Evaluation of the Integrated Humanitarian Settlement Strategy (IHSS)

In response to this it needs to be noted that service providers and workers face a financial and/or
personal disincentive in ‘over-servicing’ clients in that they do so in paid or unpaid time. Having noted
this, the question of whether clients are exited at an appropriate time still needs addressing.
One answer lies in the nature and perceptions of longer term settlement services and concerns over
continuity of service. Service providers who are confident that clients’ needs will be accommodated by
longer term settlement and mainstream services were generally better able to move their clients on.
Where the IHSS contracts sat with a MRC or similar larger organisation with longer term settlement
responsibilities, the transition from initial to long term settlement tended to be relatively seamless. In
particular, co-location of the IIOA and AS contracts was seen to be important.
Another factor that contributed towards service providers’ concern around exiting clients was the
degree to which mainstream agencies such as Centrelink, Medicare and community health services
had demonstrated that they can accommodate the special needs of newly arrived refugees. In one
location, for instance, an arrangement had been made with Centrelink where an officer came to the
MRC on specified days to help new arrivals arrange social security issues. The Centrelink officer, in
turn, worked within his own organisation to ensure that other officers were trained to respond to this
particular client group. Clearly it is an advantage to establish such relationships. There are numerous
examples where service providers have been able to establish effective working relationships with
mainstream agencies which have resulted in better, streamlined outcomes for clients. However in
order to develop these links more readily, effort is required at both ends – from the mainstream
agencies as well as the IHSS and PASTT service providers. There is also a need for both bottom-up
(service level) and top-down (departmental level) effort on this issue.
There is a lack of clarity about who has responsibility for developmental work within mainstream
agencies. IHSS providers have a potential role, as do other services addressing longer-term
settlement needs (eg MRCs, CSSS). There is a need to consider how to optimise the activities of
existing services and to identify where improvements may be made.
The exit interview
A primary mechanism through which appropriate handover of case responsibility occurs is the exit
interview which is a requirement in the IIOA contract. The exit interview is a means of operationalising
readiness to move beyond the initial settlement stage and services into longer term settlement
services. In some instances formal exit interview protocols have been developed which assess the
client’s status (or residual need) in relation to a range of discrete services (eg income support,
education and training, child care etc). What was not evident was clear agreement as to what
constituted readiness to move on, nor how to measure or assess this. This reinforces the importance
of establishing benchmarks for client outcomes under IHSS. In carrying out an exit interview and in
assessing readiness an enormous amount of value judgement is involved. In regard to certain specific
services (eg income support, health assessment) it is at least possible to determine whether a person
has registered with Centrelink and is receiving the appropriate benefits, and whether the person has
gone through a comprehensive physical examination by qualified personnel.
However, what is the expectation in regard to other services eg employment or education and
training? Aside from English classes, these services, by definition, operate in a much longer time
framework. Some IIOA service providers attempt to assess, as is appropriate, whether a client has
actually received the necessary service, while other services assess the client’s understanding of
what general resources will be available to them and, most importantly, where to go to access
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Evaluation of the Integrated Humanitarian Settlement Strategy 27 May 2003