Homelessness case management overview
Good and effective homelessness case management is built on the understanding that coordinated services deliver tangible results in addressing both the immediate needs of the people affected and also the underlying causes, with ongoing partner agency engagement being seen as critical to that success. It is widely recognised that establishing greater synergy between the different agency contributions, with mutual accountability, and sharing evidence-based best practices ensures that limited resources can be maximised, thus empowering housing authorities to truly serve their communities. As the practice of homelessness case management has evolved, the scope has become increasingly diverse, encouraging many housing authorities to more clearly define what it means for them in light of their published homelessness strategy, how it integrates with existing case management models - such as those configured within the Housing Options module - and how they equip their case managers to provide these services. In many instances, housing programmes are the first point of contact for individuals who are facing unemployment, drug addiction, medical, or mental health problems - or perhaps through referral, where partner agencies support the premise that a stable living environment can be the catalyst to recovery and long-term lifestyle benefits. It is therefore essential that all these factors are considered when implementing workflow procedures into each component of a 'standardised' homelessness case management structure, with sufficient flexibility to tailor each instance, as the need arises.
A new homelessness case can be generated directly from within an individual contact record, or via a CRM communication captured previously on the system. The resulting case file represents the single point of reference for all activities that must be actioned in order to process a homelessness application through to a satisfactory outcome, and in line with government legislation, or to provide advice and early intervention measures that will hopefully prevent or mitigate the risk. All case file obligations are managed most effectively through the creation of discrete, parallel or inter-related activities, providing a logical workflow and controlled timeline for the completion of all inherent tasks. As each activity refers back to a custom category, which in turn maps to an overarching master status - Prevention and Relief or Homelessness - the owner contributions are carefully targeted i.e. where a case is at an initial stage of 'prevention and relief', all functionality pertaining to a homelessness application remains inactive.
Separate help articles have been created for each key aspect of homelessness case management, including: