From evidence to action: what does earlier support look like?
Supporting children and families earlier was at the heart of Marist180’s National Child Protection Week forum. But beyond the evidence and economic case, the discussion explored a practical question: what would a system designed around earlier support actually look like?
At A Smarter Investment: The Economics of Early Intervention, hosted by Marist180 with the support of Commonwealth Bank, leaders from child and family services, advocacy, research and government came together to explore what it would take to turn evidence into action.
Opening the forum, Marist180 CEO Angela Raguz reflected that the value of earlier support is not a new conversation. The challenge is how we take what we already know and put it into practice.
What followed was a discussion not only about funding, but about where families encounter support, how different systems connect and what children and young people themselves say they need.
Start with what children and young people are telling us
NSW Advocate for Children and Young People Katherine McKernan spoke about the importance of listening to children and young people and keeping their needs at the centre of decisions.
“Meaningful change happens when we listen to children and young people, take their views seriously, and keep their needs at the centre of our decisions.”
Associate Professor Tim Moore from Australian Catholic University brought that perspective into the panel discussion, sharing what children and young people had told researchers about their experiences of the child protection system.
When asked what they needed, Tim said children and young people repeatedly came back to three things: support their families, act early and make things better rather than harder.
One young person described wanting someone to ask their mother a simple question: Are you okay? Can you get help?
Tim also challenged the way outcomes are traditionally measured. From a child’s perspective, success is not only whether a service was delivered or a referral was made. It can be whether life actually feels better, whether they know someone is supporting their family, whether they feel listened to and whether they have some sense of control over what is happening in their life.
That changes the way we think about earlier support. It is not simply about identifying problems sooner. It is about listening to what children and families say they need and creating opportunities for that support to reach them sooner.
Meeting families where they already are
Families interact with schools, health services, housing providers, libraries and community organisations long before they may need more formal support. The panel explored what it could look like if some of those existing connections also became pathways to help.
Susan Watson, CEO of Fams NSW, shared an example of support beginning through a local library, an ordinary community setting that provided what she described as a “soft entry” for a family.
The example prompted a bigger question: where are families already showing up, and how can support meet them there?
A family experiencing housing insecurity may already be interacting with housing services. A school may see that a child is struggling. A community organisation may recognise that a family could use additional support.
The opportunity is not simply to identify families earlier. It is to make support easier to access through the places and relationships families already know and trust. As Susan put it: “Rather than, ‘Why didn’t we intervene earlier?’, we ask, ‘Why didn’t we support that family earlier?’”
A child’s wellbeing does not sit within one system
Children and families do not experience housing, education, health, mental health, family relationships, cultural connection and community as separate issues. Together, these conditions shape their wellbeing and their capacity to thrive. Yet responsibility for those conditions sits across different services and areas of government.
The discussion at the forum therefore broadened the question of earlier support beyond child protection. If the pressures affecting families cross different systems, then creating the conditions for children to do well requires those systems to work together.
The economic evidence presented at the forum adds weight to that conversation. Modelling commissioned by Fams NSW and undertaken by Lumenia projects that every $1 invested in early intervention delivers at least $2.97 in economic and social benefits.
NSW expenditure across the child protection system increased by around $1 billion between 2016–17 and 2024–25, with 87 per cent of that increase concentrated in care and protective intervention services and 13 per cent in family support. These figures do not diminish the importance of statutory child protection or high-quality care for children who need it. Those services remain essential.
Instead, the evidence raises another question: how can investment across the system create more opportunities to support children and families earlier?
Valuing what does not happen
Answering that question also requires thinking differently about how success is measured. Earlier support can be difficult to see precisely because some of its most important outcomes are things that do not happen.
Tim described these as the “silent benefits” of prevention: “It’s the child that didn’t come into care. It’s the referral that didn’t happen. And it’s just not as visible.”
A child remaining safely connected to family, a young person staying engaged with school or a parent receiving support earlier may never appear as a child protection outcome. But those outcomes matter.
Katherine also spoke about the connection between what governments measure and what they value. When prevention is measured and valued, it is more likely to be reflected in decisions about investment.
At the same time, earlier support is not an either-or proposition. For children already in care, safety and high-quality care remain essential, alongside healing, stability, restoration, connection to kin and opportunities into adulthood.
For Aboriginal children and families, AbSec CEO John Leha also reinforced the importance of investing earlier in Aboriginal families, communities and Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations, recognising the strengths of family, kin, culture and community.
Together, these perspectives point to a broader understanding of investment: supporting families earlier, while continuing to provide strong responses and care when children need them.
Turning evidence into action
So what does earlier support look like in practice? The examples shared at the forum suggest there is no single answer. It might be a family finding help through a local library. A school recognising an opportunity to connect a child and family with support. Housing, health and community services working together around a family earlier.
It means listening to children and young people not only about the services they receive, but about whether things are actually getting better for them and their families.
It means recognising that some of the most important outcomes may be less visible, and ensuring those outcomes are still valued when decisions about investment are made.
And it means looking beyond any one service or system to the conditions children need to grow up safe, supported and connected to family, culture and community.
As Angela said at the forum: “Children, young people and families do better when support is available early. It’s not new. The question is: how do we take what we know and actually put those things into action?”
The forum showed that earlier support can take many forms, from where families first find help to how services work together and investment decisions are made. The challenge is how we turn that understanding into better support for children and families, earlier.
Watch the full event video: Marist180 NCPW 2026 event
