Draft TEI Program Specifications

The TEI and FCS programs have been brought together in recognition of the similarities in the role, purpose and common target groups of both programs. The TEI evaluation in particular highlighted the opportunity to achieve better integration and a more connected early intervention sector by merging TEI and FCS into one DCJ early intervention program.

Bringing the programs together also presents an opportunity to streamline and simplify reporting in Data Exchange (DEX).

Other benefits include less administrative burden in contracting and more flexible service delivery between the programs. This change will also increase awareness across TEI and FCS service providers which will assist in supporting clients as their needs change. The TEI program will now consist of three program activities:

1. Community Strengthening
2. Family Connect and Support (FCS)
3. Wellbeing and Safety

Further information about these three program activities is available in section 1.3 of the TEI Program Specifications. 

The FCS evaluation interim report demonstrated the FCS program is performing well and meeting the needs of families, so there are minimal changes to the FCS program. Changes to FCS include removing the weighted referral system and creating greater flexibility around service delivery, including in the assessment and overall timeframes for service delivery, to better support the needs of families.

Some changes have also been made to FCS service types to streamline and simplify reporting. 

Program streams are now referred to as program activities. The three program activities are ‘Community Strengthening’, ‘Family Connect and Support’ and ‘Wellbeing and Safety’. This updated terminology aligns with the DEX reporting system.

Both the TEI and FCS evaluations highlighted the opportunity to simplify program reporting. ​ The current program activities have been merged and service types under all program activities streamlined to help reduce duplication and simplify reporting and contracting requirements.

FCS and TEI service providers should still be able to identify the services they deliver in the updated service type descriptions.

A new service type called ‘Youth individualised support’ has been added. It involves providing case management or individualised support to a young person. This has been added as a distinct service type because of the unique needs of young people. 

The TEI program team have consulted with other areas of DCJ (including district commissioning and planning teams) in developing the draft Program Specifications.

Consultation with the sector and relevant peak bodies, including Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations and Aboriginal staff from all TEI and FCS service providers, will take place from 5 June – 27 September to further enhance the Program Specifications, prior to finalisation.

There will also be an opportunity to update the Program Specifications after the final evaluation reports are delivered. If there are significant findings that haven’t already been addressed in the Program Specifications, DCJ will consult with service providers on further amendments. 

1 January 2026.

TEI service providers should use the current TEI Program Specifications and FCS service providers should use the current FCS Program Specifications up until this date.  

See here for the current TEI Program Specifications and current FCS Program Specifications.

Resources are available on the DCJ website (under key TEI program resources) to support service providers in developing program logics.  This includes individual program logic templates (with examples) and an e-learning module.

These resources are being updated with the new evidence and program logic requirements. The updated resources are expected to be available in mid to late 2024.

The new program logic templates, that are part of the updated TEI Program Specifications, are also user friendly and contain some pre-populated sections to assist ease of use.

The Family Connect and Support (FCS) program activity differs from the other program activities as it is a specific and unique program model implemented uniformly across NSW.

Further, the FCS evaluation interim report provided a strong rationale for maintaining the FCS program activity as a specific service model as it is found to be performing well and meeting the needs of families.

You can read the FCS evaluation interim report here. FCS service providers are not required to develop an individual program logic for their FCS service delivery because the model is the same across the state and this is reflected in the program-wide program logic at Appendix A of the Program Specifications. 

Yes, if a service provider delivers services across multiple program activities (e.g. Community Strengthening and Wellbeing and Safety) and/or to multiple target groups (e.g. young people AND families and children under the Wellbeing and Safety program activity), service providers will be required to complete more than one program logic.

The exception is Family Connect and Support (FCS) providers, who are not required to develop a program logic for their FCS service delivery.

For more information, see section 3.3 of the Program Specifications.

The new program logic templates, that are part of the updated TEI Program Specifications, are also user friendly and contain some pre-populated sections to assist ease of use.

The new Program Specifications elevate the importance of cultural safety in service design and delivery, including aligning practice to evidence in the Cultural Safety and Wellbeing Evidence Review. Culturally relevant outcomes and reporting will be included in the Program Specifications after consultation with the ACCO sector and Aboriginal staff from non-ACCO service providers.

Supporting the cultural safety and wellbeing of Aboriginal people is a key requirement of the program that all service providers must embed into their service delivery.

For more information about the program’s requirements regarding delivering culturally safe services for Aboriginal people, see section 6.2 of the Program Specifications

Supporting the cultural safety and wellbeing of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities is a key requirement of the program.

The new Program Specifications outline the importance of supporting the safety and wellbeing of CALD children, young people, families and communities through the delivery of culturally-safe services to achieve positive outcomes for clients.

