Quality Frameworks for Homelessness and Related Services – Literature Review and Environmental Scan

Introduction

Purpose of this research

Urbis has been commissioned by the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA) to conduct research aimed at facilitating an in-depth understanding of the quality frameworks which currently operate in Australia in relation to the provision of homelessness services.

The research has arisen out of the publication last year of the Government's White Paper on Homelessness - The Road Home: A National Approach to Reducing Homelessness, which sets a target of halving homelessness by 2020 and of offering supported accommodation to all rough sleepers who seek it. The White Paper aims to 'help services to provide people who become homeless with the full range of support that they need - rather than leaving individuals to try and navigate a complex system looking for help'.¹

One of the specific goals of the White Paper is to implement 'new legislation to ensure people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness receive quality services'. Following the publication of the White Paper, Housing Minister Tanya Plibersek announced an inquiry into homelessness legislation on June 16^th 2009. This inquiry will be conducted by the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Family, Community, Housing and Youth.

The inquiry will consider one of the key proposals contained in the White Paper on Homelessness: the introduction of new legislation to replace the Supported Accommodation Assistance Act 1994. The new legislation is intended to help deliver 'consistent national standards, ensuring people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness receive quality services and adequate support to meet their needs'.

The Committee will report by December 2009 to allow consideration of outcomes from the Australian Government's National Human Rights Consultation, which is due to report at the end of September 2009.

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Terms of reference

Through this project, and prior to the deadline for submissions, FaHCSIA has asked Urbis describe current service provision arrangements and accreditation activities for homelessness services across all states and territories. The project will also consider the way in which quality frameworks operate in the aged care, disability services, childcare, community housing, boarding houses and health practitioners sectors, to provide insights into the potential introduction of such systems within the homelessness services sector.

The research involves the following key components:

A scan of relevant literature to map the current structure of the homelessness service provision sector throughout Australia and to describe existing quality frameworks, including regulatory systems, operating across jurisdictions.
An analysis of quality frameworks operating in the homelessness services sector internationally and in other service provision sectors within Australia, including aged care, disability, childcare, community housing, boarding houses and health practitioners.
Consultation with sectoral experts and service providers to gain insights into the current operation of the sector and applicable quality frameworks. Their views will be provided to the inquiry, to help inform its work.

The objective of the research is to identify what works well, especially in situations where there is shared program delivery between the Commonwealth, states and territories; what weaknesses exist; and how good practice could be adapted to homelessness services.

The outcome of the research is a report which provides an evidence base for consultation and for development of a workable legislative framework. The report includes an exploration of the potential components of an overarching national quality framework for the sector, including the development of a set of standards for quality service provision.

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Methodology

The desk-based literature review and environmental scan comprised the majority of the research. This was followed by interviews with 53 sectoral stakeholders and service providers, which were undertaken in August 2009.

The semi-structured telephone interviews conducted with a total of 23 sectoral experts (primarily from peak organisations) were between 30 and 45 minutes in length. Representatives were interviewed from a range of organisations including: National Shelter; Shelter Tasmania; Shelter South Australia; Shelter Northern Territory; WESNET NSW/ACT; Homelessness Australia; the St Vincent de Paul Society; Southern Youth and Family Services; and Anglicare. A complete list of the consulted stakeholders is included in Appendix B.

In addition, semi-structured telephone interviews of between 30 and 45 minutes were conducted with 32 representatives from 30 service providers across Australia. Interviews were undertaken with senior team members of services including managers, CEOs, service coordinators, line managers and quality assurance managers.

Interviewed providers include services from each state and territory across a range of metropolitan, regional and remote locations to ensure issues and views across a range of geographical locations were captured. The selection of service providers for interview also ensured a range of service types were included. Interviews were conducted with providers targeting single people, men, women, sole parents, families and young people.

The sample of services included those provided by: West Coast Crisis Accommodation Referral Service; Bethlehem House; Homeless Men's Assistance Centre; Family Central Hume Support Services; Caroline Chisholm Society; Life Service Association; and Centacare.

A full list of those consulted is provided in Appendix B.

The interviews focused on a range of issues, including:

objectives of the implementation of a national quality framework and associated processes;
impacts of accreditation on services/the sector and the benefits of such a system or business impacts;
potential components of service quality improvement;
views of the role of state/territory and federal governments in facilitating service quality improvement;
views of the role of state/territory and federal governments in relation to integrated regulatory process;
questions of whether minimum standards should apply to services; and
benefits or business impacts of a national quality framework..

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Limitations of this document

This research project was undertaken during a period of less than two months, from early July to mid-August, 2009. There are a number limitations stemming from the fact that the primary research was largely a desk-based literature review and environmental scan of available resources, primarily of departmental websites and internet based resources. The document is intended to provide a descriptive overview of the sector at a national and state and territory level, and moves towards identifying potential components of an accreditation system and the impacts of introducing this system in the final chapters.

The structure of this document

This document provides a background to the homelessness sector based on a desk-based literature review and environmental scan, along with a series of interviews conducted with sectoral stakeholders and service providers. It includes:

an overview of the homeless population within Australia, and an explanation of accepted methods for counting the homeless;
an overview of existing quality frameworks, both nationally and throughout individual states and territories;
an overview of the structure of the homelessness service provision sector, including the national policy framework for service provision and those operating in individual states and territories;
an exploration of the potential components of a national quality framework aimed at furthering the objectives of the White Paper on Homelessness;
an exploration of the potential impacts of the implementation of a national quality framework, along with strategies for implementation which will minimise the risks and enhance the benefits;
a series of case studies of service provision models and quality frameworks in other sectors, namely: disability services; aged care; community housing; children's services; boarding houses in Queensland; and health practitioners (Appendix A). These case studies are intended to provide insights into the quality frameworks operating in other sectors, including what aspects are considered to be effective or ineffective, and the impacts of the development of regulatory frameworks on service providers. The insights obtained from these case studies have informed the discussion of the potential components of a regulatory or accreditation system in the homelessness service provision sector; and
a summary of the issues raised through interviews conducted with service providers and sectoral stakeholders (Appendix B). The sample of service providers who were interviewed were selected as being broadly representative of a range of geographic areas, sizes, service provision models, and funding streams. These in-depth telephone-based consultations provided information regarding the existing legislative and accreditation activity, and views on quality frameworks among providers.

Australian Government, 2008, White Paper - The Road Home: A National Approach to Reducing Homelessness, p.44

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