A performance audit into whether support and safety hubs are providing effective and efficient service coordination for women and families has found the hubs are not yet realising their full potential to improve the lives of people seeking assistance.
In his report, Managing Support and Safety Hubs, Auditor-General Andrew Greaves says the Audit assessed how the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and Family Safety Victoria (FSV), plan the hubs, support hub operations and drive their continuous improvement.
“Hubs are a major change in the way people experiencing family violence can get help, or for families and children who need support for other reasons,” Mr Greaves said.
“They aim to provide a more holistic view of clients’ needs and make it easier for people to find help by simplifying referral pathways and coordinating support for them,” he said.
Mr Greaves said the hubs had not reached their full potential because their service coordination was not yet consistently effective or efficient.
“A rushed implementation schedule and a lack of detailed project planning meant FSV opened the first five hubs before they had all the infrastructure, processes or staff needed to meet demand,” he said.
“As a result, some people have waited months to receive support.”
He said FSV couldn’t demonstrate whether the hubs were leading to better outcomes for families.
“This is because it is not collecting the right data to understand its clients’ experiences within and beyond a hub.
“FSV is working to address these weaknesses and making changes to improve the launch of the next hubs.”
Mr Greaves made nine recommendations to DHHS, including that the Department complete detailed plans outlining how it would open the remaining hubs and transition them from the foundational to the full model of operations; improve State-wide consistency of hub operations and practice; improve monitoring and reporting on demand in hubs; as well as develop and run comprehensive training on coordinating service responses for clients.
The Auditor-General’s 71-page report can be accessed at this PS News link.
