Early Learning for Families (ELF) Project
Staff involved: Catherine Hurley, Gwyn Jolley and Stacey Masters

The ELF project is now in its second year. It provides transdisciplinary assessment, treatment and support services for children with developmental delay in the Victor Harbor, Alexandrina and Yankalilla council areas. The project aims to enhance children's capacity to participate in normal activities and to raise parent awareness and understanding of their child's behaviour and needs through individual and group programs.

SACHRU staff are leading the evaluation.

A midpoint report on the project's client data was recently completed and showed that:

• There has been a small increase in the overall numbers of active clients from 112 in 2003 to 137 in 2004 with forty-four closed cases.
• The gender composition of the clients is unchanged from 2003 and remains approximately one-third girls and two-thirds boys.
• The greatest number of children are aged between 6 and 8 years of age, as was the case in 2003, while there has also been an increase in the number of 3 and 4 year olds.
• There have been increases in the number of children residing in some towns such as Victor Harbor, Mt Compass and Normanville since 2003 and a small drop in the proportion of children from Goolwa. When combined into council areas, the largest proportion of children reside in Alexandrina, with only a small number living in Yankallila.
• The most common referral sources are, as in 2003, schools and Southern Fleurieu Health service. There has also been an increase in referrals from Child and Youth Health services.
• Client issues are also largely unchanged with handwriting, fine motor skills, speech difficulties and behaviour problems the most common.
• There has been a large increase in the number of children who have been receiving services for more than one year, reflecting the project's second full year of operation. The greatest number of referrals have come from the six year old group with an increase since 2003 of the number of four and eight year olds referred.
• There has been a large increase in the proportion of children receiving individual therapy and a small decrease in those attending group programs. There has been a decrease in the number of home visits.
• Forty-four cases were closed in the past year, half having problems resolved and others having moved from the area or exceeded the age limit.

A written/telephone survey of parents has also been undertaken with twenty-six responses. This survey explored what services parents had received for their child and whether they had been helpful. Follow-up phone interviews were conducted with sixteen of these parents in June, 2004 and most of these parents will have a second interview near the end of the project. The findings of the surveys and the interviews will be documented in the final evaluation report due in March 2005.

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