1 tung tau/diamond hill integrated family service 香港明愛
TRANSCRIPT
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Tung Tau/Diamond Hill Integrated Family Service
香港明愛
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Development Stage of IFSC
1st Stage: Staff FormationTo make the pilot IFSC model works, staff of the 3 units in joint venture have thorough joint planning meeting in the first two months of operation. Throughout the year, 5 intensive training programmes were organize in parallel to regular meetings for all staff concern including the supporting staff in order for them to be familiar to the new model of operation.
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Development Stage of IFSC
2nd Stage: PublicityIn the first 4 months of its operation, there is a wide coverage community-based publicity. It presented under the umbrella of a joint project to arouse the residents’ understanding on their emotional state, family stress, the difficulties disturbing them, the importance of harmonious family relationship and to encourage early help-seeking with the convenience of one-stop service centres.
In the 2nd half year, we have utilized many ways to approach the hard-to-reach clients, including programmes and parallel groups. One of the more successful approaches is to integrate education element in recreational activities, this will help to reduce stigmatization and to enable the workers to explore their needs in a non-threatening environment.
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3rd Stage: EmpowermentDuring last half year’s operation, 150 volunteers from the service users were recruited. They are trained and supported to provide 789.25 hours voluntary service for the support of our services to the deprived sector of community.
Joint sharing of district needs and family needs in the community were held regularly Mid-term evaluation and planning of the joint venture had been held at the end of the first year of operation on the pilot IFSC.
For the first year, the cooperation is in the form of 4 task groups. Those task groups had been shared more responsibility in shaping the service to meet the community needs.
Development Stage of IFSC
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After one year of cooperation, 3 units had developed stronger understanding and cooperation. The interface among the 3 units was finalized completed. Two alliances, namely the Caritas WTSIT and BGCA WTSIT, will take up full responsibility for programmes, group and cases related to children, adolescent and parenting in the coming year.
After one year of operation, we developed better understanding and cooperation among the 3 units. A volunteer pool is also established for supporting the IFSC.
Two examples of our success: Several customers who have attained tertiary education became volunteers
and are providing regular private tutorial service for children with studying problem from deprived family.
Some members, who were new arrivals some years ago, were invited to assist social worker in providing service for new arrival families in the community in order to empower them to integrate into the society. As a result, they have formed a new group in adjusting to Hong Kong lifestyle.
Development Stage of IFSC
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Programmes provided in each unit (02-03)
TherapeuticGroups
SupportGroups
Mutual-help
Group
Educational/Developmental
Group
Educational/DevelopmentalProgrammes
Agreedin FSA
per year
Achievementrate
FCU 4 4 100%
FSU 13 12 108%
8 6 125%
FRU 21 20 105%
78 67 116%
Achievements and impacts
Total No. of cases closed from 10/2002 to 3/2003: 132Average percentage of October 2002 – March 2003 of Outcome Standard 1-5
Agreed Level Achieved Level
Outcome Standard 1 70% 88%
Outcome Standard 2 70% 88%
Outcome Standard 3 70% 85.3%
Outcome Standard 4 50% 88.1%
Outcome Standard 5 60% 71.4%
No. of cases closed:Case open and closed from
1/4/2002TPR Form received
10/2002 14 14
11/2002 19 19
12/2002 17 17
1/2003 6 6
2/2003 63 63
3/2003 13 13
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Performance Indicators Accessibility
Within our service boundary, we have 5 locations providing family resource centre and drop in children and youth service. We are providing services for 9 primary and 10 secondary schools. Our contact network had increased drastically and client can access to our service more easily.
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Early Identification By organizing community programmes such as debriefing, education film show, and preventive programme in response to the spread of SARS programmes, we successfully connected potential clients and provide early preventive services. By running parallel groups for high risk families, we could break the ice and induced some clients to approach our worker for advice.
Performance Indicators
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Integration (1)For better integration of service, workers from the Integrated Team (IT) alliances will expend their scope of service and be responsible for all supportive and counseling service for children, adolescents and parents on parenting.
