isc saap newsletter

Volume 1, Issue 4
June 2007

Inside This Issue

Message from the ISC Chairperson

Welcome to the ISC Newsletter.  The National SAAP Coordination and Development Committee (CAD) has encouraged the Information Sub-Committee (ISC) to distribute this quarterly newsletter to all SAAP agencies to keep you informed of national SAAP activities.  An electronic or printed copy of this newsletter is sent to each SAAP agency in Australia.  Please ensure your agency passes on a copy of the ISC Newsletter to all of your SAAP workers.

This issue features the SAAP V Innovation and Investment Fund and two South Australian projects that are being conducted as part of the national reform process.  You will also find updates on a number of SAAP V National Research Projects and other ongoing national projects. 

We are interested in hearing any feedback you may have on the utility of this newsletter.  Please send your comments or suggestions to rex.direen@facsia.gov.au   In the meantime, we trust you will enjoy this fourth edition of the ISC Newsletter.

David Ramsay
ISC Chairperson (A/g)

<BACK TO TOP>

SAAP Impact on Client Self-Reliance Research Project

Field work for the National Research Project SAAP Impact on Client Self-reliance has been completed.  The Social Policy Research Centre (SPRC) of the University of New South Wales is in the process of analysing the results from the collected data.  All in all, SPRC has obtained 600-650 client responses from sampled agencies.  In addition to the survey, SPRC will also conduct ten case studies on self-reliance among SAAP clients.  These case studies are likely to be conducted through interviews with SAAP clients in the NSW regions.  It is expected that SPRC will conclude the project and produce the final report by December 2007.  For further information, please contact Rose Lai on 02 6244 7133 or at saovarose.lai@facsia.gov.au

<BACK TO TOP>

Measuring Complexity of Client Needs in SAAP

In 2003, the National SAAP Coordination and Development Committee (CAD) commissioned Thomson Goodall Associates (TGA) to undertake research into the complexity of client needs in SAAP.  After having consulted widely with SAAP providers and piloted their ideas with some 80 agencies across the country, TGA developed a set of questions which attempted to measure the level, type and complexity of client needs in SAAP.

Contained in the questions are twelve broad issues which were identified as being important in considering the need for complex service types or higher levels of service provision.  These key issues are:

During SAAP V, CAD plans to commission work to further refine and utilise the TGA tool to collect baseline data on the complexity of client needs in SAAP.  FaCSIA is currently scoping this national project with the help of the Complex Needs Working Group of the ISC.  For further information, please contact Rose Lai at saovarose.lai@facsia.gov.au or on 02 6244 7133.

<BACK TO TOP>

Transition from Care Research Project

Avoidable costs to governments of alternative pathways of young people exiting the formal child protection care system in Australia study

This national research study was commissioned by the Community Services Ministerial Advisory Council (CSMAC) Youth Working Group. The key purpose of the study is to inform Ministers (and governments) about the current alternate pathways of young people after they leave formal care, and the comparative cost of these pathways to governments.  Around 1,150 young people aged between 16 and 18 years of age left the formal child protection care system in Australia in 2003-04 and this number has remained relatively stable for the past two to three years. 

The intention of identifying the alternative pathways and their costs is to establish the extent of potential cost savings if a proportion of young people were successfully diverted, through better support at the point of transition, to lower usage service pathways and to pathways which are economically and socially more productive. The study may encourage governments to give consideration to identifying which services are capable of diverting young people from their otherwise predicted high cost pathway.  The Steering Committee identified the following government funded service systems to be included in the study:

This study is not an effectiveness study nor does it seek to establish the merit or otherwise of any intervention or service system response. Rather, the study has identified five ‘typical’ alternative pathways that young people might follow after leaving care, reflecting different levels of avoidable (or preventable) use of government services, from low usage to very high usage levels. 