For more information about the program’s requirements regarding delivering culturally safe services for CALD communities, see section 6.2 of the Program Specifications. 

Core components are program components that are common across evidence-informed programs. 

The Preventing Child Maltreatment (PCM) Evidence Review identified 5 core components that are common across evidence-informed programs shown to prevent child maltreatment. They make up standardised program components that can be delivered by any program for families at risk of child maltreatment. The core components can be delivered in a flexible way, by service providers, that suits local communities and differing client cohorts. 

For more information on the PCM core components, see the Evidence Portal or section 3.3 of the Program Specifications.

Core components were also identified in the Youth Socioemotional Wellbeing Evidence Review . These are the common activities across evidence-informed programs that have been shown to foster socioemotional wellbeing outcomes for young people.

Further information on this core components approach can be found on the DCJ Evidence Portal.

Resources are available on the DCJ website (under key TEI program resources) to support service providers in developing program logics.  This includes individual program logic templates (with examples) and an e-learning module. Updated resources will be available in mid- late  2024.

The Preventing Child Maltreatment (PCM) Evidence Review identifies that all five core components that need to be delivered in order to prevent child maltreatment. Therefore, children and families who require support from services in the Wellbeing and Safety program activity should have access to services that deliver all five of the core components. However, not all core components need to be offered by the one TEI service provider. If there is a core component that a TEI service provider does not deliver, they can refer onto or partner with another service in their LGA who is delivering that core component.  The other service provider does not need to be a TEI service - they could be an early intervention service who is part of the broader early intervention network, another DCJ funded program, or another program that receives Commonwealth funding.

These referral pathways should be reflected in individual program logics.

Yes, there will be an opportunity to update the Program Specifications after the final evaluation reports are delivered. If there are significant findings that haven’t already been addressed in the Program Specifications, DCJ will consult with service providers regarding further amendments. 

Aligning with findings from the TEI and FCS evaluations, the program service types have been streamlined to reduce duplication. As part of this process, we have removed Material aid as an individual service type and merged it with existing service types.

For the Community Strengthening program activity, Material aid has been integrated into the Information/advice/referral service type in recognition that it is often used as part of information, advice and referral as a soft entry for clients into the service system.

For the FCS and Wellbeing and Safety program activities, Material aid (also known as brokerage) has been integrated into the Family capacity building service type. 

Under the Wellbeing and Safety program activity, Material aid has also been incorporated into the newly created service type of Youth individualised support. This acknowledges the unique work youth services do to support the wellbeing and safety of young people and the importance of Material aid in supporting the case management of young people.

We know providing Material aid is an  important part of the work in TEI, particularly in engaging clients. Combining Material aid with other service types is about looking for similarities between existing services and reduce the reporting burden. 

 Service providers are not expected to work with all the target groups articulated in the TEI Program Specifications. The target population for the TEI program is children, young people, families and communities within NSW who are in need. Within this population, there are a number of key groups recognised as particularly important in the context of early support planning and recognised across all three program activities. TEI service providers should consider who they will support from the five target groups, when planning and designing their services.

 TEI services will also be commissioned in line with local priorities and as such, local planning processes will determine priority groups and issues and be outlined in service provider contracts. This should reflect what is needed at a local level.

Further, service providers are not expected to obtain additional clinical qualifications to support children and young people affected by a mental health condition/s (one of the five target groups). Some services are already working with this group, for example delivering counselling and specialist support.

Service providers should have referral pathways to clinical services to support the child or young person affected by a mental health condition, if that is what is required.

The TEI Program Specifications call out target groups highlighted in the Stronger Communities Investment Unit – 2018 Insights Report as groups to prioritise for TEI service delivery, where possible. These target groups have been identified as having additional vulnerabilities.

However, TEI services may also work with people outside of these target groups, including people living with a disability. The TEI program is flexible, responsive, and locally based, so that people can get the right support early. TEI services should be commissioned in line with local priorities and reflect what is needed at a local level.

Translation services may be required to ensure that your TEI services are accessible and inclusive, and to ensure the adequate support of your clients, especially for CALD communities. We understand that these services may come with an additional cost. These costs can be included in your provider budget. We encourage you to engage with your DCJ contract manager to discuss this further.

The draft list of evidence-informed parenting programs is now available for consultation and is available here.

This list was sourced from the Preventing Child Maltreatment Evidence Review, the Reducing Child Harm and Maltreatment Evidence Review and a 2017 evidence review on parenting programs by the Parenting Research Centre.  The list also includes parenting programs where some other research evidence has been found to support the program.

The list of evidence-informed parenting program has been developed to assist service providers in selecting suitable parenting programs. TEI providers offering parenting programs will be expected to select a parenting program from the final list of evidence-informed parenting programs, except for ACCOs and non-ACCOs with Aboriginal staff delivering parenting programs to Aboriginal families and communities (see below for further detail). 