In respect of case and group counseling service and parent education programmes, the family service worker would assist in parallel groups while concentrating on developing groups for couple, elderly, men and step families.
For crisis prevention work and programmes responding to community needs the two IT Team alliances can also assist. Some examples of jointly organized programmes are:
Against SARS （關懷社區 – 齊心對抗非典型肺炎身心健康講座） and 8 sessions of debriefing service were held for local residents, students, parents and teachers on responding to tragedies in the community.
Performance Indicators
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Integration (2)Besides, our excellent cooperation is reflected from the Against SARS Program which we only use 2 days to organize and implement. We distributed 5000 leaflets and 100 posters to local community and different units. More than 80 residents attended the seminar and we distributed 130 surgical masks. This demonstrated the efficiency and effectiveness of communication and cooperation among the IFSC units.
The workers of the two IT alliances have become more confident and skillful in handling cases especially those concerning parenting issues. They expressed that they have benefited much and their view expanded after handling cases of different nature.
Due to the increase of mutual understanding between supervisors and workers, the input of the two I.T. alliances had increased available resources in terms of ideas, strategies, skills, donors list, network, knowledge and contact points. The IFSC enjoyed expanded vision, and improved reputation. The consultation team meetings will be continuously held quarterly.
After the Opening Ceremony in November, 2002, three task teams were combined into one group and thus become more focused to enhance the function of FRU and FSU such as developing the community network and expanding our services.
Performance Indicators
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PartnershipDuring the last half year, more new service units in our service area formed partnership with us. They are listed as follow:
1. Caritas Hong Kong –Elderly Service in Wong Tai Sin
2. The schools, receiving school social work service from our centre.
3. HO CHUI Multi-Service Centre for the Elderly Citizen (Sponsored by SIK SIK YUEN)
Performance Indicators
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Community Resources and Support Mobilized Most of our volunteers are recruited from th
e pool of our service users. They are trained to provide services to other users and to provide back-up for our supporting services.
Community resources are fully utilized. One example is in the Against SARS Programme a doctor was invited from local hospital to be the guest speaker and the clinical psychologist of Caritas Hong Kong - Family Service was also invited to be the speaker too.
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Good Practice In the past 12 months, 5 intensive jointly organized
trainings were organized for frontline workers according to the need of IFSC model. The purpose of the training is to enhance case handling skill and knowledge of workers. The dates and topics of the trainings are as follows:
Date Topic
29/5/2002 Family Service Review Seminar
5/6/2002 Case Evaluation
10/7/2002 Crisis Case Intervention
27/10/2002 Child Sexual Abuse
22/1/2003 Goals Setting
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During the past year, our service succeeded in responding quickly to community needs. For example, we only use 2 days to organize a Against SARS programme. 5000 leaflets and 100 posters were distributed to local community and different units. More than 80 residents attended the seminar and 130 surgical masks were distributed.
Regular weekly lunch meeting is not only helpful in team-building, but also creates an opportunity for worker to share their innovative ideas.
Good Practice
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A joint project with the Caritas School Social team and IT alliances planned to conduct a survey targeted at P.1 and F.1 student about their self-management ability, for all the schools in our service area. The information gathered from the survey will be analyzed and taken into consideration for future service planning.
The IT alliances flexibility maneuver the working hours and its manpower to meet community needs.
Good Practice
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There is shared responsibility in promoting the service of IFSC. At supervisor’s level, they take the responsibility to publicize the concept of IFSC with the community leaders, while all workers of IFSC would promote the actual practical implementation of IFSC to the community via different programmers, groups or cases.
During the last year, we had conducted two surveys on community needs (July 2002) and community characteristics in Feb 2003. The data will be analyze and serve a scientific blueprint for our service planning in the district we serve.
Good Practice
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Work ApproachTraditionally, a family service worker’s main duty is to help our clients and their family members to handle their problems. The service is mainly remedial and intervention focused on the family unit. Workers are usually more experienced in micro skills.
Unlike the family worker, youth workers are more group and community oriented. Workers are more experience in designing group and mass services to attract and change young people and their families. Young people often expected worker as equals with them, understand their needs and subculture. On the other hand, people usually expect a family worker to be more knowledgeable and professional.
