Webinar Session Two

Foundations For Success: a guide for social housing providers working with Aboriginal people and communities

Part 2 -The tenancy life cycle

Facilitator: Tim FlynnDate: Month 2015

Acknowledgement of Country

• I would firstly like to acknowledge the original owners of the land on which we all stand

• To elders past and present I acknowledge that it is upon their ancestral land that we all meet

• As we share our knowledge, teaching and practices may we also pay respect to the knowledge embedded forever within the Aboriginal Custodianship of Country

• Always was, always will be Aboriginal land

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Intention of the guide

The guide has been developed for

social housing providers to

influence practice when working

with Aboriginal families and

individuals to strengthen social

housing tenancies

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What we’ll cover in this session

• What the guide covers• Application and pre-allocation • Allocation and tenancy start up• Managing emerging issues during the tenancy• Organisational building blocks• Exits from social housing• More information

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What the guide covers

What the guide covers

Part 1 - Principles for working with Aboriginal people and communities1. Flexible approach to work with

clients2. Accessible and culturally

appropriate access and service points

3. Services need to be responsive and timely

4. Solutions need to be holistic and take into account diversity and complexity of issues and needs

5. Responses need to be participatory and client focused

Part 2 – How principles apply across tenancy phases1. Application and pre-allocation of

social housing 2. Allocation and tenancy start up 3. Managing emerging issues 4. Tenancy exits

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What today’s session covers

Part 1 - Principles for working with Aboriginal people and communities1. Flexible approach to work with

clients2. Accessible and culturally

appropriate access and service points

3. Services need to be responsive and timely

4. Solutions need to be holistic and take into account diversity and complexity of issues and needs

5. Responses need to be participatory and client focused

Part 2 – How principles apply across tenancy phases1. Application and pre-

allocation of social housing 2. Allocation and tenancy start

up 3. Managing emerging issues 4. Tenancy exits

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Part 2 -The Tenancy Life Cycle

Application and pre-allocation of social housing

Making a positive start

• What challenges do you as a staff member experience during the application process?

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Aboriginal people feel welcome and supported when they apply for housing assistance

• FACS Housing office, Parramatta

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Aboriginal people feel welcome and supported when they apply for housing assistance

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Ways of working with Aboriginal people and communities

• Please raise your hand if your office could be considered welcoming or safe?

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Communication approaches

• Assertive outreach can be very effective in helping to build a positive relationship with a client

• Interacting with local Aboriginal groups to gain a better understanding

• Trust is an important ingredient in any positive, engaged relationship. Low trust is sometimes a challenge to be overcome

Assertive Outreach – Example“Our main focus is on assertive outreach. The boys go out – to the river, the bushland, the homeless kitchens and so on. A lot of the time the kitchens are

feeding tenants who struggle. It’s amazing that people open up to you if you’re out and about, rather than knocking on the front door.

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Trust – an essential ingredient

• How do you feel when you’re interacting with someone in a low-trust relationship?

• Top 2 – 3 emotions from this list?

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Trust – an essential ingredient

• How do you feel when you’re interacting with someone in a high-trust relationship?

• Top 2 – 3 emotions from this list?

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Communication approaches – trust is an essential ingredient

• Trust is a firm belief in the reliability, truth, or ability of someone• It can be developed, improved and even repaired• The application process is an opportunity to build or rebuild trust

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Helpful strategies

• Effective and creative communication approaches

• Ways to engage support

• Effective support plans

• Collaboration to deliver improved social housing outcomes

• Contributing to a positive, believable vision for the client

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Working with a client to identify need for support

Tenancy breakdown is usually underscored by risk indicators, including…..

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Working with a client to identify need for support

• What are some other risk indicators you’ve come across when working with clients?

