Evaluating the Community Living Support (CLS) Program: Open Minds
Status: Completed January 2019
Client: Open Minds
Background
In mid-2016, Open Minds established its first hub in Northern NSW region to provide mental health support programs for people within the region. These services are provided through the Community Living Supports (CLS) program, and the Housing and Accommodation Support program (HASI) funded by the Ministry of Health and in partnership with NSW Health - Mental Heath Service, Housing NSW, and other housing providers and partners.
The CLS program aims to support people living with a severe and persistent mental illness and receiving treatment to live in the community and to minimise mental health related hospital admissions. Open Minds works with a range of clinical and non-clinical service providers within the region to build connections and linkages across the service system. To help facilitate this Open Minds has established a number of ‘Portfolio positions’ within its service model. Traditionally, Open Minds caseload staff would be typically trained and experienced in mental health service delivery. Portfolio positions aim to engage staff with professional backgrounds in other service areas to build the capability of the Open Minds team across several key areas.
Approach
The Northern NSW Local Health District (LHD) is the key beneficiary of CLS program outcomes. Open Minds engaged Beacon Strategies to undertake an evaluation of the outcomes of the CLS service model in order to demonstrate the benefits of the Portfolio positions model, extension of support platforms and the CLS program in general.
The purpose of the project was to provide Open Minds with an evaluation of the outcomes of the CLS service model and deliver a report to the Northern NSW LHD. The specific objectives of the project were to:
increase understanding of the outcomes of the CLS program for clients, Open Minds and other stakeholders (outcome evaluation)
increase understanding of the factors that underpin successful delivery of the CLS program, particularly the In-reach, Housing, Corrections and Indigenous Portfolio Case Worker positions (process evaluation)
demonstrate the impact of the service model to funding providers and inform options for refining, replicating, extending and scaling (recommendations)
improved data collection, monitoring and evaluation processes established for future program delivery (evaluation framework)