The savings to governments from moving ten per cent of people on each pathway in each service system to the next lower level would be substantial. These possible savings are quantified in the report, which will be released publicly on or after Thursday 21 June 2007.  For further information, please contact John Murray on 02 6244 6867 or email john.murray@facsia.gov.au

<BACK TO TOP>

SAAP V Innovation and Investment Fund

The Innovation and Investment Fund (I&IF) is a collaborative venture designed to consolidate and build on the strengths of SAAP, while progressing and strengthening sector reform in line with the three Strategic Priorities of SAAP V. These priorities are to:

The I&IF will total approximately $124 million over five years with the Australian Government’s contribution totalling approximately $39 million and the state and territory governments’ combined contribution totalling approximately $85 million.  (These figures will vary according to indexation over the life of SAAP V.)

The I&IF is being rolled out in three key stages:

The third year of SAAP V commences in July 2007.  In addition to the state and territory-only funded services agreed previously, 43 I&IF projects have been approved to date.  Some of these projects are being delivered over a number of sites or across entire jurisdictions.

An outstanding characteristic of I&IF projects is the diversity both in their approaches to service delivery and the clients who are homeless or at risk of homelessness they are seeking to assist.  A number of projects have been described in detail in this and other issues of the ISC newsletter. 

The current projects target a wide range of clients and fill identified service gaps.  Many are directed towards several groups and have multiple focuses.  Broadly speaking, almost a quarter of the projects specifically target issues related to domestic violence, and approximately one quarter of the projects are addressing the needs of young people and children.  Two projects are targeted towards the needs of people being released from detention and four projects focus on people with multiple and complex needs.  A number of projects are specifically focussed on families and Indigenous people at risk of, or experiencing, homelessness.

Innovation and Investment Fund projects address at least one of the SAAP V Strategic Priorities.  Services are conducting outreach work, supporting clients by linking with mental health and drug and alcohol services, linking services to provide a more integrated approach to addressing client needs, and trialling preventative approaches which include the provision of literacy, parenting, tenancy, and employment skills. 

All I&IF projects will be evaluated.  The evaluations are expected to provide a rich source of information and learning across the country to feed into SAAP sector reform nationally and each state and territories’ specific approach.  It is anticipated that the findings will be disseminated widely via the soon to be developed Clearinghouse and will contribute to providing better outcomes for the people who seek assistance through SAAP and help prevent people from finding themselves in housing crisis.

For further information contact Amanda McCarthy on 02 6244 8631 or amanda.mccarthy@facsia.gov.au

<BACK TO TOP>

Innovation and Investment Fund Projects – South Australian Initiatives

South Australia is currently conducting 14 I&IF pilot projects.  Two of these projects that particularly stand out in terms of delivering innovative services are:

Domestic Violence Crisis Service (DVCS) – outreach program for women and children who are placed temporarily in hotels and motels

The Domestic Violence Crisis Service (DVCS) provides an outreach service to Indigenous and non-Indigenous women and accompanying children escaping domestic and family violence who are given crisis accommodation in hotels or motels in the metropolitan area. The Outreach Worker(s) employed by the program establish contacts with various agencies to help provide financial and practical assistance to clients in motel accommodation.

The crucial element of the outreach program is immediate response to crisis. Once a referral is received by the outreach worker after hours, phone contact is quickly made with the family and a face-to-face visit is arranged whenever possible. The outreach workers endeavour to visit and interact with as many families as possible in order to effectively inform the clients of services available to them after fleeing a domestic violence situation.

In the past DVCS workers have tried to contact clients (placed in motels over weekends) on Monday mornings only to discover they had checked out during the weekend. This new model of service delivery provided by DVCS allows for fill-in support to the client thereby improving the probability that the client will remain in the motel until Monday morning when DVCS can work with them toward referral to SAAP accommodation.

In addition to advocacy and referral assistance as necessary, outreach resources are provided to meet the needs of the families, including public transport concession tickets allowing travel to Centrelink, Housing SA and Families SA; transportation in the outreach vehicle to appointments (allowing further opportunity for discussion); kids packs (for children’s entertainment and a counselling tool); toiletry packs and clothing.

