Reforms

Targeted Earlier Intervention Reform (TEI)

The new Targeted Earlier Intervention (TEI) program led by the NSW Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ) aims to provide services to people in need earlier by being flexible and responsive.

TEI will target children, young people, families and communities experiencing, or at risk of experiencing vulnerability in NSW. DCJ is recommissioning existing TEI service providers under the new TEI program.

The new contracts will start on 1 July 2020 and use the new NSW Human Services Agreement (HSA). The contract will include three documents:

• Agreement for Funding of Services, Standard Terms
• Agreement for Funding of Services, Schedule
• TEI Program Specifications (previously known as Program Guidelines)

Current TEI services to be recommissioned include those delivered under the following programs:

•  Aboriginal Child Youth and Family Strategy
•  Child Youth and Family Support
•  Community Builders
•  Families NSW
•  Getting it Together

It is intended that the new TEI program will combine the previous programs to provide greater flexibility to meet local needs.

Services will be delivered under two broad streams.

• Community Strengthening Stream – activities that facilitate greater cohesion, inclusion and wellbeing of all communities, and empowerment of Aboriginal communities.
• Wellbeing and Safety Stream – activities which support families and individuals, and provide opportunities for personal development.

The new TEI program will focus on data collection to learn more about the needs in local communities. It is intended that the data collected will help service providers to identify needs, as they change, in their local area. The evidence will enable service providers to adapt their service delivery to what works in their community.

Focus locations for Illawarra and Shoalhaven

The following localities are areas of priority focus based on the following factors:

• Low Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA) score
• High Aboriginal population
• High child vulnerability, young mothers, single parent families
• High unemployment, low income
• Concentrations of social housing
• Correlations between drug and alcohol, mental health and domestic and family violence

For the Illawarra, these locations are:

Barrack Heights, Cringila, Port Kembla, Lake Illawarra, Albion Park Rail, Koonawarra, Unanderra, Brownsville and former Penrose, Warrawong, Warilla, Bellambi and Berkeley.

For Shoalhaven, these locations are:

Bomaderry, Nowra East, Nowra, South Nowra, West Nowra, Sanctuary Point and Ulladulla and surrounding smaller villages.

The Shoalhaven priority locations are also characterised by limited public transport and relative geographic isolation.

Local Priorities for the Illawarra Shoalhaven district:
(Local priorities are not listed in order of importance).

1. Aboriginal children, families and communities experiencing vulnerabilities and trauma.
2. Children families and communities experiencing systemic disadvantage and challenges (e.g. in education, unemployment, poverty, financial hardship, mental health, domestic violence and substance misuse).
3. Children, young people and families who are socially or geographically isolated.
4. Supporting children and young people to reach developmental milestones and manage life transitions.
5. Refugee and emerging communities

Community Industry Group has been liaising with the sector and the department, and advocating strongly for the importance of local, place-based organisations which are connected to their communities and able to respond to local issues.

Some of our activities included:

• Facilitation of local TEI planning sessions.
• Involvement in consultative groups and Strategic Forums with DCJ, peak bodies and NGO’s.
• Providing support to service providers undertaking the transition to TEI, including support to complete activity mapping and program logics.
• Provision of training opportunities designed to prepare organisations for the new funding and service delivery environment.