❓ Hon. Sally Talbot questions the Minister for Child Protection about the collection of reliable homelessness data, following an Auditor General's report highlighting data deficiencies. The Minister outlines data collection efforts and challenges.
AnsweredQoN 681Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
HOMELESSNESS
— INFORMATION COLLECTION
681. Hon SALLY TALBOT to the Minister for Child Protection:
I refer to the WA Auditor General's 2012 finding in
relation to the National Partnership Agreement on Homelessness, which states —
It is not possible to say if the
20 programs reduced homelessness for clients assisted by them. This is because
it would be necessary to know how many individuals became and remain housed
over the four year life of the Plan and even beyond. At present DCP does not
have reliable information on the length of clients' tenancies so their
level of homelessness cannot yet be determined.
What has the minister done to ensure that reliable
information about homelessness can be collected?
— INFORMATION COLLECTION
681. Hon SALLY TALBOT to the Minister for Child Protection:
I refer to the WA Auditor General's 2012 finding in
relation to the National Partnership Agreement on Homelessness, which states —
It is not possible to say if the
20 programs reduced homelessness for clients assisted by them. This is because
it would be necessary to know how many individuals became and remain housed
over the four year life of the Plan and even beyond. At present DCP does not
have reliable information on the length of clients' tenancies so their
level of homelessness cannot yet be determined.
What has the minister done to ensure that reliable
information about homelessness can be collected?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for some notice of the question.
The majority of specialist homelessness services funded
through the National Partnership Agreement on Homelessness—the NPAH—are
required to participate in the national specialist homelessness services
collection, which commenced in July 2011. The Department for Child Protection
and Family Support, in collaboration with the Australian Institute of Health
and Welfare, provides regular training and support to homelessness services to
collect and report homelessness data. In June 2013, an independent evaluation
of the NPAH programs in Western Australia was released. This evaluation
provides data on the effectiveness of the NPAH programs and outcomes for
clients. Due to the transient nature of some homelessness clients, it is very
difficult to obtain reliable long-term data on a person's housing
status. This is why the department and its contracted service providers work
collaboratively to participate in national data collection such as the
specialist homelessness services collection.
The majority of specialist homelessness services funded
through the National Partnership Agreement on Homelessness—the NPAH—are
required to participate in the national specialist homelessness services
collection, which commenced in July 2011. The Department for Child Protection
and Family Support, in collaboration with the Australian Institute of Health
and Welfare, provides regular training and support to homelessness services to
collect and report homelessness data. In June 2013, an independent evaluation
of the NPAH programs in Western Australia was released. This evaluation
provides data on the effectiveness of the NPAH programs and outcomes for
clients. Due to the transient nature of some homelessness clients, it is very
difficult to obtain reliable long-term data on a person's housing
status. This is why the department and its contracted service providers work
collaboratively to participate in national data collection such as the
specialist homelessness services collection.
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