Homelessness case consolidation management overview

To achieve a long term sustainable solution to homelessness, housing authorities must not only focus on the provision and accessibility of suitable accommodation, but also navigate through a much broader range of issues, often quite complex in nature, and if tackled effectively will contribute to reducing the number of repeat cases. Influencing factors such as poor health, relationship breakdown, debt, loss of employment, as well as the emotional and psychological support needs of the individual must be addressed holistically, with all pertinent data accessible through one single point of reference. To ensure that resources are deployed effectively and to minimise any duplication of effort in managing separately recorded cases that are in fact related, it is possible to link any number of open or historical cases in a many-to-many relationship. In addition to forging links between related cases of the same classification, it is also possible to link ASB, CRM, Feedback, Generic, Home Buy and Housing Options cases to an ongoing homelessness case. Having all relevant data visible through one access point underpins the drive towards tackling recurring homelessness and feeds into a range of other proactive measures:

• Identifying applications from people who have previously been provided accommodation under the homelessness legislation, including those instances where a different authority owed the housing duty
• Understanding the primary causes of homelessness among applicants who have experienced homelessness more than once
• Establishing active partnerships with a range of support agencies, collectively working towards tacking the root causes.

As there is no period of disqualification for anyone wishing to make a fresh application, a housing authority can benefit from having ready access to all linked cases stored in Civica Cx Housing, helping to determine whether there are any new facts or mitigating circumstances which render it different from earlier submissions. Conducting regular, systematic quality checks on how cases are being handled also provides significant opportunities for housing authorities to identify service improvements.

Separate help articles have been created for each key aspect of homelessness case consolidation management, including:

• To consolidate related homelessness cases
• To detach linked records in a homelessness case
• To associate a linked record attachment with a homelessness case
• To link a communication attachment to a homelessness case