The latest data on the wellbeing of children and young people in the ACT are now available, with Access Canberra launching a new ‘lens’ as part of its ACT Wellbeing Framework.
According to the Minister for Families and Community Services, Rachel Stephen-Smith the ACT Wellbeing Framework provides ratings information on the liveability of Canberra to feed into Government policy and budget planning processes, including ratings from Canberrans about the environment, health, housing, economy, identity and social connection.
Welcoming the new Children and Young People Lens, Ms Stephen-Smith said the lens complimented Access Canberra’s existing Wellbeing Dashboard, which was primarily focused on people aged 18 and over.
“The Lens tracks the wellbeing of children and young people in the ACT against key indicators,” Ms Stephen-Smith said.
“This includes a comprehensive overview of national and local indicators relating to the health, wellbeing, learning and development of children and young people,” she said.
“The Lens will replace the Picture of Children and Young People in the ACT that has previously been published every two years.”
Ms Stephen-Smith said the online dashboard would enable data to be updated more often and improve its usability for comparison and analysis.
She said measuring wellbeing helped to identify how Government could improve the lives of all Canberrans.
“By improving the way we analyse and present data relating to the wellbeing of children and young people, the Government and community can better target our collective efforts to build a city that gives kids the best start and the right supports as they navigate childhood and adolescence,” the Minister said.
“The data in the Lens shows the wellbeing of children and young people in the ACT compares well with national data in indicators across the education, health and safety domains, but it also shows there are areas where the ACT needs to improve,” Ms Stephen-Smith said.
Access Canberra’s Children and Young People Lens can be accessed at this PS News link.
