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Individual Needs Assessments

A truly accurate picture of local needs for drug users can only be built up from individual needs assessments which identify the accommodation and related support needs of each individual engaged in treatment services, and the types of services needed to meet these.

Unfortunately such needs data is rarely available in a consistent and/or easily collated format. Often, the best you can hope for is a picture of where service users are currently living, and some information about where they are referred to for housing and related support. Neither of these give a very reliable indicator of need. When housing and support options for drug users are limited locally, agencies working with them will need to refer to whatever service is available, which is not necessarily an indicator of what the individual really needs.

Commissioners should identify the types of information they require to feed into future service planning and commissioning and set up appropriate systems to collect and collate that. It will be extremely helpful to have the needs information is collected in an electronic form (for instance input to an Access or Excel database) so that it can easily be collated and analysed in the future. Where several agencies will be involved in assessing needs, it is also important that the data is collected in a common format, and that workers have training and support to enable them to make consistent assessments, including a common understanding of terminology.

Below provides examples of the types of needs data required to feed into service planning and commissioning. It should be noted, however, that the types of housing and support required will be influenced by local views and policies on the extent to which housing and support should support adherence to treatment goals, as well as provide a home for the individual (see What services to provide section of this Toolkit).

An example of a needs assessment form used to collate information on the types of housing and related support needs of individuals is available here.

Useful needs data

The following is a list of some useful data to feed into the planning of future services:

  • Current level and type of drug use
  • Treatment engagement and goals
  • Other needs that will impact on need for housing and support, for instance mental ill health or learning disability
  • Support provided by other agencies (for instance Community Mental Health team) or by friends/family
  • Level of support required (e.g. visiting support, onsite support combined with emergency call out, 24 hour staff cover with sleep-in, 24 hour with waking cover, 24 hour with double waking cover)?
  • Risk factors for the individual or those living alongside them e.g. serious offending, history of self-harm/suicide, perpetration of or vulnerability to abuse/harassment
  • Suitability and preference for shared or self-contained accommodation
  • Need for age, gender, or minority ethnic specific accommodation
  • Locational needs (for instance if service user needs to move to new area or avoid areas of high drug dealing)
  • Suitability for private rented sector (which may take account of the individual’s prospects for employment and how these will be affected by rent levels)
Created by chris.ames
Last modified 2007-05-23 05:15 PM
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