us to design and commission packages of support based on the needs and aspirations of children, young people, and their families. Packages and programs will be commissioned in collaboration with service delivery agencies to drive a single response for vulnerable children and families.
A whole-of-government connected response for children and families will be supported by a redesign of the child protection and wellbeing access system. This process will redesign the intake, assessment and referral processes and system architecture that connect vulnerable children and families to child protection or child wellbeing responses and services suitable for their needs.
The Access System Redesign will use aim to address specific issues identified in the Independent Review, including the need to:
The Redesign process will be led by the Their Futures Matter Implementation Unit in collaboration with NSW Government agencies and frontline services. This will ensure the design and implementation of new system pathways are informed by evidence, analysis and practice expertise from across the child wellbeing and service domains.
Our vision is to create a coordinated service system that delivers evidence-based, wraparound supports for children and families to transform their life outcomes.