Providers have until 27 September 2024 to review the draft list of parenting programs and provide feedback if other evidence-informed parenting programs should be included. Please include information indicating what research evidence is available that demonstrates positive outcomes for that program that supports it being included on the list. 

The DCJ research team will then review all suggested evidence-informed parenting programs and determine if they should be included on the final list. 

It is important to note the parenting program list is only in draft form currently and is still subject to further refinement and modification based off feedback received through the consultation process, as well as further work undertaken by DCJ’s research team.

The FACSIAR Supported Playgroups Evidence Scan is now available here. 

The list of supported playgroup models (under section 3.3 of the draft TEI Program Specifications) were identified through the evidence scan which was undertaken by the DCJ Family and Community Services Insights, Analysis, and Research (FASCIAR) team. This scan provides a summary of the best available evidence on outcomes for children and families attending supported playgroups.  The scan also identifies from the research best practice elements that can strengthen supported playgroup design and practice.

Service providers delivering supported playgroups under Wellbeing and Safety should select one of the models from the Supported Playgroups Evidence Scan to deliver a supported playgroup in the TEI program. When selecting a supported playgroup model, consideration should always be given to the available evidence, local context, and client and community need. Service providers delivering Supported Playgroups are encouraged to discuss the model most suitable for their clients and communities and any implementation considerations with their DCJ Contract Manager. 

 ACCOs and non-ACCOs with Aboriginal staff delivering supported playgroups or parenting programs to Aboriginal families and communities are not expected to select from the list of models in the Supported Playgroups Evidence Scan or the Parenting Program list. These supported playgroup models and parenting programs should be locally designed with input from community and practitioner expertise. The Aboriginal-led Early Support Programs Evidence Scan w, identified eight common themes among the highly-rated evidence about Aboriginal-led early support programs designed for Aboriginal children, young people, families and communities. The Supported Playgroups Evidence Scan identified two supported playgroup models delivered to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities Exploring Together Preschool Program (ETPP) and KindiLink, that show a promising evidence base. Providers are strongly encouraged to read the Scan.

Supported Playgroups delivered to Aboriginal families by ACCOs or non- ACCOs with Aboriginal staff, should be recorded in DEX under the Indigenous Supported Playgroup service type. 

The Common Assessment Tool (CAT) provides a mechanism for comprehensively assessing families’ circumstances in a strength-based way that is family led. The CAT tool can be found on the DCJ website here. 

The CAT was co-designed by Curijo, an Aboriginal owned and controlled professional services company, and families receiving FCS services. The CAT holistically assesses and supports conversations about the experiences of families across 8 domains including but not limited to safety, home, health and family relationships. 

The CAT will be implemented across all early intervention providers delivering comprehensive assessment from 1 July 2025 and presents an opportunity to build a consistent and culturally safe approach to assessment across early intervention programs. 

Core components are program components that are common across evidence-informed programs. Flexible activities are the different ways that each component can be delivered.  More information on core components is available in Understanding the Core Components Approach on the DCJ Evidence Portal.  A Program Logic e-module is also under development which will provide further information on how to use core components.

A manualised program is a clearly structured package of practice elements, or modules, that have been combined into a clearly defined program.  Sometimes these programs are copyrighted, require trained facilitators and usually involve a cost to purchase them.

Core components and manualised ‘off-the-shelf’ programs are not incompatible but rather can be complimentary to one another. In the TEI program, selecting a manualised ‘off the shelf’ program that is suitable in your service delivery context could help you deliver one or more of the Preventing Child Maltreatment core components. 

We are using a core components approach across the Wellbeing and Safety (children and families) program activity of the TEI program because:

• In some instances, there are limitations using purely manualised programs.  When a program does not fit the needs or wishes of a client, a core components approach can be used to develop a tailored and flexible combination of evidence-informed supports. 
• Core components provide an option when there is no manualised evidence-based program available or known to be effective with a specific client group. 
• There is emerging evidence that highlights that the common components approach is.

This doesn’t prevent the use of evidence-informed manualised ‘off the shelf’ programs where they are available and appropriate, provided it fits the needs of clients in a local context. 

For example, TEI has a list of evidence-informed parenting programs that has been developed to assist service providers in selecting suitable parenting programs. For providers in the Wellbeing and Safety program activity who are delivering the parenting programs service type, it is expected they will use the evidence and select from the list of evidence-informed programs, unless you are an ACCO delivering parenting programs to Aboriginal clients or you are a non-ACCO, with Aboriginal staff delivering parenting programs to Aboriginal clients.   See earlier FAQs for further information on this list.