Research and Evaluation
CAPS combines specialist prevention experience with research and ongoing learning to strengthen its work.
Our partnership with the Australian Institute of Health Innovation (AIHI) at Macquarie University focuses on independently evaluating Safe Communities, Safe Children (SCSC), our flagship early childhood sexual abuse prevention program.
Evaluating Prevention in Practice
AIHI has developed an evaluation framework to examine SCSC’s outcomes and how it is delivered across participating early learning services.
Standard surveys and questionnaires provide a consistent way to collect information wherever the program runs. Over time, this will build evidence about participants’ experiences and outcomes, and delivery across different communities.
The framework draws on international child maltreatment prevention research, Australian research and policy, and established approaches to program evaluation.
It brings together two connected areas: outcomes for participants and services, and how the program is delivered.
Outcomes for Participants and Services
The evaluation examines participation and reach, alongside changes in parents’ and educators’ child safety knowledge, skills and confidence. Follow-up surveys explore whether these changes are sustained six months later.
It also explores reported changes in behaviour, participants’ worries about child safety, parents’ sense of support, and the value of the program for families and educators.
How the Program is Delivered
The evaluation looks at whether SCSC is relevant, practical and suitable for participants, and whether it is delivered consistently and as intended.
It also examines the resources required, whether delivery can be sustained over time and how the program is kept up to date. This helps identify what is working well and where improvements are needed.
What the Evaluation Can Tell Us
The findings will help CAPS refine SCSC, support consistent delivery and make informed decisions about bringing the program to more communities.
Changes in knowledge, skills, confidence or reported behaviour do not, on their own, demonstrate a reduction in child sexual abuse. Directly linking a local prevention program to changes in abuse rates is difficult, and the findings need to be understood within these limits.
Through this evaluation, CAPS and AIHI are building evidence about SCSC and contributing to a stronger understanding of prevention in practice.