St Joseph’s Family Care Service – homeless children’s support program
The St Joseph’s Family Care Service provides services to support the special needs of children aged 0-18 years who have experienced homelessness. The program is delivered by a Child Care Worker for children aged 0-4 years and a Children’s Support and Education Worker for school children aged 5-18 years.

The program is primarily viewed as early intervention and prevention, as it aims to support families—particularly children—to gain the skills, abilities and relationships that will help them break the cycle of homelessness and create more positive futures for themselves.

The program offers:

All work undertaken in the children’s program links to case management work undertaken with adult clients receiving support from St Joseph’s.

Working closely with children while they are at school provides the opportunity for children to re-engage services quickly if and when issues arise for them, and thus early intervention services can be provided and prevention of pending crisis is more achievable. The support is mainly focused on intensive behavioural support, enrolment and school/family liaison. Protocols have been established for the Children’s Support and Education Worker to attend Marion Primary School between 9am and 12 noon each school day.

In addition, families with children are linked to appropriate services such as behavioural support, parenting support, parenting courses, housing, mental health services, financial management, self esteem and confidence programs, income support/Centrelink, employment services, medical services, and open access schooling/education programs.

For further information about these projects or other I&IF projects please contact Ian Stone, Housing Policy and Planning Unit, South Australian Government Department for Families and Communities on (08) 8415 4184 or email ian.stone@dfc.sa.gov.au

<BACK TO TOP>

Case Management Resource Kit ‘Refresh’ Project

As mentioned in previous newsletters, work is underway to refresh the SAAP Case Management Resource Kit. A national meeting of SAAP casework practitioners was held in Melbourne on the 23 February 2007 to begin the process. The revised Casework Kit will focus on current casework practice with an emphasis on sustainable agency casework practice. Some of the new additions will include a SAAP history, information on assertive casework practice and group case management, and working with men who choose violence.

The Kit will showcase good practice and describe in practical terms innovative ways of working with clients. It is envisaged that the new Kit will be completed and circulated to SAAP agencies in the first half of 2008. We will continue to keep you updated on progress via the ISC Newsletter. For more information contact David Ramsay on 02 6244 6939 or david.ramsay@facsia.gov.au

<BACK TO TOP>

SAAP V National Evaluation

The Evaluation Working Group (EWG) has commenced the SAAP V Mid-term Review (MTR). The MTR will determine whether the implementation of SAAP V is on track and will ensure that all components of the SAAP V National Evaluation process are properly scoped, thus ensuring all information required by the Final Evaluator will be available. The MTR will also identify and address gaps in data collection and finalise any SAAP performance indicators that require further work.

A draft MTR Final Report will be provided to the National SAAP Coordination and Development Committee (CAD) in mid December 2007. The finalised MTR Report will be published in early 2008 following agreement of all Community Service Ministers.

The Final Evaluation of SAAP V will be conducted in the first half of 2009. To ensure a rigorous process, an evaluation expert will be engaged to conduct an independent assessment of the SAAP V National Evaluation Strategy before it is finalised. This will be undertaken following the MTR and prior to appointing the Final Evaluator.

Sector consultation is an important component of the National Evaluation of SAAP V. The first sector consultation project will be a short questionnaire to be distributed to all SAAP agencies by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) in July. The sector survey (expected to take just 15 minutes to complete) focuses on the use and effectiveness of a range of services provided to SAAP clients during the second quarter of 2007. The survey will be repeated in April 2009. It is important to note that survey data will be combined at a state/territory and national level for analysis and all individual agency input will be kept confidential by the AIHW. When you receive the survey, please do your bit to support the National Evaluation of SAAP V by completing and returning it to the AIHW at your earliest opportunity.

For further information contact Rex Direen on 02 6244 5746 or rex.direen@facsia.gov.au

<BACK TO TOP>

SAAP/Homelessness Knowledge Management (KM) Pilot Project

CAD is currently investigating what KM has to offer the SAAP sector in helping to foster a learning culture among SAAP workers and to better support capturing, storing and sharing knowledge and information.

