Student name Susann Treston
Student number S0158048
Course code SOWK14010
Assignment Assignment 1
Topic Capstone Proposal
Lecturer Davina Rowe
Due date 3 August 2012
An Evaluation of the Cairns HHOT Service by External Organisations
Capstone Project Proposal
Susann Treston
Central Queensland University
3 August 2012
Reviewed by Susan Heron (Field Supervisor)
Senior Social Worker
Homeless Health Outreach Team
…………………………………………………….
Project Background
The Queensland Government responded to working with the homeless, by establishing Homeless Health Outreach Teams (HHOT) in key regions of the state. The aim of these teams is to minimize the health problems of homeless people and contribute to the prevention and reduction of homelessness through collaboration, to access appropriate support (Lloyd and Bassett 2010, p. 290). HHOT provide comprehensive case management, assessment and intervention for homeless persons who are experiencing mental illness and/or health issues and also provide linkages to general health care and housing services. Health services provide part of the services to homeless people, and cannot alone solve the problems or complex causes. Therefore, it is necessary to work to improve and maintain health outcomes through collaboration with non-government organizations, the homeless community and other partners (Murtagh et. al., 2010, p 376). As a result, partnerships have been developed with local health, mental health and housing providers to link service users to services, develop networks and referral pathways between HHOT and non-government organizations which in turn, reduce barriers to service access (Lloyd and Bassett 2010). After the initial development of a HHOT in Cairns in (2007), additional non-government organisation services were developed as funding opportunities increased in response to the changing demographics of the local community. A HHOT service evaluation was developed in 2009 to map these local changes and track that HHOT service provision was appropriate to the requirements of the Cairns homeless population. Due to time and staffing constraints the evaluation was not completed to include final recommendations and analysis, and this project is designed to continue on from the last evaluation conducted in (2010), redesign the evaluation components, conduct a 2012 evaluation and produce a final report.
Project Purpose
The Project aims to evaluate HHOT services delivered to people experiencing homelessness and/or health problems from an external agency perspective. Agencies may be government or non-government service providers. The goals of the Project are to evaluate HHOT services, discover if changes are required and make recommendations to improve service delivery appropriate to the requirements of local homeless service community and organisational policy directives.
A selection of key Stakeholders will be offered a survey questionnaire and also the opportunity to participate in one to one interviews. Evaluation data will be sourced by both quantitative and qualitative methods between August and September 2012. In relation to AASW Practice Standards intersecting with the project, Direct Practice relates to the needs of the client being met through improved services; Service Management, the project will evaluate whether community expectations of government services and organisational goals are met in an appropriate manner; Organisational Development and System Change and Policy, the project identifies if changes are required to reduce inequalities, social barriers or injustices or if policy is in appropriate; Research skills are developed and applied through critical analysis, research methods and dissemination of findings of the evaluation process and Education and Professional Development are addressed in the relationship between research and learning (Australian Association of Social Workers 2003).
The project is guided by a personal practice framework that aims to develop collaborative, respectful, communication oriented relationships with participants. Further the project is guided by systems theory, using task centred theory to develop prioritised outcomes and planning strategies, solutions focused theory to define recommendations from evaluation data, using a narrative approach to gather the qualitative data and guided by evidence based research, for example an appraisal and comparison of best practice service models and outcomes.
Timeframes and Final Product
The Project will be completed by the final week of Placement, November 5, 2012 and will take the form of a Final Report structured as outlined below:
Executive Summary and Recommendations
Introduction
Project Plan
Main Research Questions
Methodology
Literature Review
Analysis and Preliminary Findings
References
References
Australian Association of Social Workers 2003, Practice Standards for Social Workers, Canberra.
Llyod, C & Bassett, H 2010, The role of an Australian homeless health outreach team, part 1: background’, International Journal of Therapy and Rehabilitation, vol. 17, no. 7, pp. 290-296, viewed 28 July 2012, http://www98.griffith.edu.au/dspace/bitstream/handle/10072/40300/69515_1.pdf?sequence=1
Murtagh, L, Llyod, C & Bassett, H 2010, The role of an Australian homeless health outreach team, part 2: a case study’, International Journal of Therapy and Rehabilitation, vol. 17, no. 8, pp. 376 - 379, viewed 28 July 2012, http://www98.griffith.edu.au/dspace/bitstream/handle/10072/40299/69514_1.pdf?sequence=1