Leaders in the not-for-profit, research, philanthropy and business sectors have joined forces to shine a light on the human and economic benefits of early support for Australian children.
COLI Report Launch (L-R): Jonthan Carapetis, Nicola Forrest, MC David Speers, Stacey Fox (Front Project), Damien Gare (Woodside)
The first major national study into the benefits and opportunities of early intervention has found getting in too late to provide help to at-risk families and children costs Australia $15.2 billion a year.
Known as the ‘cost of late intervention’, the staggering figure was revealed thanks to a collaboration between CoLab – Collaborate for Kids (a partnership between Telethon Kids Institute and Minderoo Foundation), Early Intervention Foundation UK, Woodside Energy and The Front Project.
The groups – which share a belief in children as the foundation of a cohesive society, a strong economy, and a prosperous Australia – came together to examine the benefits and opportunities of early intervention.
Their two-year research project culminated in an extensive report, delivered to Parliament House in Canberra in October 2019, and an urgent call for a nationwide overhaul of government policies to ensure at-risk children receive vital support services at a much earlier stage.
The report, How Australia can invest in children and return more, found an increasing number of Australian children and young people were requiring crisis, or late intervention, services to help deal with serious life challenges such as unemployment, obesity, homelessness and mental health issues. The report found these late intervention services cost Australian governments $15.2 billion every year – a bill which could be avoided if help was provided sooner.
Telethon Kids Institute director Jonathan Carapetis said the report shone an important national spotlight on the importance of the early years.
“One in five children in Australia starts school with a developmental vulnerability,” Professor Carapetis said.
“Research shows the first three years of a child’s life are crucial to their development and provide the foundation for a happy, healthy future.
The report’s launch at Parliament House in Canberra in October 2019 illustrated the scale of the potential benefits from early intervention in Australia and called for policy reform to enable a smarter and more targeted evidence-based approach to early intervention.
Members of Parliament from across the country attended the launch, emceed by ABC Insiders host David Speers.
CoLab Director of Policy David Ansell said there had been growing interest from Australian Governments in early intervention in the life course to prevent later social and economic costs.
“However, until now, there has been a lack of alignment from children’s advocates,” Mr Ansell said. “We hope this unprecedented collaboration and important research can provide a tangible catalyst for a consistent and coordinated advocacy about the benefits of early intervention.”