Human Services Redfern Waterloo Partnership Project
The Redfern-Waterloo Plan (2004-2014) contains initiatives around three
key strategies – infrastructure, jobs and human services
Review to Reshape Redfern- Waterloo Social Services
The new Minister for Redfern-Waterloo, the Hon. Frank Sartor and
Minister for Community Services, the Hon. Carmel Tebbutt have released the
findings of the first complete review of human services in the Redfern-
Waterloo area.
The Review of the Human Services System in Redfern-Waterloo was carried
out by independent consultants, Morgan Disney & Associates, during the
first six months of 2004. It was commissioned by the Redfern-Waterloo
Partnership Project in response to widespread community concern about the
adequacy of human services in the area.
The Review found that there are a total of 102 organisations providing
192 services in Redfern-Waterloo, with 22 services specifically for Aboriginal
people.
Thirty of the services are focused solely on the Redfern-Waterloo area
with funding amounting to between $8 and $10 million. When taking into account
all services provided across Redfern and Waterloo
through locally based and out of area organisations, there is between $35 and
$40 million invested in human services.
During the Review, about 550 people were consulted, including 200
residents and staff from 80 service providers.
Around 20 per cent of participants were Aboriginal people.
Significantly, the Review calls for a Human Services
Plan to be developed to improve integration across both government and
non-government services.
The recommendations from the Report on the Review of Human Services,
will now be used to help design strategies to ensure the right services are
delivered to the right people – and that services work together to meet the
needs of the community.
Invitation to attend Information Sessions
The Redfern-Waterloo Partnership Project has asked Morgan Disney &
Associates, consultants responsible for the Review of Human Services in
Redfern-Waterloo, to explain their finding to members of the community.
Information sessions will be held as follows:
Public Sessions
Redfern Town Hall, 73 Pitt Street,
Redfern Wednesday, 15 December 5.30 pm – 8.00 pm Thursday, 16 December 2.00 pm – 4.00 pm
Sessions for Governance/Management Committees
Redfern Town Hall, 73 Pitt Street,
Redfern Thursday, 16 December 9.30 am – 12.30 pm 5.00 pm – 8.00 pm
Information session for workers in human services
Redfern Community Centre, Hugo
StreetFriday, 17 December 9.30 am – 1.30 pm
Positive findings on the services were:
- There
are a broad range of services that are easily accessible with some Choice - Many
staff are valued and are seen as approachable and supportive, and very
skilled in some services - There
is considerable local knowledge - There
is shared concern across all services of the issues facing the Redfern and
Waterloo
community
Challenges facing Redfern/Waterloo
Redfern and Waterloo
have been recognised as areas where many residents are experiencing
disadvantage. Particular areas highlighted by the report include high levels
of:
- People
living in public housing - Unemployed
and long-term unemployment - People
on disability and sickness benefits - Psychiatric
hospital admissions - Children
and young people who are leaving school early or not attending regularly - People
dealing with complex needs in their lives
Review Recommendations
Reform of the local services system will achieve improved outcomes for
the community and clients. The Review found that there is considerable
rhetoric, but few concrete examples
of integrated service delivery.
According to the Review Report, research elsewhere confirms that this is
common in human services systems: people may agree that integration is needed
but they persist in acting in ways that continue the fragmentation of the
system because it is not easy to change systems and develop new ways of
working. The Review found that the way in which the current system operates
within Redfern-Waterloo does not support people through integrative practice.
The following recommendations are made about the reshaping of the human
services system:
- Develop
a local human services planning framework, linked to a locality based
model - Establish
an implementation working group and working groups to implement changes to
the human services system - Implement
a community leadership and capacity building strategy - Develop
strategies in priority areas - Improve
the coherence, effectiveness and accessibility of services
The Next Step – The Human Services Delivery Plan
A working group – to be known as the Implementation Working Group (IWG)
– will be set up with representatives from government, non-government and
Aboriginal organisations.
Their responsibility will be to develop the first Human Services Plan
for 2005/06.
This will include agreed community outcomes and a community leadership
and capacity building strategy. The Plan will be considered by Government in
May 2005.
The Human Services Delivery Plan will build on the Redfern-Waterloo
Partnership Project’s past achievements and include strategies for the priority
areas of youth; mental health, drug and alcohol and dual diagnosis; Aboriginal
people; and families and children, including domestic and family violence.
Time-limited working groups will be set up for each of the priority
areas to develop and progress the strategies.
In developing the Plan, the Implementation Working Group will also make
recommendations for locality based planning and decision making.
