Helping prevent homelessness

Helping prevent homelessness

The Family Homelessness Prevention and Early Intervention Pilot scheme has assisted more than 320 families (1100 customers) in eight communities across Australia.

Seventy-eight per cent of families achieved an improved outcome in one or more of the following areas: financial situation; health; family relationships; personal skills; and community participation.

Participating services operated in partnership with their local Centrelink office.

From 1 July 2004 the program will operate as the Household Organisational Management Expenses (HOME) advice program, with funding of $10.4 million over four years in the 2004-05 Budget.

Housing is a basic need. Well-located affordable housing can provide stability for families and promote their independence and good health. Housing provides a base from which people can pursue employment opportunities and participate more fully in their communities.

Homelessness rarely has a single cause-people usually become homeless when they are unable to deal with a range of issues impacting on them. The Family Homelessness Prevention and Early Intervention Pilot (FHPEIP) scheme was introduced in 2001 to help families struggling to maintain their tenancies or home ownership and to address issues contributing to their instability.

Not-for-profit organisations received funding in 2003-04 to assist families with issues such as budgeting, family relationship matters, parenting skills and social security or public housing debt. They also assisted with links to education and training to address barriers to workforce participation.

Where necessary, families were referred to other services in the community, but case-managed by the FHPEIP service. This approach helped to build links between various community services working to assist people and families at risk of homelessness.

An innovative aspect of the FHPEIP was that participating services operated in partnership with their local Centrelink office. A Centrelink social worker referred families to the FHPEIP and continued to assist them during their participation in the program.

In 2003-04 an interim evaluation of the pilot revealed very strong outcomes for participating families:

Ninety per cent of families stayed in their homes or were rehoused.

Seventy-eight per cent of families also achieved an improved outcome in one or more of the following areas: financial situation; health; family relationships; personal skills; and community participation.

More than half of all adults who identified employment or education as key goals were successful in meeting those goals. Those in employment rose from 14 per cent to 22 per cent after receiving support, while participation in part-time education rose from 4.5 per cent to 10 per cent.

The pilot demonstrated the Government’s commitment to develop and fund programs that address the needs of Indigenous people. Of customers accessing the program, 32 per cent were Indigenous customers.

By May 2004, more than 320 families (1100 customers) had been assisted under the pilot program in eight communities across Australia.

The Australian Government committed further funding of $10.4 million over four years in the 2004-05 Budget to continue this work. From 1 July 2004 the program will operate as the Household Organisational Management Expenses (HOME) advice program.

making a difference

Simon’s story

But six months ago, life took a dramatic turn for ‘Simon’ when he was referred to a FaCS-funded service through a social worker at Centrelink. The pilot program, Habitat, supports and builds the competencies of families at risk of homelessness in the Wyong Shire of New South Wales.

A number of agencies in the region work closely together to identify people who are at risk of homelessness. Referrals can come from Centrelink, the Central Coast Tenancy Advocacy Advisory Service, Wyong Hospital, Coastal Community Tenancy, NSW Department of Community Services, Child Abuse Prevention Service, Aboriginal Advisor Group, Men’s Advocacy and Practical Strategies or mental health services.

A Habitat caseworker visits ‘Simon’ each fortnight. ‘Simon’ has said that having someone to speak to about parenting and behavioural issues has really helped. The caseworker has also helped ‘Simon’ with his budget and linked him with other services to make life easier. The caseworker has been able to give him the advice and support he needs to keep on track and ‘Simon’ has really opened up. Many services focus on single mothers, so ‘Simon’ found it helpful to access a service that wants to engage equally with single fathers.

FaCS funds the Wyong Habitat program, which is run by the Uniting Care Burnside, Central Coast office. There is a similar pilot running in each state or territory. Each delivers services including family mediation, counselling, information giving and referral. The service strengthens families by helping them to develop their capabilities and strengthen their relationships. There is a focus on building support networks and establishing links between families and local services.

Giving children the best possible start in life

The National Agenda for Early Childhood and its four key action areas will provide the overarching structure to guide future Australian Government investment to improve outcomes for children and will serve as the vehicle for collaboration with state and territory governments in supporting young children and their families.

The Stronger Families and Communities Strategy for 2004-08 will have a specific focus on early childhood and is aligned with the National Agenda for Early Childhood’s four key action areas.

Early childhood is a time of rapid physical, intellectual and emotional growth and provides an important window of opportunity to help start children on positive pathways in life. How we as a society respond to the needs of young children can have a profound impact on their development, both now and into the future. This in turn has consequences for the economic and social growth of Australia as a whole.

The Government is committed to the development of a National Agenda for Early Childhood, to provide a structure for linking together and expanding the work that is being done by many people throughout Australia to improve the lives of young children.

Key messages emerging from extensive consultations held between March and August 2003 are summarised in the report Towards a National Agenda for Early Childhood—What You Told Us released on 25 October 2003. These included widespread support for:

adopting a national approach to early childhood

improving the way services are delivered

assisting disadvantaged children

supporting parents in their primary role during a child’s early years.

Relevant ministerial councils and their advisory bodies have been kept informed of progress under the National Agenda for Early Childhood. The framework document, which has been revised in light of consultation feedback, identifies four key action areas:

healthy young families

early learning and care

supporting families and parenting

child-friendly communities.

This framework will be the basis for further discussions with state and territory governments with a view to agreeing on priorities for working together.

In developing the national agenda and coordinated early childhood policy, FaCS has been working closely with other departments, through the Australian Government Taskforce on Child Development, Health and Wellbeing, established in September 2001.

During 2003-04, the national agenda has been a focus for a number of activities within FaCS. Significantly, the next four-year phase of the $365.8 million Stronger Families and Communities Strategy 2004-08 will have a specific focus on prevention and early intervention activities to promote optimal childhood development.

In addition, substantial progress has been made in a number of early childhood initiatives, announced in May 2004 as part of $10 million in funding allocated from the first phase of the Stronger Families and Communities Strategy. This includes the establishment of 19 Child Care Links sites across Australia, which will integrate early childhood services in areas of high disadvantage, and completion of a report available to all governments and the community sector to inform the provision of parenting information and support.

Complementary activities included:

funding for an Australian Early Childhood Development Instrument, a measure of child development before school entry, for use at the community level, announced by Minister Anthony in January 2004

working closely with other portfolios in organising a national workshop, held in March 2004 and hosted by the Australian Council for Children and Parenting, to explore options for better monitoring how children are faring.