Changing Children's Chances

Children’s early experiences shape  their health, development and wellbeing. When children experience health  and developmental inequities, it can undermine this now and into the  future.

Currently, more than one third of Australian children experience  health and developmental inequities, and 1 in 5 Australian children are  born into adversity. The COVID-19 pandemic has made things even harder  for these children.

Reducing inequities can improve children’s health, development and  wellbeing, but no single policy or service will close the equity gap  alone. 

We have developed a framework for understanding the factors that  shape children’s health, development and wellbeing. These factors  provide opportunities to identify inequities and take action to make a  difference.

The project uses new and creative ways to analyse existing data.  Stacking interventions enables us to determine which combinations of  interventions work best to reduce inequities. The team are testing how  stacking interventions contributes to ensuring all children have an opportunity to thrive.

We have found that stacked interventions can reduce child inequities, such as those found in reading skills, mental health and physical  health at school-age. By taking action across families, communities, and  policies, the best health, development and wellbeing outcomes for all  can be achieved.

Our findings can help decision makers understand how to use limited  public funding in the most effective ways. Informed decisions lead to  more precise policies (when, for whom, how much?), with greater impact,  and the speed needed to make a difference now.