job seekers with a similar JSCI score range was between $1600 and $2100, and for Job Network Services (JNS) job seekers over $2000. No correlation was found between a provider’s average available funding per participant referred and their outcome performance ranking. The evaluation identifies issues for further consideration, a number of which are addressed in the national expansion of the program Program scope: There was broad agreement amongst providers that the program should be extended beyond the 10 LGAs and the timeframe extended beyond 2018: a number reported being approached by parents living outside the program boundaries who wanted to participate. While the intensity of program participation required was modest, some participants and providers suggested that the requirement to participate in the program should start later than when a parent’s youngest child reaches six months of age. Some providers also suggested participation should continue after the youngest child reaches six. Voluntary participants: The numbers of voluntary participants in providers’ caseloads were well below anticipated levels. Concurrent servicing: Although ParentsNext participants were entitled to participate in some other employment programs concurrently, very few volunteered to do so. Introduction ParentsNext formed part of the Australian Government’s Youth Employment Strategy under the Growing Jobs and Small Business Package. The Australian Government announced funding to establish the ParentsNext Projects in the 2015–16 Budget. Designed to build on the strengths of the Helping Young Parents (HYP) and Supporting Jobless Families (SJF) trials, ParentsNext Projects aimed to reach more disadvantaged parents and have a stronger focus on preparing for employment. A total of 31 ParentsNext projects began operating in 10 socio-economically disadvantaged LGAs across Australia in April 2016. The projects anticipated assisting around 23,900 participants annually, the majority of them women. The objective of ParentsNext Projects is to help eligible parents plan and prepare for employment by the time their youngest child reaches school age. The focus is on helping participants improve their work readiness by: identifying their education and employment related goals (completing Year 12 or equivalent was a priority goal for early school leavers) agreeing on activities to help them progress towards these goals actively engaging in these activities progressing towards their education and employment goals.
Table 4 Number of funded projects and key characteristics of the 10 ParentsNext LGAs State LGA ARIA type IRSD decile (national) IRSD decile (national) IRSD decile (state) % of income support recipients on Parenting Payment at 30 June 2016 No. of people on Parenting Payment at 30 June 2016 No. of projects funded Estimated no. of per full financial year NSW Bankstown Major Cities 3 2 9.2 4,632 4 3,700 NSW Shellharbour Major Cities 5 4 7.4 1,378 3 2,700 NSW Wyong Major Cities 4 6 7.1 3,467 2 1,100 VIC Greater Shepparton Inner Regional 4 2 8.1 1,460 2 1,200 VIC Hume Major Cities 4 2 9.6 4,679 4 3,600 QLD Logan Major Cities 5 7 11.6 8,268 7 6,200 QLD Rockhampton Inner Regional 6 7 8.9 2,589 3 1,500 SA Playford Major Cities 1 1 12.7 3,864 4 2,900 WA Kwinana Major Cities 5 4 12.2 909 1 600 TAS Burnie Outer Regional 2 4 7.1 462 1 400 Total – – – – – – 31 23,900 Source: ABS Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas; RED. Evaluation methodology Scope The department conducted an evaluation of the ParentsNext Projects for the operational period of 4 April 2016 to 30 June 2017 in accordance with the Program Logic (Appendix C). A number of major pieces of research, including an impact analysis, commissioned surveys and qualitative research, were undertaken to inform the testing of the key evaluation questions outlined in Table 5 below. To the extent possible, the views of stakeholders were included in the ParentsNext evaluation.. Table 5 Key evaluation questions Key evaluation questions What were the main policy drivers for ParentsNext?