Is headspace making a difference to young people’s lives?

4. Outcomes of headspace Clients
numbers of clients are observed as the number of occasions of service increase. Smaller cell sizes are also present for
clients presenting with certain primary issues, including vocational assistance and other. Cell sizes for these data can be
found in Appendix F.
Source: Authors calculations from hCSA data.
Changes in SOFAS classification bands
Between the first and third occasion of service, most young people’s SOFAS classification
remained stable (58.1%). Twenty-three per cent of young people experienced an improvement in
the classification of their SOFAS within these three appointments. These increases in functioning
were observed in the 61-80 (4.3%) and the 41-60 (16.7%) groups. However, 18.1% experienced
deterioration. Moderate decreases in average functioning occurred in the 61-80 (12.3%) and 81-100
(4.7%) classification groups (Table 4.5).
Table 4.5 Transition in SOFAS classification bands from the first (row) to the third occasion of
service (column) (%)
SOFAS at visit 3
Total
SOFAS at visit 1 1-20 21-40 41-60 61-80 81-100
% % % % % %
1-20 - - - 0.1 - 0.2
21-40 - 0.7 1.7 0.8 - 3.2
41-60 - 1.1 16.6 15.8 2.1 6.8
61-80 0.1 0.4 11.8 38.7 4.3 55.3
81-100 - - 0.8 3.9 2.1 6.8
Total 0.2 2.3 30.9 59.2 7.4 100.0
Notes: Cells report percentages of young people who transition between bands of SOFAS score during the visit interval.
Calculations are based on 23,577 young persons for whom scores are observed over the two visits in the interval. Cells
that constitute less than 0.5% of the population are marked ‘-’. See Table 4.4 above for SOFAS classification definitions.
Source: Authors calculations from hCSA data.
Changes in young people’s classifications between the first and sixth occasion of service were
similar, but slightly better than between the first and third occasion of service. Just over one in four
young people (26.1%) had experienced a shift to a high classification of functioning (20.1% improved
within the 41-60 classification and 4.8% within the 61-80 classification). Just over half (54.0%)
of young people did not change their classification over this time while 17.7% of young people
experienced a deterioration in their functional classification. This was mostly within the 61-80 (12.2%)
and 81-100 (4.5%) brackets (Table 4.6).
Table 4.6 Transition in SOFAS classification bands from the first (row) to the sixth occasion of
service (column) (%)
SOFAS at visit 6
Total
SOFAS at visit 1 1-20 21-40 41-60 61-80 81-100
% % % % % %
1-20 - - 0.1 0.1 - 0.2
21-40 - 0.5 1.9 1.0 - 3.4
41-60 - 0.9 14.5 19.0 1.1 35.6
61-80 - 0.4 11.8 37.4 4.8 54.6
81-100 - - 0.7 3.8 1.5 6.1
Total 0.1 1.9 29.0 61.5 7.5 100.0
Notes: Cells report percentages of young people who transition between bands of SOFAS score during the visit interval.
Calculations are based on 13,433 young persons for whom scores are observed over the two visits in the interval. Cells
that constitute less than 0.5% of the population are marked ‘-’. See Table 4.4 above for SOFAS classification definitions.
Source: Authors calculations from hCSA data.
Young people’s changes in their SOFAS classification between their first and last visit at headspace
were similar to both visits 1 and 3, and visits 1 and 6. Around half of young people (54%) recorded no
change in their SOFAS classification between their first and last occasion of service at headspace.
Social Policy Research Centre 2015
headspace Evaluation Final Report
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