Provider – Operational Guidelines Youth Service November 2017
Owner National Manager Youth Services Author Sandra Weir Version 5.0 File Ref A6347096 Date November 2017 Table of Contents
Disclaimer
The Youth Service - Provider Operational Guidelines are a living document and will be updated and amended at the discretion of the Ministry of Social Development.
2 1 Part A: Introduction to Youth Service
Provision of Youth Service
Purpose
The Youth Service – Provider Operational Guidelines are issued by the Ministry of Social Development (the Ministry) and are based on the Ministry’s policy and procedures. The Youth Service – Provider Operational Guidelines provide detailed guidance for the Ministry and the Provider on a range of delivery requirements. The Youth Service – Provider Operational Guidelines should be read in conjunction with the Outcome Agreement between the Provider and the Ministry.
If you are providing Youth Service for Youth Payment (YP), Young Parent Payment (YPP) and Young Partners only, Part C does not apply.
If you are providing Youth Service, Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) only, Part B does not apply.
Background
From 20 August 2012, a young person applying for financial assistance or disengaged from education will be referred to Youth Service if they meet the qualifying criteria.
Youth Service is an approach to working with vulnerable young people. The Ministry will contract with an organisation to work actively and intensively with young people by providing ongoing support and mentoring to improve their educational and employment outcomes. In areas where no Provider is appointed, Work and Income will provide an in-house service.
The Provider Outcome Agreement has outcome-based payments and Providers are incentivised through milestone payments and success fees for achieving desired outcomes.
The Provider must focus their effort on providing wrap-around support for: young people receiving YP or YPP young partners of a main beneficiary, and young people identified as NEET, or at risk of becoming NEET.
Work and Income will retain all responsibility for administration of financial assistance and provide administrative support to Providers.
3 Definitions
A summary of the key definitions referred to throughout this document are outlined below.
ART - is the Activity Reporting Tool that must be used to capture information about clients who are referred to and participating in Youth Service. Equivalent Qualification – What is deemed equivalent to NCEA/NZQA? NCEA/NZQA level Equivalent Requirements NCEA/NZQA Level 1 80 credits at any level (i.e. level 1, 2 or 3), including literacy and numeracy; or a Certificate at Level 1 that is on the New Zealand Qualifications Framework; or University of Cambridge International Examination qualifications sat in year 11. NCEA/NZQA Level 2 60 credits at level 2 or above, plus 20 credits from any level (i.e. level 1, 2 or 3). The Level 1 literacy and numeracy requirements must also be met; or a Certificate at Level 2 that is on the New Zealand Qualifications Framework; or University of Cambridge International Examination qualifications sat in year 12. NCEA/NZQA Level 3 or 60 credits at level 3 or above, plus 20 credits from higher level 2 or above. The Level 1 literacy and numeracy requirements must also be met; or a Certificate at Level 3 that is on the New Zealand Qualifications Framework; or University of Cambridge International Examination qualifications sat in year 13.
FBA – is a Family Breakdown Assessment where a client and their families are interviewed by an independent assessment provider to determine if a family breakdown exists. FRC – is Family Reconciliation Counselling for a client and their family to undergo if it is recommended in the FBA report and approved by the Youth Service Support Unit (YSSU). GCAP - is the Guaranteed Childcare Assistance Payment - a form of childcare assistance for young parents up to the age of 19 years who are in full time education, training or work based learning. Higher Qualification – level 3 or higher on the New Zealand Qualification Framework (NZQF) Initial Youth Service plan - assessing the young person’s current circumstances to determine if they and/or their child requires other services, identify any underlying issues, or barriers that may affect their participation in your service, including their ability to meet their activity obligations, for example a mental health issue or a disability. Main beneficiary – is the person who is in receipt of a main Work and Income benefit, for example Job Seeker Support. MAP - is manuals and procedures information about Work and Income policy, programmes and services. You can access MAP in the Work and Income website by searching ‘Manuals and Procedures’ or by clicking on the hyper-links within these guidelines. Monthly – as per each calendar month. 4 MyMSD – MyMSD can be used on mobile, tablet or desktop devices from anywhere, including kiosks at service centres and enables clients to check benefit payments, debt details and change some of their circumstances. MVCOT – Ministry for Vulnerable Children, Oranga Tamariki NEET – is Not in Education, Employment or Training. Provider - the organisation contracted by the Ministry to deliver Youth Service. Quarter – defined as January-March, April-June, July-September and October- December RealMe – a basic logon or a verified account which enables a person to access other government departments on line services. RealMe is maintained by the Department of Internal Affairs. RCM - is the Work and Income Regional Contracts Manager who will be your relationship manager. RTC – is the Work and Income Regional Training Coordinator who is responsible for delivering training to you. Sanction – is the penalty imposed on a YP, YPP or Young Partner when they fail to meet their activity obligations. You – the Youth Service participants assigned Provider Young Partners – are a spouse or partner of a main beneficiary and are aged 16 and 17 years old with no dependent children or 16 to 19 years old with a dependent child. Youth Activity Obligations – is the mandatory activity obligations YP, YPP and Young Partners must meet while receiving their payments from Work and Income. Youth Service - is the collective term applied when referring to services provided to YP, YPP, Young Partners and NEET young people. Youth Service plan review – a plan developed in consultation with, and signed by the young person, setting out realistic educational, training and employment goals. YP – is the Youth Payment. YPP – is the Young Parent Payment. YSSU - is the Youth Service Support Unit responsible for managing all client information and ART alongside the Provider.
5 Youth Service Client Groups
This section provides you with a summary of the different client groups the Ministry is targeting as part of the Youth Service.
