Working with Supporting People
Supporting People is a Government funded Programme that offers vulnerable people the opportunity to improve their quality of life by accessing support and supported accommodation based services to enable greater independence.
New Start provides two services that are currently funded by Liverpool’s Supporting People Body:
- New Starts Supported Tenancy Scheme
- Prospect Lodge
Supporting People became the governing Body responsible for funding both services during 2003. Quality Assessment Frameworks and Performance Management Tools introduced by the Supporting People Programme have given New Start valued and structured mechanisms, to which the standard and development of services can be measured and continuously improved.
One of the ways in which outcomes from services such as New Starts ‘Supported Tenancy Scheme’ and ‘Prospect Lodge’ can be measured is by using the ‘Outcomes Framework’ approach. This is a web-based tool that is completed once a service user is ready to move on from a service.
This framework measures the progression and achievements (on a personal level) of individuals who have used the programme by focusing on the following categories:
- Economic well-being
- Enjoyment and achievement
- Being healthy
- Maintenance of safety
- Making a positive contribution
By capturing this information on a consistent basis enables three primary purposes to be met:
- It provides the CLG with National data on the achievements of the overall Supporting People Programme
- It provides local authorities with data on the outcomes of their commissioned services
- It also supports effective contract monitoring for local authorities by providing outcomes data on individual services, with the facility to benchmark with data for similar services with the same primary client groups
The outcomes framework demonstrates a cycle of progression that is promoted in both of New Starts Supporting People funded schemes:
Figure 1. The outcomes framework cycle
Investors in People Award