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Working with a client to identify and engage support

high

medium

low

Levels of Support

Referral to specialist agencies e.g. drug or alcohol counselling or parenting programs

Intensive support with well-established case management plans

Practical advice, referral or information e.g. financial and household management skills, advocacy

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Collaboration with client, their family and community

• When a household is struggling, a client’s willingness to engage support is critical

• Clients may be difficult to engage in support. It’s often helpful to address easier issues first to make progress and help the client believe in themselves

• Positive progress can help build trust to address more complex issues

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Shared decision making and support plans

• Housing providers can refer tenants to external agencies to develop a support plan

• The support plan should set up the person or family with the right support, clarify the roles of housing and support providers, and specify communication and follow up

• Housing providers should encourage support providers to set goals with their tenants to help stabilise the tenancy

• Risk: clients may disengage with support. Good relationships with other services will help identify and address early warning signs

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Shared decision making and support plans

• New tenant with a support plan (specialist staff involvement)

• NGO withdrew support because of changed funding arrangement. Didn’t advise local office

• Tenant contact office to advise of challenge (i.e. lack of support)

• Aboriginal worker was able to work with tenant to get support they needed

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Flexible and responsive policies/procedures

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• Taking a holistic & flexible approach

• Understanding the broader housing need

• Taking a pragmatic approach to policy implementation, need to be policy compliant and still deliver an effective outcome

• What were we trying to achieve?

A person and family centred approach

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Person and Family-Centred Practice Model

Practice that builds relationships Practice that supports choice and participation

Technical quality

Staff values, attitudes and beliefs

Staff interpersonal skills and behaviours

Decision-making and action

Flexible and responsive services and supports

Staff expertise, applied to benefit the client and family

Developing co-designed pathways (shared decision making) with individuals and families ensures preferences and decisions are understood and respected and those decisions deliver improved social housing outcomes.

The Tenancy Life Cycle

Allocation and tenancy start up

Allocation and tenancy start up

• What challenges have you as a staff member experienced during the allocation and tenancy start up phase?

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Review the applicant’s support needs

• Often, significant time has passed between the application and offer

• Support needs are not always established; or they’ve changed

• A pre-offer review to confirm a client’s housing and support needs could be helpful (12 months or more?)

• A pre-offer review as an applicant approaches the top of the waiting list; could reduce activities during allocation

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Challenge to involve a prospective client in decisions about property allocation: limited availability; policy requirements; meet void turnaround times.

Challenge to involve a prospective client in decisions about property allocation: limited availability; policy requirements; meet void turnaround times.

Flexibility and participation needed to be considered to avoid allocation of an inappropriate property – resulting in premature tenancy exit and a vacant property.

Flexibility and participation needed to be considered to avoid allocation of an inappropriate property – resulting in premature tenancy exit and a vacant property.

Helpful strategies during the allocation and tenancy start up phase

• Support needs identified upfront

• Housing provider to agree to support plan

• Client involved in case plan development and continued involvement

• Family and cultural needs are important

• Significant effort and clear communication is required to ensure tenants understand their rights and responsibilities

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Support plan

• What do you think the important elements of a case plan are?

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Support plan

• If support is needed – ensure a support plan is in place

• A comprehensive support plan needs to include a written case plan

• Clients need to be involved in the discussion about their support plan and fully agree to engage in the process

• Establish written agreement from the support provider that they’ll advise if the client withdraws from the agreed support activities

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The Tenancy Life Cycle

Managing emerging tenancy issues

Clear communications about rights and responsibilities

• Rights and responsibilities are extensive; can be a real communications challenge

• Sign-up is not always the best time to explain these rights and responsibilities; or the only time

• Creative ways to share this information: – a DVD in client’s welcome pack or playing in the housing

provider’s office– community outreach and events

• Early home visit, first meeting with client after they’ve settled into their home (within 6 weeks)

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Clear communications about rights and responsibilities

Clients must be aware of dispute resolution processes, including: • Local support services• Payment options• Advocate agencies (assist client to better understand their rights and

responsibilities)

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Building blocks for managing emerging issues during tenancy

• Flexible and responsive policies and procedures

• Team structures designed for working with vulnerable households

• Importance of Aboriginal staff

• Culturally competent workforce – senior management to client service staff

• Engagement with community and a person/family centred approach

• Balance between business accountability and person centered outcomes need to be clear

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The importance of Aboriginal staff

• What challenges do you think Aboriginal staff might face in their day-to-day work?

