4907.0 - Information Paper: Improving Statistics on Children and Youth - An Information Development Plan, 2006  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 08/12/2006   
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This document was added or updated on 13/04/2007.

APPENDIX 2 STAKEHOLDER DATA DEVELOPMENT NEEDS

Priority Area 1: Childhood and maternal health
Priority Area 2: The abuse and neglect of children
Priority Area 3: Children's learning and development
Priority Area 4: Youth educational attainment and participation
Priority Area 5: Transitions to independent living
Priority Area 6: Social participation of youth
Priority Area 7: Risk behaviours
Priority Area 8: Develop and promulgate the use of standards and concepts relating to children and youth
Priority Area 9: Improve the range and quality of data on specific target populations of children and youth
Priority Area 10: Improve the range and quality of small area data available on children and youth


INTRODUCTION

This Appendix presents the full list of data development needs for each agreed priority area as identified by stakeholders during consultation.


Priority Area 1: Childhood and maternal health

Improve childhood injury data
Includes data on injury circumstances and causes. Associated data on family circumstances, mental health and substance abuse of parents.

Develop data on maternal health risk factors
Data on the family and social environment including maternal support and networks. Data on maternal health including mental health, substance abuse, age, body mass index and nutrition, both during and after pregnancy.

Update and expand data on children's nutrition
Data on the prevalence and duration of breast-feeding. Current data on children's nutrition and measurements of height and weight.

Improve data on children's dental health
Current data on children's dental health. Regular reporting of dental health outcomes.

Update and expand data on children's mental health and social/emotional development
Need for current data relating to the social and emotional development of children.
Data on an expanded range of mental health and behavioural problems, including risk and protective factors for children's mental health.

Develop data on measures of children's physical activity
Data required on type, frequency, duration and intensity of exercise.
Data on barriers and motivators for physical activity, including socio-economic data.


Priority Area 2: The abuse and neglect of children

Improve and expand data on the prevalence of abuse and neglect of children
Data on the incidence and prevalence of abuse and neglect required, including data on unreported abuse and neglect.
Data on children's exposure to violence, including either as a witness or a victim.

Develop data on outcomes for children who have experienced abuse and neglect
Longitudinal data on a broad range of outcomes for children who have experienced abuse and neglect, including health, education, employment and wellbeing. Service provision and it's impact on the outcomes of those experiencing abuse and neglect.
Linked data to trace victims through welfare system.

Expand domestic/family violence data to include children
Improved domestic violence data required for all persons in households/families, especially those families which experience abuse and neglect.
Data on the impacts and longer term outcomes for children from families who have experienced domestic/family violence.

Priority Area 3: Children's learning and development

Improve data on early childhood learning, development and outcomes
Children's participation in formal learning (including participation in early childhood education programs, age at which this occurred and duration of program).
Data on family and other characteristics of those accessing and not accessing early learning opportunities.
Longitudinal data on early learning and social/emotional development outcomes with a focus on early learning activities rather than child care.
Data on the transition to primary school, including the identification of risk and protective factors.

Develop data on the supply of early childhood services
Data on the type and location of early childhood providers (including pre-schools and community long day care centres).
Data on the types of learning programmes offered in early childhood settings, including their duration.
Improved data on the qualifications of, supply of and demand for workers in early childhood education and child care.

Develop data on parent's involvement in child learning and development
Parental involvement in child's early learning and development, along with parenting style and parent's education.
Time spent with children by each parent (where parents are separated).

Develop measures of children's education attendance/non-attendance
Rates of attendance/non-attendance (not just enrolment) in education (pre-primary, primary and secondary), collecting the characteristics of those not attending. Related factors including truancy, bullying (including non reported bullying) and school violence (including for ethnic groups).

Develop data on the transition from primary to secondary schooling
Data on both successful and unsuccessful transitions between primary and secondary school.
Characteristics that support successful transitions and the risk factors/barriers to successful transitions.
The impact of mobility on the transition between primary to secondary school.
Priority Area 4: Youth educational attainment and participation

Improve vocational and technical education participation and outcomes data
Improved data on student pathways between school and VTE. Characteristics and outcomes for those participating in VTE and those who are not.

