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Interim Evaluation of the Northern Territory Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Aged Care Workforce Development Projects - Final Report

2: Recommendations for Improvement

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Table of contents

2.1 Building Capacity and Sustainability of the NT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Aged Care Workforce

No.	Project and Report Reference	Improvement Area	Recommendation	Rationale/Comments
1.	NT Employment Project 4.2.1	Information on the CDEP conversion process	DoHA continues to inform, on an ongoing basis, shire/community council representatives and aged care coordinators of the purpose and requirements of the converted CDEP positions.	The turnover of personnel in shires and aged care services necessitates an ongoing communication strategy to ensure that the CDEP converted positions continue to be offered to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workers.
2.	NT Employment Project 4.4	Annual census	Conduct an annual census of each community aged care service workforce based on the collection of information for each individual employed.	To ensure accurate information is obtained on the workforce in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander aged care services in the NT. Options for conducting the census include: DoHA conduct an annual census Include reporting census information as a requirement of funding once per year Contract the annual census collection to a suitable contractor with support from DoHA to encourage participation.
3.	NT Training Project 6.2.2	Training participation	Reduce the time between the skills audit and commencement of training to better meet the needs of service providers.	Whilst the training was valued and appreciated, service providers identified some frustration with the time delay between the conduct of the skills audits and the delivery of training.
4.	NT Training Project 6.2.3	Training information provision	Develop systems to ensure service providers and communities are better informed about: The type of training available Who can attend training (including community members if applicable) The training offered and to whom clearly identifying the Certificate and/or units to be delivered The schedule for the training and Information on training progress for each participant.	Whilst this information is required of RTOs and has been generally provided, many evaluation respondents were not clear on all of these elements. Consideration could be given to including this information through the service provider portal in the web-based reporting system discussed in 5.2.5: Alternative data collection tool.
5.	The Partnership Approach 8.2.1	Promoting community access to training	That DoHA and the NT Department of Health and Families improve access to training by community members by: Clarifying the NT Training Project guidelines and community member requirements for accessing training giving consideration to the appropriateness of outside attendance in situations that may disrupt the work of the service Increasing awareness of and promote the NT Training Project Further utilise local knowledge to support the Project.	Stakeholders identified that greater clarity around the NT Training Project would assist in further promotion of the Projects, adding to training participation and community involvement.
6.	Projects as a Whole 10.6.1	Improve communication and understanding of NT Training Project	Develop NT Training Project Guidelines to clearly articulate the program requirements and accountabilities of all stakeholders.	The development of these guidelines will ensure consistent approaches in providing information about training provision, the outcomes expected (including achievement of certificates), timeframes and training methodologies. These guidelines would also ensure that other stakeholders, such as government representatives, shire and community groups, and service providers have a clear understanding of the NT Training Project.

2.2 Improving the Quality of Community Care to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People in the NT

No.	Project and Report Reference	Improvement Area	Recommendation	Rationale/Comments
7.	NT Resources Project 5.4.2	Community aged care resources clearinghouse	Conduct further scoping of the clearinghouse options to determine if a clearinghouse should be developed.	Whilst the interviewees in the scoping of the clearinghouse report generally supported the development of a clearinghouse, the scoping did not adequately articulate options, costs and implications. In addition, as training resources to meet the needs of the workforce are nearly complete, and RTOs and service providers are accessing the currently available resources, a pressing need for the development of a clearinghouse is not demonstrated.
8.	NT Resources Project 5.5.3	What the HACC? Manual	Further update the What the HACC? Manual before it is provided to service providers.	A review of the Manual found that some of the information requires updating to reflect changes in the quality reporting processes, materials referenced and police check requirements, to be of value to service providers.
9.	NT Training Project 6.2.10	Pilot an alternative training approach	Conduct a pilot of the use of the Aged Care Channel in several larger aged care services and assess its effectiveness for community aged care services in the NT.	This training is provided through web-link or via DVD and is accompanied by workbooks and facilitator guides that foster discussion of the principles learned and is widely used in the residential aged care sector where it has been well received.

