mapping service links: ‘no wrong door’ in financial hardship kathy landvogt good shepherd youth...
TRANSCRIPT
Mapping Service Links: ‘No Wrong Door’ in Financial
Hardship
Kathy LandvogtGood Shepherd Youth & Family Service
The Power to Persuade SymposiumSeptember 5 2012, Melbourne
The Research Project: financial support service networks
A study of the formal and informal networks of financial support services in four areas across Australia in 2011
Supported by Federal Department (FaHCSIA) which funds the Financial Management Program (consisting of emergency relief, financial counselling, microfinance and financial education services)
Conducted by Good Shepherd Youth & Family Service
Asking: “How can the services for people who are struggling financially be more effective?”
The Practice Problem
Meeting the increasingly complex and multiple needs of people seeking help
..through several different specialist and generic services
..while maintaining engagement and an effective holistic response
Policy solution = ‘No wrong door’
The service system design promoted in many current policies = ‘The first door is the right door’.
Promoted by:• cross sector case practice• area-based integrated
service planning• service collaboration &
integration continuum
Research Goals and Questions
Good Shepherd Youth & Family Service: Influencing policy about a range of service systems
FaHCSIA:
Improving the Financial Management Program
1. How are local service links currently configured?
2. How can local service links maximise wellbeing?
3. What assists financial support services to be well-linked with each other and other services?
Research Design: Survey of Service Types and Links
• SERVICE TYPES
• Emergency relief
• Financial counselling
• Microfinance
• Financial education
• Centrelink social work
• LINKS
• Referrals
• Secondary consultations
• Co-locations
• Partnerships
• Formal network memberships
X
Geographic Case Study AreasFour Case Study Areas:
Inner UrbanYarra Area
Outer UrbanWestern Sydney and Blacktown Area
RemoteThursday Island Area
Rural/RegionalCairns Area
Data Gathering and Data Analysis
Phone interviews • most informed person• person serves as ‘proxy’ for service
3-part questionnaire• agency details e.g. staffing• links e.g. referrals• views about local networks
Analysis• network analysis – UCINET software• case studies and themes• consultations with participants re initial results
Why we Used Social Network Analysis
• Respond to policy and practice context: best
methodology for the research questions
• Quantify what is usually qualitative
• Explore correlations between network links
and service attributes
• Represent complexity effectively: tell the story
• Learn!
Number of Services Mapped
Case study area
Services surveyed
Linked services
Total links
Square kms(approx)
Total pop’n(approx)
Yarra 14 110 283 20 78,000
W Sydney/ Blacktown
22 235 585 360 450,000
Cairns area
28 189 610 10,600 200,000
Thursday Island
3 28 69 491 5,000
Mapping Networks – Another Way to Look at Numbers – and Diversity
Yarra: all links
Yarra: ‘pendants’ removed
Blacktown area- all links; geographic areas marked
Reciprocal Ties
When surveyed services name each other = ‘reciprocal ties’ (red lines)
Shows stronger links and possibly greater trust
But need context as well or may over-simplify : use to ask questions not draw conclusions
Cairns area
Yarra area
Thursday Is
Attributes Correlated with Higher Links: Staffing Model
Descriptive data can be correlated with number of links
E.g. Staffing model:
• Paid staff and volunteers
• Paid staff only
• Volunteers only
Shows paid staffing associated with more links
Attributes correlated with links: formal networks
Some links can be treated as an attribute and correlated with other links
E.g. Formal network membership is strongly correlated with number of links (except financial counselling services)
.. sociograms of formal networks
Differences between• Yarra area• Western Sydney
area• Cairns area
Co-Location as an Attribute
• No statistical correlation
• Qualitative case study data shows co-location can be helpful to network links
Links With Other Sectors
Services commonly at the centre of financial support networks:
•Housing
•Community health
•Community legal
•Alcohol and drug
•Family violence
ER
FC
MF
FE
C’link
Other service
What we Learnt (Very Briefly)• Large number of services linked even in small sector
• Geography & history matter: no one size fits all; distance may promote greater collaboration
• Formal sector networks associated with increased referral links
• Volunteer-based sectors require additional resources to support effective local networks
• Partnerships correlated with more referral links
• Co-location may assist referral links but may not
• Some non-financial services are central to financial support networks
Challenges Using Network Analysis in the Community SectorConceptual
▫ do the benefits of connectivity established between individuals apply to organisations?
Sampling
▫ locating all relevant services
▫ interviewing the best person to be service ‘proxy’
Analysis
▫ Understanding software: need research expertise eg university
Interpretation
• Over-simplifying findings – use reference group
Dissemination
• Confidentiality and reputation of participants
• Misinterpretation due to visual accessibility
Benefits of Using Network Analysis
• Quantifies anecdotal knowledge
• Allows correlations to be made
• Combines qualitative and quantitative data
• Visually engaging and reasonably accessible
PLUS
• Information both we and participants can use
• Studying ourselves not clients
• ‘Studying up’ potential
