14 October 2005

Draft Redfern Waterloo Human Services Plan Launched

Minister Sartor announced the “Overhaul of Human Services in Redfern-Waterloo” on 13 October 2005 when he released Phase One of the Draft Redfern Waterloo Human Services Plan (HSP). A copy of the draft HSP and other material is to be posted on the RWA website today however at the time of sending it has not yet appeared.

The overview below is based on a briefing from Aldo Pennini, Director Reforming Human Services at the RWA, the Minister’s media release and an advance copy of the HSP provided yesterday afternoon. We are providing here an initial overview of the Plan rather than any detailed comment on it.

The Draft Human Services Plan (HSP) came from work by the cluster groups earlier this year which were worked on by both the Interim Human Services Advisory Committee (HSAC) and the Chief Executive Officers Steering Committee from relevant government departments. The draft HSP has been approved by cabinet.

Aldo Pennini makes the point that the material from the cluster groups was translated into government policy speak and then needed to be re-translated back into plainish English for the draft HSP. As a result people who participated in the cluster groups should not expect to find their words in the draft HSP. Hopefully the substance and community perspective has not been lost in the translation and its plans.   

Consultations will run until 11 November 2005 so that changes can be looked at by the HSAC and the CEO’s steering committee before going back to cabinet for final cabinet approval around 22 November 2005.

The draft commits the RWA to ongoing evaluation and community consultation on the HSP in a dynamic model, however it admits evaluation measures have not yet been developed and still need to be. The HSAC will continue to provide community involvement in monitoring the HSP and its implementation.

Information and consultation on the draft HSP includes publication of a new Redfern Waterloo Update on the Plan, a public meeting, further cluster group meetings and meetings for service providers. As well RWA staff will meeting with some of the individual service providers and interested community groups. There will also be internet and written feed back options. All of this is to be completed by 11 November 2005!

The RWA also announced that Phase Two of the Human Services Plan will be bought forward. Consultations for the four remaining service clusters will start before the end of 2005. The services involved are those for Migrant Communities, The Aged, People with Disabilities and Homeless People.

The key components of the draft HSP include identifying 10 Phase One priorities with their companion strategies, rationales, actions and the responsible government lead agencies for implementing the actions in the plan. There is a much greater emphasis on the delivery of core government provided services like Education and Health than was expected as these services were excluded from the Morgan Disney review.

A new community health centre is seen as important to the HSP but its location has not yet been finalised as the consultation report was not presented prior to the draft HSP’s approval.

The Redfern-Waterloo Community Safety Plan which came from one of the RWPP taskforces lead by South Sydney Council will be implemented as part of the HSP.

To fund some of the areas that the RWA will take lead agency responsibility for, the RWA will set up a charitable fund to find funding from the private sector for activities such as:

• 100 improved affordable child care places,
• lifting numeracy and literacy rates in local schools
• building community capacity

The RWA is also the lead agency for services to young people. The draft HSP proposes the creation of three youth precincts each with a particular focus to service the whole area. This involves the integration / co-location of existing services to deliver an integrated delivery system for youth services by 1 July 2006.

The “one stop shops” will be centered on:

• South Sydney PCYC and Fact Tree to on Recreation, Sport and Activities
• Sydney Youth Services & Redfern-Waterloo Street Team to focus on support services
• Redfern Community Centre and The Settlement to focus on cultural and educational programmes.
• Alexandria Park Community School will also be used as a service delivery centre

This HSP also contains strategies to strengthen the governance and day-to-day management of non-government service providers. Steps to achieve this include:

• joint service planning
• sharing of administrative resources
• common reporting, monitoring and evaluation arrangements
• physical and virtual co-location of services using modern communication technologies and out-sourcing arrangements
• training and professional development of staff
• improving facilities.

Hopefully by the time you get this the RWA will have posted the draft HSR, the newsletter and details of the consultations. The RWA website is www.redfernwaterloo.com.au  

The Minister’s Media release can be found at www.redwatch.org.au/RWA/statements/2005/051013rwa and the cluster Reports and Morgan Disney Report at http://www.redfernwaterloo.com.au/publications/reports.htm . Historical and background materials on the review of human services can be found at http://www.redwatch.org.au/RWA/humanservices and when the draft HSR material is available we will also post this material on the REDWatch site.  

We wait now to see the feedback to the draft HSP from all those that have contributed so far in the public meetings and cluster groups. It is feedback from the experience of people on the ground that will help ensure that the final HSP addresses the needs and concerns of the Redfern-Waterloo community as much as possible. Let the feed back begin!!