2.3 Improving the Impact of the Workforce Development Projects as a Whole

No.	Project and Report Reference	Improvement Area	Recommendation/s	Rationale/Comments
10.	NT Employment Project 4.2.2	Improving CDEP conversion monitoring data	The utilisation of CDEP converted positions is continued to be monitored through the Employment Retention Reports and that this report is enhanced to include the hours per week worked by workers in CDEP converted positions.	The inclusion of hours worked in the Employment Retention Reports will allow for an ongoing analysis of the uptake of CDEP converted positions. Consideration could also be given to including these reports on a web-based reporting system (this is discussed in 5.2.5: Alternative data collection tool).
11.	NT Resources Project 5.3.2	Improving evaluation data collection	Evaluators for the ongoing evaluation of the Projects are involved in the management of the data collection. Management of the collection of data is assigned to those responsible for compiling the workforce profile in any future work on the development of a profile.	The SAD has not ensured high quality data due to a range of factors including the structure of the tool, the data entry processes, the data collection responsibility and changing data needs. A more reliable system of data collection is proposed. Full involvement of evaluators may ensure appropriate data is collected.
12.	NT Resources Project 5.3.6	Alternative data collection tool	An alternative to the Skills Audit Database is developed with the following features: A web based system Demographic data for training participants Skills audit results Training plan including proposed qualifications, the units to be delivered and recognition of prior learning Training timetable Training provided Competencies and qualifications achieved Extensive notes Interface (import/export) to the most common RTO training systems.	As above. Consideration could be given to including in the system a service provider portal with access to elements of the information from the RTO system such as current information on each staff person, the training calendar for the community and other information on the Projects. Consideration could be given to including the Employment Retention Reports and Progress Reports on a web-based reporting system (with consideration to privacy and access issues).
13.	NT Training Project 6.2.4	Improving training access and attendance	DoHA to provide ongoing workshops for RTOs to share strategies for engaging training participants. RTOs to encourage coordinators to conduct a feedback session after the first training session with staff (in the absence of the trainer) to identify training improvements and give this information back to the trainer. Other community members are invited to training if acceptable to coordinators and service providers. (Whilst all services did not agree with inviting other community people to training, the majority did; RTOs should facilitate this discussion when planning training.)	These strategies were identified through the conduct of the evaluation by stakeholders to improve training access and attendance.
14.	NT Training Project 6.2.5	Meeting community training needs	Deliver training that is flexible and includes service and worker specific modules relevant to the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander learners. Provide information to community aged care coordinators regarding current literacy programs that their staff can access.	Whilst RTOs have worked to provide flexible training that meets each community’s needs, further attention to meeting service providers’ needs is recommended to tailor training. Literacy was identified as an issue for some workers; promoting literacy programs to workers may promote literacy training uptake.
15.	NT Training Project 6.2.7	Delivery of Certificate III timeframe	Generally aim to deliver a Certificate III over an 18 month period (12 weeks of training for 5 hours per day) as standard.	This general approach would support the implementation of a flexible approach to meet the service needs and staff needs, allow for reinforcement of practices, reinforce that a Certificate III needs to be earned and is of value whilst remaining financially viable for the funder. Whilst it was deemed that generally this timeframe would suit both the delivery and reinforcement of learning, each service and their workers need to be assessed for the suitability of this timeframe.
16.	NT Training Project 6.2.12	Implement training feedback processes	RTOs collect feedback on training and collate and review it to identify where improvements are indicated. Collated and summarised feedback data is provided to DoHA in the quarterly progress reports from RTOs. There is continued dialogue between RTOs to identify improvements in training on an ongoing basis.	Whilst RTOs collect training feedback, it is often ad-hoc and not collated. Collecting feedback and providing it regularly to DoHA will allow for ongoing monitoring of the satisfaction with the training delivered.
17.	Projects as a Whole 10.6	Evaluation	An independent evaluation continues and is framed against the learnings from the interim evaluation. Data collection mechanisms are revisited and improved. Consideration is given to evaluating the effectiveness and efficiency of the RTOs.	The full impacts of the Workforce Development Projects can only be determined over a longer term. An ongoing evaluation focussed on key indicators will provide information on the achievement of the aims of the Workforce Development Projects and support continuous improvement in the implementation of the Projects.

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