All workers involved need to adjust their working approach, we are confident we could overcome this with more experience, more professional sharing and learning to work with a wider target group.
Staff Assessment/ mindset
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Group ConceptAt the early stage of forming IFSC most of the on going group aims are developmental and growth oriented in nature. During the last year we tried to create new group activities for specific clients.
Thus, except for FLE programme workers, groups were also organized mainly on common problem encountered by service users and is therapeutic in nature. Yet we still need to explore more measures to encourage unmotivated clients with similar problems such elderly man with young wife and small kids from China to joint our support groups.
Staff Assessment/ mindset
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Child-centre, Family-focus and Community-based in IFSCThe workers now are more ready to approach family needs and problems as a community issue from a macro perspective. We would analysis the family in a systemic approach. Workers are more ready to take action to respond to community need, to reach out to potential service users and to arouse community concern for the issues and to take preventive measures.
Other workers in the IT are still young people-oriented. However, as an alliance, we emphasis in understanding young people’s needs and problems as a member in family, concern the welfare of the whole family and work with the family if necessary.
Staff Assessment/ mindset
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Difficulties and strategy to cope The collaboration at supervisor level is satisfactory
as we tend to work out our differences by a win-win strategy. The problem is the staff felt stressed having to meet so much administrative requirements in IFSC. At the same time, all the workers have to shoulder different kinds of agency, district and professional engagement as well. However, workers were fast to learn to set priority of work, develop innovative good practices and better time management.
Minor disputes were common but seldom require supervisor’s intervention as all workers put client’s benefit as priority and are ready to compromise.
Since September, 2002, there is significant change in case nature which overwhelmed the workers (See the following data). They adjusted well especially after sharing their responsibility with our alliances and understanding of the need of interfacing and avoiding of duplication of service.
Difficulties and strategy to cope
A. Comparison of Main Statistics:
4/2002 – 3/2003 4/2001 – 3/2002
Total no. of cases handled
784 863
. FCU Total
B/F 244 301
Open 255 483 387
Transfer-in / /
No. of cases closed / transferred out
356 557
B. Changes Since 1/9/2002:No. of Cases Opened:
1/4/2002 – 31/8/2002 (5 mths) 1/9/2002 – 31/3/2003 (6 mths)
166 317 (↑ 90.1%)
Main Sources of Referral (open cases)
1/4/2002 – 31/8/2002
1/9/2002 – 31/3/2003 1/4/2001 – 31/3/2002
Self-referral 88 112 (200) 236
SWD 6 69 (75) 17
Family members / relatives
15 42 (57) 29
Hospitals / Clinics / medical Centres
11 27 (38) 9
Other government departments
1 7 (8) 4
Main Nature of Problem (open cases)
1/4/2002 – 31/8/2002
1/9/2002 – 31/3/2003
1/4/2001 – 31/3/2002
Marital problem 46 45 (91) 155
Child care problem 38 49 (87) 23
Adjustment to old age
12 75 (87) 39
Emotional problem 15 25 (40) 29
Housing / 29 (29) 7
Financial 11 14 (25) 21
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Another difficulty that is troubling the two IT alliances is the issue on fee charging membership. It is a basic FSA and norm for all IT to collect membership fee. Whereas for IFSC the Government recommended that we should not charge a membership fee so as not to discourage deprived customers. The different practices of fee charging between the two services have existed for more than 25 years.
In the annual E & P meeting of IFSC we decided that all paying up members of IT will automatically become members of IFSC. On the other hand non-paying members of IFSC could not enjoy all the benefits offered to members of IT. However, if they really need extra service, we would seek extra financial support to help our clients to pay for the membership fee.
Difficulties and strategy to cope
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Conclusion Much progress was experienced by the thre
e units the past six months. We have been successful not only in stretching our resource, but also freeing ourselves from boundary and barriers. We worked as one team with the goal of improving continuously the service to the community. We are confident and positive that the cooperation would benefit our serving district.