Case Study – Barnardos Australia

Barnardos Australia - Barnardos

Barnados Australia: The Special Needs of Financial Services Boards

This is amongst the most rewarding work I’ve done. Without it, Barnardos ’ funding structures would not have changed – which has led to lives being positively transformed” – Adrian McGarva, PFS Consulting.

In the late 2000s, out-of-home care for abused and neglected children in New South Wales was undergoing significant change. Service delivery had moved towards a transfer of foster care from government to non-government agencies, with child protection charity Barnardos Australia becoming one of the main providers.

The importance of strong data

Wanting to ensure better quality information on which to base policy and funding decisions, and conscious of the major investments they had made in data quality and capture, Barnardos came to Adrian McGarva to provide actuarial services.

The aim? To analyse the available data in order to track the impact of legislation and funding arrangements on adoption practices and outcomes within Barnardos’ Find a Family (FAF) program in NSW, and identify the savings that had been achieved. This would provide a strong and credible basis for evidence-based decision making in future.

Over the years, Adrian’s work has expanded into more programs, including the analysis of trends in temporary foster care. Initially each report took several months to complete, but working closely with Barnardos management the quality of data and reporting has been significantly improved.

Adrian reviews and analyses the available data in order to identify the program characteristics most likely to lead to positive outcomes both for the children involved as well as for government. It’s now part of Barnardos’ continuing strategy planning to have this report completed each year.

Changing lives for the better

The outcomes of this work have been extremely positive. They have included:

  • Barnardos was chosen as a preferred provider for vulnerable children entering the care system under the age of five years.
  • The positive benefits of open adoption have been demonstrated, leading to this being more accepted as a desired outcome for abused children who cannot live safely at home with their birth family.
  • The Barnardos ‘Find a Family’ (FAF) program has grown significantly. As of June 30 2017, FAF has 248 children in care. During 2016/17, FAF facilitated 43 adoptions with these arising from younger-aged placements since funding arrangements were changed in 2012 to focus on children under 5 years of age.
  • Of the 186 entrants to the FAF program aged less than 5 years old at entry since 2012, 63 have subsequently been adopted, with early years tracking upwards of 60 per cent of entrants having been successfully adopted.
  • There has been much success in executing permanent placements, open adoptions and adoptions for children from foster care.
  • Barnardos has improved the structure of its funding agreements in NSW. Recently Barnardos and PFS Consulting have looked at the requirements for issuing a social bond, which involves a return to an investor based on the government’s acceptance of the lifetime benefits of a child being adopted.

PFS Consulting is proud to have brought our expertise to a range of not-for-profits in order to change lives for the better. For more information on any of our services, including our actuarial work, contact us today.

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