Interoperability Challenges

1

• Interoperability Challenges
• and Vision for a
• Comprehensive Crisis Response Service
• Rendle Williams, Social Programme Department,
  Territorial Headquarters, Blackburn

2

• Definition of Interoperability (Federal
  Department of Finance Deregulation)
• the ability to transfer use information in a
  uniform and efficient manner across multiple
  organisations and information technology
  systems.
•  
• Challenge 1 The impact of multiple client data
  collection systems (particularly for an
  integrated service response)
• Challenge 2 The lack of protocols systems to
  support e-referrals

3
The Salvation Army Australia Southern Territory
Social Programmes across VIC, SA, WA, TAS and NT
today

• The Australia Southern Territory social
  programmes consist of -
• 18 specific service types Corps (excl. Salvo
  Stores EPlus)
• 3200 Social Programme staff
• 525 individual services.
• 600 crisis beds
• 4000 non-crisis beds (THMs, Long Term, Other
  services)
• 8,000 people pa. assisted with addiction issues
• 200,000 people pa. assisted by Emergency Relief
  services
• 500,000 people pa. assisted in someway by the
  TSA AST.
• We have over 30 different reporting mechanisms.

4
The Salvation Army Australia Southern Territory
Social Programmes across VIC at last count

• In Victoria, the major social programmes are
• Housing (THM long term), Homeless (SAAP),
• Domestic Violence services,
• Alcohol Other Drug Treatment,
• Child Protection Care,
• Emergency Relief

• TSA Victorian Homeless Housing services consist
  of-
• 30 sites delivering a range of SAAP funded
  homeless crisis services (Accom,
  Support/Outreach, Families, Youth, Family
  Violence).
• 4 major housing management services (555
  properties).
• 2 Long Term Community services (153 properties).
• Many Housing Information Referral Workers
  Housing Establishment Funds.
• TSA manage approximately 25 of the Victorian NGO
  homeless housing services.

5
Crisis Homeless Services in Victoria

• The single main presenting issue for crisis
  services is Financial / Accommodation difficulty
  (78).
• There are 2 high volume triage type services
  St Kilda Crisis Contact and Peninsula Crisis
  Support, Frankston.
• There are 15 Accommodation services. The largest
  specialist accommodation services are Flagstaff
  Crisis Accommodation, West Melbourne (crisis
  accom. for single men), The Open Door (medium
  accom. for single men), North Melbourne and
  Gateways, Croydon (crisis accom. for
  families/youth).
• The typical length of stay is less than 16 days.

6
Crisis Services St KildaJewel in the Crown

• Highly integrated service delivery
• High Volume Contact Centre
• Access Health, Needle Exchange
• Accommodation Centre
• Outreach to Family Violence, Young Women, Young
  people seeking private rental.
• 24/7 crisis support telephone
• 7-11 reception
• Over 100 contacts per day.
• Strong relationships Partnerships to deliver
  this integrated service

7
Year 2000

• Widespread data problems across Social Programmes
• Unreliable data collection IT systems
  Useability consolidation problems with the main
  third party application, CSMIS.
• Poor capacity to utilise data for various
  purposes (service design, planning and
  performance evaluation, research social policy,
  PR, etc).
• Absence of any policy parameters (info
  management principles and programming needs) as
  foundation for any IT system solution.

8
Vision for better Social Program Information
Management

• Enable access to a common client file for all
  similar services
• Enable implementation of the privacy policies to
  share restrict client service information
• Enable common practice improved service
  delivery
• Enable benchmarking for client throughputs and
  outcomes
• Enable evidence-based advocacy fund raising
• Investment in a single client system integrate
  the data reporting of stakeholders funders. -
  SAMIS

9
Lessons learnt

• Use the best available Minimum Dataset if
  possible the National Data Dictionary for the
  data items
• You can never provided too much support
• The smarter the reports the better the
  improvements for service delivery.
• Stay very close to the champion users
• It never stops

10
Current Challenges

• Competing against a silo mentality for data
  collections. We are strongly advocating for the
  development of protocols for the sharing of data
  between tools, not a shared software system.
  Such as can be used for e-referrals for housing
  and allied AoD treatment health services. We
  have too much double handling of data.
• Managing compliance to National Standards for all
  Data Collections. Taking some gambles on the
  future of the standards.
• When do we move to a data warehouse facility to
  enable cross dataset reporting analysis.
• Involve the services on the ground with all
  service delivery reform and data collection.
• Internally we are attempting to move to a client
  outcome reporting.