What the Review found
The main finding is that the human services system needs to be reformed
and reshaped at the local level to achieve improved outcomes for the community
and clients.
Changes must be made to build a more integrated service system and more
collaborative approaches to service provision.
Significant improvements are required in relationships.
The most important priority to emerge is the need for a well coordinated
human services system response. Other key priorities are the need for more
effective services relating to:
- Youth
- Families
and children, including domestic and family violence - Aboriginal
people - Mental
health, drug and alcohol and dual diagnosis - Crime
prevention and community safety - Employment
- Housing
support and homelessness - People
from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds - People
with disabilities - People
who are ageing
The Review found there to be a satisfactory level of service provision
in most areas including family and children’s services, disability, ageing,
employment support and housing and homelessness support services.
What needs to be improved, however, is the effectiveness of services and
their ability to work together in addressing complex social issues and meeting
client needs.
The Review identified issues within the system as a whole. These
included services found to be:
- Needing
better coordination and less fragmentation - Unable
to adequately address complex social needs - Focussed
on outputs not outcomes - Poorly
matching their client’s expressed needs - Lacking
locally based planning, decision making and community engagement - Needing
to build better cultural competence and appropriateness for the diverse
cultural communities in the area
It also found that both communities and the human services system across
the two suburbs have a lot of strengths, and many people are committed to
improving the area’s public image. Community leadership and capacity building
strategies are recommended as initiatives to support and develop this community
commitment.
Overall, Waterloo
is the more disadvantaged of the two areas but the striking feature of Redfern
is the co-existence of extremes of advantage and disadvantage. Gentrification
of Redfern is well advanced and is increasing in Waterloo.
This is seen by some people as a threat to the social mix of the area
and unless well planned, creates the potential for a further worsening between
levels of relative advantage and disadvantage across socio-economic groups.
Areas of disadvantage apply to the non-Aboriginal as well as the
Aboriginal population.
No Reduction in Funding
There will be no reduction in funding of services in Redfern and Waterloo as a result of
the reshaping of the system.
The Review Report said that there are significant resources being
invested in the Redfern-Waterloo area. However, it shows that funding is ad-hoc. There is a need for greater
accountability and a better focus on outcomes.
Funding models that can assist integrated services will also be
implemented across the human services system by NSW Government agencies in
2005/06. These will replace, at least in part, the current program-based
funding.
The idea behind this is to give the Redfern community more control over
what services and projects are needed in the area.
Copies of the Human Services Review Report Available
Copies of the Review of the Human Services System in Redfern and Waterloo are available
from the Redfern-Waterloo Partnership Project on CDROM or in hard copy.
The Report is also available on the RWPP’s website
www.redfernwaterloo.nsw.gov.au
Questions and Answers
What is the role of the Redfern-Waterloo Partnership Project (RWPP) in
the delivery of human services for Redfern and Waterloo?
- The
RWPP will work with NSW Government human service agencies to help
strengthen existing services - The
RWPP will support the IWG and the priority area working groups in the
development of the Human Services Plan.
Will the Human Services delivery plan affect the services currently
provided?
The RWPP will work to reshape the provision of human services currently
delivered.
In particular:
- Some
community delivered services will be strengthened in terms of
organisational capacity and/or physical facilities - Strategies
will be adopted to increase the cultural responsiveness of some services
to the Redfern-Waterloo population
What is meant by the term ‘integrated service delivery’?
The aim of an integrated service delivery approach is that:
- There
is leadership and commitment at all levels to overcome barriers to
integration and achieve improved services for clients - The
coordinated network enables clients to access a service at any point and
know that they can get access to, and information about, other services in
what is described as a ‘seamless’ service approach - Services
are working together as teams and with clients to develop protocols, practices
and methods which ensure a consistent approach across services - Services
have a better understanding of and respect for
the negotiated roles of other agencies, working together based on their
specialist areas - Services
can concentrate their limited resources on their specialist area of
service delivery - Services
form a coordinated network, tailored for a local region and capable of
addressing the complex needs of its population
Elements of an integrated service delivery system could include:
- Strategies
for seeking client and family input into the development of services - Common
referral processes and assessment system which minimises the requirement for multiple assessments - A
coordinated information system - Coordinated
case management approaches for common clients - Resource
sharing which could include models for shared administrative services - Pooled
funding and common reporting, monitoring and evaluation arrangements - Reorganisation
of management structures - Mechanisms
for shared decision making and problem solving - Joint
training and ongoing opportunities for professional development - Co-location
of services using out-servicing models and physical co-location of service
delivery