Develop data on young people's education, education outcomes and career choices
Characteristics of early school leavers and their reasons for leaving.
Career choices and factors affecting choice.
Further study intentions.
Barriers to education.
Achievement in education and pathways to achievement.

Improve measures of education participation of young people
Participation and movement across and between sectors.
Movement of young people in and out of education.

Priority Area 5: Transitions to independent living

Improve data on educational and employment pathways
Intergenerational transmission of employment patterns.
Outcomes of long-term unemployment for youth.
Identification of at-risk youth (that is those not likely to make the transition) and data on early intervention strategies and their impacts.

Improved data on transition experiences after leaving school, particularly for disadvantaged groups
Data on the transition experiences of Indigenous youth, young people with a disability and illness (including mental illness), young people with caring responsibilities and homeless youth are needed.

Develop administrative data on youth transitions to independent living
Linked data allowing the tracking of youth across various administrative collections. Data on how well educational opportunities for youth meet the skill needs of the economy.
Access to services (eg, transport, welfare, housing, health), payments received, coordination of services and referrals between systems.

Improved data on young people who are not engaged in either work, study or social activity for extended periods
Characteristics of those not engaged in work, education and community, as well as those with poor social networking.
Factors associated with non-participation in education and employment.

Data on social aspects of the transition to adulthood
Formation of social relationships, both friendships and sexual relationships.
Quality of relationships with parental family.
Family formation and dissolution of young people.
Socio-economic data on young people living in the parental home.
Data on the financial situation of young people, including financial literacy and security.
Risk and protective factors that impact on the transition to adulthood for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Priority Area 6: Social participation of youth

Develop measures of youth social participation and measures of social cohesion
Youth social activities.
Access to support groups, including mentors.
Definitions of, and data on, informal social networks, including connections in the community.
Data on negative relationships, including peer relationships and risk taking behaviour.
Barriers to social, sport and political participation e.g. perception of safety/fear of crime, financial barriers.

Priority Area 7: Risk behaviours

Improve data on youth contact with the justice system
Youth re-offenders, including the influence of mental illness, substance abuse, socio-economic background and exposure to family violence.
Linked data between corrections and community organisations.
Better compatibility between juvenile justice and adult offenders administration systems to enable the tracking of young offenders across the justice system.
Youth offenders, types of crime, contact with police and whether cautioned or action taken.

Improve data on outcomes for youth who have been in the juvenile justice system
Long term outcomes (e.g. education and employment) for those who have been in the juvenile justice system, especially Indigenous youth.
Data on interventions provided to offenders in the system and their effectiveness.
Outcomes for youth coming out of prisons.

Improve data on young persons injury
Substance abuse and mental health, as it relates to injury.
Youth exposure to violence and injury.
Domestic violence data with young people as victims and perpetrators.
Youth driving style and injury.

Update and expand data on youth mental health
Current data on mental health and wellbeing required, including a fuller range of mental health disorders than that available in previous surveys.
Data on associated risk and protective factors, including substance abuse.
Longitudinal data on those with mental health problems, particularly focussing on long-term outcomes and pathways.

Improve data on multiple risk factors
Data on youth exhibiting multiple risk factors including alcohol consumption, diet, exercise, drug use, mental health problems and smoking.
Related socio-demographic data.

Improve data on youth reproduction and sexual health
Teenage pregnancy, fertility and abortion.
Data on sexually transmitted infections, sexual health and links to other risk behaviours.

Improve data on youth nutrition
Current data on diet for youth, including over eating, under eating, associated risk factors and health status.
Current prevalence of overweight and obesity among youth.
Outcomes of dietary habits on health and wellbeing.

Improve measures of physical activity for youth
Current data on type, duration, intensity and frequency of physical activity.
Data on barriers and motivators for physical activity, including socio-economic data.


Priority Area 8: Develop and promulgate the use of standards and concepts relating to children and youth

Improved comparability of data across jurisdiction based collections, in particular better comparability of administrative collections. In relation to age groups, concepts and standard definitions.