To further this process, CAD agreed that FaCSIA would work with Queensland and Western Australia on a KM Pilot Project to:

The project commenced in January 2007 and following a successful pre-project feasibility trial, an electronic survey was sent to all SAAP agencies in both states. The survey was completed by more than 50 per cent of the agencies in each jurisdiction. The survey analysis will seek to identify:

Narrative forums to collect practice related stories/anecdotes from the sector and to assist Clearinghouse development have been conducted in Brisbane and Perth to supplement the findings of the survey.

The final component of the KM Pilot Project—one day workshops in Brisbane and Perth to enable participants from SAAP agencies and government departments to synthesis the results of the Social Network Analysis (SNA), the sector survey and the narrative forums—has just been conducted. The KM Pilot Project Final Report is due by 30 June 2007.

For further information contact
Rex Direen on 02 6244 5746 or rex.direen@facsia.gov.au

<BACK TO TOP>

SAAP/Homelessness Clearinghouse

The SAAP/Homelessness Clearinghouse is intended to be a one-stop-shop for homelessness and SAAP information and will have three main components:

The Clearinghouse Steering Committee is in the process of selecting the successful tenderer and it is expected that the SAAP/Homelessness Clearinghouse will be online by the end of 2007. For further information contact Peter O’Brien on 02 6244 6454 or email peter.obrien@facsia.gov.au

<BACK TO TOP>

Sector Contributions

The next ISC Newsletter will be published mid to late September 2007. Your contributions or announcements can be forwarded to Rex Direen on 02 6244 5746 or rex.direen@facsia.gov.au

<BACK TO TOP>

ISC Members Contact Details

AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT
Doug Limbrick (Chairperson)
Housing Support Branch, FaCSIA
Email: doug.limbrick@facsia.gov.au

David Ramsay, FaCSIA
Tel: 02-6244 6939
Email: david.ramsay@facsia.gov.au

 

ACT
Sally Gibson
Dept of Disability, Housing & Community Services
Email: sally.gibson@act.gov.au

 

NEW SOUTH WALES
Fay Kitto
Dept of Community Services
Email: fay.kitto@community.nsw.gov.au

 

NDCA
Anne Giovenetti, Manager
SAAP National Data Collection Agency
Email: Anne.Giovenetti@aihw.gov.au

 

VICTORIA
Dianne Godfrey
Dept of Human Services
Email: dianne.godfrey@dhs.vic.gov.au

 

EXPERT MEMBER
Dr Steve Mondy
Senior Manager Catalyst Services,

Marist Youth Care
Email: stephenm@maristyc.com.au

 

QUEENSLAND
Rhyl Jones McCoy
Dept of Communities
Email: rhyl.jonesmccoy@communities.qld.gov.au

 

AFHO REPRESENTATIVE
Kedy Kristal
CEO, Pat Giles Centre

Email: pgc1@iinet.net.au

 

 

WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Roza Cvetkoska
Dept for Community Development
Email: roza.cvetkoska@dcd.wa.gov.au

 

COMMUNITY MEMBER
Marilyn Roberts
Somerville Community Service, NT

Email: MarilynR@somerville.org.au

 

SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Carmel O’Connell
Dept of Families and Communities
Email: carmel.oconnell@dfc.sa.gov.au

 

COMMUNITY MEMBER
Andrew Hall
General Manager Community Services
ANGLICARE WA

Email: andrew.hall@anglicarewa.org.au

TASMANIA
Kylie Fidanza
Housing Tasmania
Email: kylie.jackson@dhhs.tas.gov.au

ISC SECRETARIAT
Luyen Nguyen, FaCSIA
Tel: 02-6244 7140
Email: luyen.nguyen@facsia.gov.au


Peter O’Brien, FaCSIA
Tel: 02-6244 6454
Email: peter.o’brien@facsia.gov.au

NORTHERN TERRITORY
Jill Rechner
Dept of Health and Community Services
Email: jill.rechner@nt.gov.au

 

<BACK TO TOP>