Presentation given by Mike Allen, Focus Ireland, Ireland, at a FEANTSA Conference on "Quality in Social Services from the Perspective of Services Working with Homeless People", Luxembourg City, Luxembourg, 2011

1. Workshop 10:
The relationship between quality and
outcomes of the homeless
services
European Conference, Luxembourg City,
21st October 2011

2. Main themes
• Is there a tension between ‘Quality’ and
‘Outcomes’
• Reflections on the history of these tensions
• The meaning of ‘quality’ in responding to
episodic exclusions and life cycle issues
• Lessons from the labour market
• How Focus Ireland approaches these
issues

3. Quality v. Outcomes?
• Housing lead means: Good outcomes =
Move on.
• Is ‘move on’ in conflict with ‘quality’?
• Do good services create an incentive to
become or remain homeless

4. This has a history
• Deeply rooted in historic attitudes to
poverty, vagrancy, homelessness and
unemployment
• Provision ‘rationed’ by unpleasantness
and humiliation
• Workhouses, poor law.
• Deserving and undeserving poor

5. Passing through?
• Homelessness and unemployment are
‘transitional socio-economic conditions’
• Old age and disability are not transitional
• EU standard debate has migrated from
elder or disabled care.
• This entire debate lacks a ‘progression’
dimension and so misses the point.

6. Lessons from Labour Market
• There are lessons to be learnt from labour
market activation research
• Historical position: low welfare rates +
regular humiliation = incentive
• Experience shows: getting a job requires
self-confidence and skills.
• Decent income + decent treatment +
persistent supportive push = incentive

7. “A kick in the arse is not the
cure for a life of being kicked
in the teeth”

8. Focus Ireland
• In Ireland, there is no legal obligation to
measure or achieve outcomes
• but there is an increasing level of
obligation placed by funding providers.
• Our tools used include: programme
evaluations, quality improvement
frameworks, case reviews, aggregate
statistics

9. • “Focus Ireland staff commit to assisting and
encouraging our customers to maintain their
involvement with services until they achieve the
goals which enable them to be settled and
secure in their tenancy.
• Customers who do not continue to use the
settlement and support services are informed of
their right to re-apply at a later date.”

10. Lessons for homeless services
• Physical standards are important but…
• Standards that matter relate to the
experience of the customer
• Frame ‘success’ in the context of the
customers establishing a plan (including
disengagement and move-on) and the
delivery of their plan