Greater comparability between survey collections is required through the better coordination of survey methodologies, frequency and age scope.

Priority Area 9: Improve the range and quality of data on specific target populations of children and youth

For the children and youth population there are a number of groups for whom data are considered seriously deficient and in need of significant improvement. These include -

Indigenous
For the Indigenous population, data needs include -
  • Small area data, at both the regional (sub-state) and community level.
  • Longitudinal data to identify pathways and at-risk groups.
  • Data that allow the identification of multiple disadvantage facing many Indigenous children and youth.
  • Prevalence of abuse and neglect among children and young people.
  • Participation in early childhood learning., including attendance at child care or pre-school.
  • Social and emotional development of children.
  • School attendance and absenteeism.
  • All aspects of mental health for both children and youth.
  • Risk and protective factors including nutrition, physical activity, body mass index and smoking.
  • Youth substance abuse.
  • More frequent data on Indigenous youth in the labour market as well as data on the pathways between education and employment.
  • Social participation of youth.
  • Incidence of victimisation and racism.

Also improved identification in specific collections, such as -
  • Birth and death registrations.
  • Hospital separations.
  • Australian Childhood Immunisation Register.

Children and youth with disabilities
  • There is a lack of data on children and youth with disabilities. In particular there is a need for data on -
  • Children and youth with compounded disability.
  • Children with a disability and their families who live in regional and remote areas.
  • Children with a disability and their families who are socio-economically disadvantaged.
  • Children and young people with disabilities from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, as well as refugees.
  • Data on the transitions from education to work and more broadly to independent living.

Culturally and Linguistically Diverse
Data are lacking on the culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) population. In particular, data are required on -
  • Regional data for children from CALD backgrounds and their families.
  • Longitudinal data on children and their families.
  • Improved administrative data systems to allow the tracking of migrants and their children through support systems.
  • Life outcomes for refugees from CALD backgrounds, in particular education and health outcomes.
  • Health risk and protective factors for babies and mothers.
  • Participation in early childhood learning.
  • Social and educational participation, including school attendance and absenteeism.
  • Data to assess the impact of multicultural background on education participation and transition to work.
  • Incidence of victimisation and racism.

Socio-economically disadvantaged children and youth
There is a lack of data on children and youth facing socioeconomic disadvantage. The following data needs were identified -
  • Long term outcomes for children and young people from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds, including education, employment and social participation.
  • Service use along with met and unmet demand, particularly for the above mentioned target groups.
  • Children and young people living in families with low income and high financial stress.
  • Take up rates for specific payments, along with the impact of child support payments on the child's wellbeing.
  • Families with children in inadequate housing (e.g. overcrowding, unsafe neighbourhoods, structurally substandard housing etc).
  • Those experiencing homelessness and those at risk of it.
  • Data on the relationships between family structures, economic circumstances, family support and family social network patterns (e.g. children living outside the parental home with grandparents, children and youth whose parents are in prison).
  • Children and youth with parent/s with a mental illness.
  • Children and young people with caring responsibilities, in particular the impact of their caring responsibilities on their social, education and workforce participation.
  • Welfare services working together.

Priority Area 10: Improve the range and quality of small area data available on children and youth

Improved data on children and youth living in regional and remote Australia was identified across the field. Stakeholders identified a need for data at all different levels of spatial disaggregation including state and territory level, regional level and community level. Needs identified included -
  • Improved survey data at the state and territory level, in particular for the smaller populated states and territories.
  • Data at the local community level, in particular within metropolitan areas.
  • Improved estimates, on a broader range of variables, of children living in regional and remote areas.
  • Data on the access to, and use of, services for children and their families living in regional and remote areas.
  • Youth in rural and regional areas by risk factors such as mental health, substance abuse and juvenile crime.
  • Youth social networks and relationships (e.g. as a measure of social isolation).
  • Better estimates of regional youth employment and data on the transition to adulthood.
  • Data on contributing factors for deaths, in particular suicide and transport accidents, in regional and remote areas.