Casework client characteristics
An overview of the issues experienced by clients who accessed the CSF casework service is provided in Figure 2. Clients were considered to be experiencing each issue if the issue was present during the period of casework engagement, or if it was thought to be a contributor to the client’ s current presentation.
Figure 2. Issues experienced by CSF casework clients and mental health issues, both of which were current issues during the period of casework. Sarah also had an acquired brain injury, which she felt impacted her memory and thinking skills, and experienced ongoing chronic pain related to a degenerative health condition. She was quite socially isolated, having limited contact with her family and few other supports in her community.
Emergency relief assistance provided:
• CSF provided assistance with food vouchers and food on a number of occasions during the period where Sarah was a casework client.
• CSF provided Sarah with a voucher to purchase a mobile phone, allowing her to be more socially connected with family and friends and enabling her to be contacted by organisations who were supporting her.
Referrals and liaison provided:
A vast majority of clients( 86 %) experienced both mental and physical health issues which many felt impacted on their ability to work and / or seek employment. Mental and physical health issues were always experienced concurrently in this sample. Close to half of the casework clients experienced alcohol and other drug issues( 43 %). Involvement with law enforcement and the court system was also common, with legal issues being experienced by 57 % of clients. Three clients( 43 %) had been a victim of crime.
Newstart allowance was the most common form of income for casework clients( three clients), followed by Disability Support Pension( two clients). The remaining clients received Parenting Payment( one client) and Youth Allowance( one client). Significant financial difficulties were experienced by two of the three clients who received Newstart allowance, compared to none of the clients who received another form of income.
Case Study: Female( 50y. o) and long-term caravan park resident
Background and presenting issues:
Sarah presented looking for advice and support in the context of several issues which were exacerbating her current mental health difficulties. In particular, she requested support in the lead up to her upcoming private session and submission to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. She also had no home phone or mobile, which meant that she was unable to be contacted by her family and friends or organisations who were trying to support her. In addition, Sarah reported being unhappy in her current accommodation. She was looking for information about housing options and requested support to investigate her options further. Sarah described a difficult childhood, which was largely spent in out of home care. She had a long history of illicit substance use
• Liaised with Sarah’ s community legal offices in order to provide information that they required.
• Assisted Sarah to apply for the Getting Mobile program, which is a partnership between Better Life and CSF. The program provides a mobile phone and 3 months of free mobile phone usage to eligible clients in order to improve social connectedness and phone literacy.
• Referred Sarah to the Relationships Australia Reclaim Program, which was established to provide support, case management and counselling for individuals registered with the Royal Commission.
Individual outcome:
Sarah remained engaged with the CSF case work program during a 4 month period. During this time she was accepted into the Reclaim Program and was allocated a counsellor whom she had met with and reported feeling comfortable with. She was hopeful that some of her mental health issues would stabilise through regular engagement with the counsellor.
Sarah completed her private session with the Royal Commission during the period of casework. She was due to find out at a later date whether she was entitled to compensation.
During the casework period, Sarah reported detoxing from all illicit substances and she remained illicit drug free at the end of her engagement with the service.
Sarah had aimed to find alternate housing out of the Frankston area. After working collaboratively on a budget and researching housing options, Sarah was able to achieve her goal, finding long term accommodation in an area of her choosing. She had also linked in with the appropriate community support service in her area prior to ceasing casework engagement at CSF.
Sarah continued to use the phone purchased with help from CSF. Her free 3 month period with Better Life had expired towards the end of the casework period, but she had moved out of area prior to completing the post-program requirements.
Community Support Frankston | Annual Report 2017
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