Beginnings Support Project

Descriptions

This is a time-limited, low intensity generic floating support project for people over 25 without dependent children.Service users will be people of both genders who currently live in Denbighshire and are either homeless or threatened with homelessness. All service users will have been identified as needing support in a number of areas to enable them to independently manage their housing tenure (e.g. their tenancy). It is expected that service users will be supported for a maximum of 12 months (as appropriate to their needs), before moving on to live independently in the community or onto a community based project with lower level support.The project will support a minimum of 40 people at any one time. Support worker hours will be managed dynamically and will be allocated flexibly in response to service user need. Service user numbers will normally be expected to exceed the minimum level as new service users join the project while support is gradually withdrawn from those service users approaching the completion of their support. The project will be expected to have the capacity to accept urgent referrals as may be required from time to time.Staff will deliver support activities in service users’ own accommodation and the community.Project Aims:- Ensuring that people aged over 25 without dependent children are able to access support to maintain their housing tenure and live as independently as possible.- Preventing people from presenting and re-presenting as homeless or potentially homeless.- Promoting a stable lifestyle.- Preventing people being housed in unsuitable accommodation and supporting people to engage with Denbighshire County Council Housing Enforcement Team as required.- Supporting people to access independent housing advice services as required.Project Outcomes:- Service users will be able to move on to independent living wherever possible, or else to a lower intensity support project.- Service users will be able to sustain increased independent living in the long term.- Service users will be better able to access and engage with the services they need (e.g. statutory social services, GP, dentist etc).- Service users will develop and increase their confidence and independent living skills.Programme Outcomes:- Personal and community safety. The project will support service users to: feel safe; contribute to the safety and wellbeing of themselves and others.- Independence and control. The project will support service users to: manage accommodation; manage relationships; feel part of the community.- Economic progress and financial control. The project will support service users to: manage money; engage in education/learning; engage in employment / voluntary work.- Health and wellbeing. The project will support service users to be: physically healthy; mentally healthy; leading a healthy and active lifestyle.Referrals:Referrals will be accepted from statutory and voluntary agencies via the Supporting People Coordinator including Denbighshire County Council Adult Services First Contact and Social Work teams. The provider will also develop referral routes to encourage access for people not known to services.Refused referrals or those placed on a waiting list will all be promptly referred to the Supporting People Coordinator for possible re-allocation to another project. Any voids or vacancies on the project will be promptly notified to the Supporting People Coordinator and other referrers.Service users will be selected on needs alone and not on their prospects of successful move on.NB: if an ongoing support need is established (i.e. a long term requirement for support extending beyond two years), the service users will be referred to a more appropriate low level or non-SP funded service in accordance with Supporting People eligibility criteria.Project DimensionsLocation: Denbighshire (county-wide)Number of Service Users: Minimum forty service users.Minimum Support Staff: At least 2.5 full time equivalent support workers.Contract DimensionsStart Date: 12th September 2011Duration: Three years.Maximum Contract Price: £238,302 maximum for the full term of the contract (£79,434 per annum)Delivery Requirements:Support staff will work with individual service users to conduct a detailed assessment of need and to develop from this an outcomes-focussed support plan. All support plans will be reviewed regularly with service users. Towards the end of the support service, support staff will work with service users to develop a move-on strategy.The project is a floating support project; therefore the support provider will be required to deliver support to service users in their own homes and to assist service users to access appropriate new accommodation where they are living in unsuitable or temporary accommodation. The support provider will be responsible for ensuring the standard of the accommodation is acceptable as detailed in the service aims. Denbighshire County Council may inspect proposed premises to assess suitability.Type of Support:The support delivered will be housing related and conform to Supporting People guidance, standards and eligibility criteria. The service should not provide personal care, health care or professional or therapeutic counsellingOut of Hours:Staff will provide a flexible and responsive service during evenings and weekends when required, according to service user needs.Service User Involvement:Service users will contribute to the review and monitoring processes of this project. Feedback from service users will also contribute to the evaluation of the project and will inform future service improvement and development.Performance Requirements:- Payment is to be made quarterly in arrears, dependant on the receipt of quarterly monitoring documentation. Up to the successful completion of an interim service review, this information will be required four weekly.- Payment in full will only be released if performance monitoring documentation demonstrates that contracted staff hours are delivered and annual returns are completed and returned within the specified deadline.- Where performance falls below the levels specified in the contract, payments may be proportionally reduced in compensation (please refer to contract appendix 8: Penalties and Claw Back). - Outcomes monitoring information will be provided which will include but not be limited to the “Supporting People Services Exit Questionnaire”.- Needs mapping forms will be completed for all referrals received by the project, whether refused, accepted or placed on a waiting list.