Gathering New Data

Victorian Government Departments hold a large amount of information on how children are faring, as does the Australian Bureau of Statistics and other research bodies.  Where possible, these data are used to report against the 150 Victorian Child and Adolescent Monitoring System (VCAMS) indicators (PDF - 95Kb). However, this gives only a partial picture; initially there were many VCAMS indicators for which data were not readily available.  Furthermore, some population groups are not satisfactorily represented within standard surveys and they require tailored approaches if their situation is to be properly understood.  To address these data gaps, the Department is undertaking a rolling program of new data collections as outlined below:

• The Victorian Child Health and Wellbeing Survey
  This was first carried out in 2006, and will be repeated during 2009.  5000 telephone interviews will be carried out with parents or carers of Victorian children aged from birth to 12 years.
• The Local Level Child Health and Wellbeing Survey
  A local version of the Victorian Child Health and Wellbeing Survey was carried out in 25 Local Government Areas, with Best Start Partnerships, in 2007. See Best Start.
• The Victorian Adolescent Health and Wellbeing Survey
  This online survey will be completed by a representative sample of over 10,000 secondary school students across the state.  Fieldwork will begin in term 2, 2009.
• The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey
  This survey is currently underway and will continue into early 2009.  The national household survey is being undertaken by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, with an enhanced Victorian sample to support reporting on outcomes for Indigenous children and young people across the state.
• The Child and Family Services Outcomes Survey
  This survey of outcomes for children and young people who are in contact with child protection and family services or in out of home care is expected to take place in 2009.
• Children with Disabilities Survey
  Work is underway to develop a survey of children, young people and families affected by disability.
• Refugee Children and Families Survey
  This survey development will follow the consideration of a Refugee Status Report, drawing together what is already known about this population group.

The results from these surveys have been incorporated into our annual reports, see Reporting on How Children and Young People are Faring.

Victorian Child Health and Wellbeing Survey

As the new data collection program has been designed to plug data gaps for the VCAMS indicators, reports are not produced with the survey results in isolation.  The 2006 Victorian Child Health and Wellbeing Survey (VCHWS) results are presented in The state of Victoria's children report 2006.  However, the Technical Report sets out the background, the methodology and selected results tables.  The 2006 VCHWS is the first statewide population-level survey of its kind to be carried out on behalf of children living in Victoria.  It will be repeated every three years.

See the 2006 Victorian Child Health and Wellbeing Survey technical report (PDF - 3.0Mb)