National Housing Strategy for People with a Disability 2011 - 2016

• Developing greater clarity and understanding of the roles and priorities of eachrelevant organisation, including areas of shared responsibility; and recognising thatinputs from each sector should be complementary;• Development of frameworks, including national protocols, to define fundingresponsibilities and to facilitate exchange of relevant information and advice toenhance service delivery, not only between relevant service providers but also fromthe person with a disability (and their advocates / referral service, as appropriate) tothe service providers; and• Identifying inclusive measures to overcome difficulties e.g. those created by theunavailability or shortage of resources.At an individual level:• Identifying a key contact person in each organisation to facilitate exchange ofinformation and case management – this may be negatively affected by frequentturnover of staff and/or structural/organisational changes. However, each agencymust accept responsibility for relevant organisational functions and establish internalframeworks to support the continuity of existing interagency cooperation, includingthrough defining key roles and responsibilities;• The delivery of timely person centred responses based on individual need;• Supports to key frontline staff in identifying developing opportunities and deliveringsolution driven responses.7.4 Key Areas for Interagency Cooperation in the Delivery of Housing andRelevant SupportsPlanning and information: In planning for the provision of housing it is essential thathousing authorities have accurate information on the nature of disabilities among people intheir area, the numbers of people with each disability and their specific housing needs. Therole of voluntary organisations in both assisting housing authorities to identify need and inactivating people with disabilities to engage in the housing assessment process isacknowledged. In particular, HSE services must engage with housing authorities to identifyand collate data on the housing needs of people with disabilities – this will be facilitatedthrough a framework of national protocols.Housing Application Process: To assist people with disabilities to apply for social housingsupports, housing authorities must work in partnership with people with disabilities, their73