The Stronger Communities for Children program (SCfC) is a community development program designed to ensure that people in communities have a real say in what services they need and how they are delivered. The SCfC is a place-based approach supported by local and external organisations. 

The SCfC resources and supports communities to own and lead local decision-making through cultural leadership in a Local Community Board (LCB), which is informed by strengths-based and evidence-based practice to develop a community plan.

The purpose of the evaluation was to clarify – before the scheduled funding ends – what the SCfC program is in practice, how it varies in different contexts and whether it appears to be working as intended. The evaluation questions aimed to determine if the set of resources (the SCfC program) that have been implemented in a complex system (remote Aboriginal communities) have made a difference and, if so, what types of outcomes were achieved.

Key Findings

• Stronger Communities for Children (SCfC) is currently operating in 10 sites in the Northern Territory.
• Implementation of the community plan is resulting in delivery of a suite of holistic integrated services determined and/or designed by the community.
• The SCfC is influencing change in the communities even without requiring any additional SCfC funding. It is achieving this through its ability to get other jurisdictions to fund activities or programs or projects that they were otherwise not aware of, or thought were not possible, or did not know how to do in community.
• SCfC is a catalyst for harnessing the aspirations of the community. It builds the momentum needed to drive local creativity and innovation into responding to complex social issues.
• The resourcing of the SCfC builds capacity for the community to lead, plan and implement the locally designed service responses. This capacity strengthening is an important precursor to delivering positive outcomes for children and their families.
• There are early indications of progress towards improved family functioning, positive participation in education, participation in cultural events and safety and wellbeing of children and young people and their families.
• The journey of developing and implementing the plan is building local capacity, increasing employment and improving social cohesion. Achieving the vision in the community plan will, in time, contribute to the Indigenous Advancement Strategy and Closing the Gap outcome indicators.