Evaluation of the NT MOS projects
MOS Projects context
Up to Closing the Gap: Northern Territory
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In 2007 the Australian Government announced national emergency measures to protect Aboriginal children in the Northern Territory (NT) from abuse in response to the Ampe Akelyernemane Meke Mekarle 'Little Children are Sacred Report' (Report of the Northern Territory Board of Inquiry into the Protection of Aboriginal Children from Sexual Abuse, 2007).
Building on an initial investment in 2007-08 under the Northern Territory Emergency Response (NTER), the Australian Government has committed $14 million over four years from 2008-09 for the expansion of counselling, support and related services to address child abuse related trauma in remote areas in the NT, through what is now known as the Mobile Outreach Service Plus (MOS Plus).
The service commenced as the NT Sexual Assault MOS as a pilot service in April 2008 to increase the capacity of the existing NT Government Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARCs). This service was expanded to all remote communities in July 2008, the commencement of the period of this evaluation.
The objective of MOS Plus expanded the MOS objective to provide equitable access to timely, culturally safe and valued responses to Aboriginal children, adolescents and their families living in remote communities of the NT affected by trauma associated with any form of child abuse and neglect. The expansion of the service also included providing access to remote delivery of forensic sexual assault medical examinations, which is the subject of a separate internal review process.
The MOS Plus service is a relatively new and evolving service model. It requires time to engage with the sector and with communities, and to adapt and respond to service and community need. There are a number of contributing factors to the evolving nature of the service model. These include, but are not limited to, the: NT service development and provision context, particularly in remote communities; diversity and complexity of remote communities; outreach service model and cultural competence issues; staffing recruitment and retention challenges in the NT.
This has implications in terms of reflecting on the outcomes of the service to date, and why this evaluation has been primarily of a formative approach - capturing the output data and short term outcomes to provide some guidance to future service direction and development.