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The importance of Aboriginal staff

• Here are some of the challenges we’re aware of:– Negotiating work and community expectations– Time pressure and workload of being “all knowing” on Aboriginal

issues– Dealing with complex Aboriginal family responsibilities– Black politics of communities – lateral violence

• Aboriginal staff are important because: – Provide knowledge of effective ways of working with Aboriginal

people– Good sense of local issues and needs– Facilitate better informed decisions and choices

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Engaging with tenants

• How do you engage with clients you can’t visit?

• What techniques do you use?

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Engaging with tenants

• Build and maintain good relationships with tenants and communities

• Conduct tenancy ‘settling in’ visits within the first 6 weeks

• Intervene early and engage with support to redress issues (e.g. unpaid rent)

• Ensure client outcomes are a priority in tenancy management

• Client centered approach may take longer and be resource intensive = better outcomes

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The Tenancy Life Cycle

Exits from social housing

Tenancy ends

• Tenancy ends occur for both positive and negative reasons

• Clients need to understand and respect the need to stabilise their tenancy

• As an individual and organisation, we need to be confident we have taken all possible actions to stabilise a tenancy

• Identify those who no longer need social housing and assist them to transition into other housing

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Tenancy ends – HOMES users

Why have a Termination Reason Code?

• To distinguish between exits and transfers

• To monitor transitions from social housing into the private market

• To compare tenant movements across different housing providers

• To understand drivers of tenancy turnover, and client outcomes, particularly for Aboriginal clients and clients with complex needs

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Tenancy exit Case Study

• Mother with two young children – in rental arrears of $500

• Specialist visited client in her home. Discovered domestic violence situation

• Mother was just about to flee with her children

• Moved her to safe place, then rehoused

• Debt repayment plan over 50 weeks

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Flexible and responsive policies/procedures

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• Taking a holistic & flexible approach

• Understanding the broader housing need

• Taking a pragmatic approach to policy implementation, need to be policy compliant and still deliver an effective outcome

• What were we trying to achieve?

Tenancy success – what it looks like

• Positive relationships built on respect and trust

• Home visits to engage tenants, identify issues and prevent problems

• Skilled staff who identify early warning signs and demonstrate cultural understanding

• Housing providers policies and procedures that identify a person centered method of working

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Tenancy success –what it looks like

• When a tenancy is stable, vulnerable households feel more trustful, resilient and confident

• Stable tenancies are more likely to engage across a broader range of services including:– education (increased attendance rates for children at school)– adult career development & training– Increased employment opportunities and– Improved willingness to engage and improve levels of social

capital and moral entrepreneurship across communities

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Tenancy ends

• How do you measure success in your work?

• What techniques do you use?

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How the guide is being shared

What we’re doing to share the guide

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• Visit the Housing Pathways intranet site for the latest news and updates:

– Additional webinars (on-demand)– Podcasts– Workshops (on-demand)

• Want more information? Email us at foundations@facs.nsw.gov.au or phone Tim on 02 87539476

Where you can get assistance

• Link2home• Provides information about local support services. • Free call – 1800 152 152

• Aboriginal Tenants Advice and Advocacy Service (ATAAS)

• NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT)• General advice on its practices and procedure. Cannot provide legal

advice. • Free call – 1300 006 228 (1300 00NCAT)

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Where you can get assistance – other services

• Housing Appeals Committee• Independent agency that reviews NSW social housing providers’

decisions• Free call – 1800 689 794

• Tenants Advice and Advocacy Services• Provides assistance to tenants of private and social housing,

boarders and lodgers, and residential community residents.• Information at Tenants NSW website. Tenants Unions of NSW.• Free call – 1800 251 101

• NSW Ombudsman• Investigates complaints about public sector and community services

in NSW. • Free call – 1800 451 524

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Additional resources

• The FACS / CHPs resources include: • Foundations for Success Guide• Statement of Commitment• Aboriginal Cultural Inclusion framework 2015-18• Service Charter for Aboriginal clients

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What we’ve covered

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• Raised awareness about the guide and best practice methods

• Ideas and insights about effective ways of working with Aboriginal people and communities

• Principle that are designed to influence decision making and develop local solutions for local challenges

• We can provide copies of the guide

Thank you. Please complete the session feedback questions.