Youth Payment
YP can be paid to young people (and their spouse or partner if applicable) who are 16 and 17 years old with no dependent children and are unable to live with their parents due to exceptional circumstances, or be in a recognised relationship. For more information about the eligibility criteria for YP, please refer to MAP in the Work and Income website. http://www.workandincome.govt.nz/individuals/a-z-benefits/youth-payment.html
Young Parent Payment
YPP is paid to young people (and their partner if applicable) who are aged 16 to 19 years old and have a dependent child or dependent children. For more information about the eligibility criteria for YPP, please refer to MAP in the Work and Income website. http://www.workandincome.govt.nz/individuals/a-z-benefits/young-parent-payment.html
Young Partners
The Young Partner will be referred to Youth Service to meet their youth activity obligations, and will be able to apply for some second and third tier assistance, like GCAP, Hardship assistance, and CDA. However, they will still need to meet with Work and Income for other applications like Accommodation Supplement or the 52 week reapplication.
Their partner (the primary recipient of the main benefit) is not eligible for the Youth Service.
For example, a couple is receiving the Job Seeker Support benefit; the primary recipient is 20 years of age and their partner is 17 years of age. The 17 year old partner must participate in the Youth Service and will be subject to activity obligations; however their 20 year old partner will continue to engage with Work and Income.
For more information about the eligibility criteria for Young Partners, please refer http://www.workandincome.govt.nz/products/a-z-benefits/jobseeker-support.html#null
NEET
Youth Service (NEET) is for 16 and 17 year olds who are not in education, employment or training or at risk of becoming NEET. Some 15 year olds may be eligible for the NEET service. Young people will be assigned a risk rating of low, medium, high or very high which will determine if they are in the target group for the NEET service and the level of service appropriate for their circumstances. For more information about the eligibility criteria for NEET services, please refer to the Work and Income website. http://www.workandincome.govt.nz/community/programmes-and-projects/youth-service.html 6 7 Provider - Roles and Responsibilities
A summary of your responsibilities, including administration responsibilities, client interaction, and working with YSSU, your RCM and RTC are outlined below.
Working with YP, YPP and Young Partners Your primary role is to provide a wrap-around service for YP and YPP young people and Young Partners to help them meet their activity obligations. Your responsibilities to the young people in your service include:
providing information to YSSU immediately about any changes to the young person’s circumstances that may affect their benefit payments/entitlements
recommending to YSSU appropriate benefit payment redirection for basic costs on the young person’s behalf - with accommodation, utility costs and lawful debts automatically redirected
facilitating the application process for government financial assistance for all young people in Service, including applications for supplementary assistance
facilitating the enrolment of a young person transitioning from the care of Child, Youth and Family
completing an initial Youth Service Plan with the young person to identify their current circumstances and determine if they and/or their child requires other services and/or interventions. The Youth Service Plan must be signed by the young person as confirmation that it was completed with them
meeting regularly with the young person, at least once every 90 days face-to- face, to review their Youth Service Plan and to assist the young person to meet their obligations and stay on track to achieve their outcomes. All reviews of the Youth Service Plan must be signed by the young person as confirmation that the review was completed with them
supporting the young person to participate in education, training or work-based learning in order to gain the necessary foundation skills required to ensure a successful transition to independence
facilitating access to appropriate services and other assistance, such as drug and alcohol, mental health, and behavioural programmes
assisting the young person with financial management and budgeting advice
assisting the young person to register and continually use My Account or MyMSD
assessing whether the young person is making the most of local housing markets and paying reasonable accommodation costs, and assisting them to reduce their costs where possible
supporting the young person to undergo Family Reconciliation Counselling where this is appropriate 8 support a young person to engage with a family planning provider to discuss sexual health and contraception; and apply for financial assistance when cost is a barrier to contraceptive access and use.
ensuring young parents are aware of the benefits of approved Early Childhood Education (ECE) services and supporting and encouraging them to enrol with Well Child and a Primary Health Organisation; and
completing an Exit Youth Service Plan with the young person before they exit the Service to support them into employment or further education or training. The Exit Youth Service Plan must be signed by the young person as confirmation that it was completed with them.
the Provider will develop and maintain positive working relationships with existing services and organisations, including Government Departments, particularly the Ministry of Justice, Department of Corrections and the Ministry of Education, schools, family and whanau, iwi and community groups, training providers and employers in their area.
Working with NEET young people
Your primary role is to provide a wrap-around service to NEET young people. Your responsibilities to the young people in your Service include: providing on-going support and guidance for each young person to ensure they achieve sustainable education, training or work-based learning, or employment outcomes
facilitating the enrolment of a young person transitioning from the care of Child, Youth and Family
getting the young person’s agreement to participate in the Service, and uploading that consent to the Activity Reporting Tool
getting the young person’s agreement to allow the sharing of their information between the Provider, Ministry, schools and other relevant agencies for the purpose of carrying out the Service and uploading that consent to the Activity Reporting Tool
enrolling the young person in the service within 90 days of accepting the referral including uploading the enrolment consent form to the Activity Reporting Tool
completing an initial Youth Service Plan with the young person within 30 days of their enrolment
the Youth Service Plan will include their current circumstances and determine if they require other services and/or interventions and sets out a plan for achieving realistic educational, training and employment goals with an outcome of achieving NCEA Level 2 or higher
the Youth Service Plan must be signed by the young person as confirmation that it was completed with them
9 meeting regularly with the young person, at least once every 90 days face-to- face, to review their Youth Service Plan, including monitoring the young person’s participation in education, training or work-based learning, and achievement against their goals. All reviews of the Youth Service Plan must be signed by the young person as confirmation that the review was completed with them
coaching, mentoring and referring the young person to other appropriate services where further support is required, to help them overcome barriers to their participation and achievement in education, training, work-based learning or employment
brokering and referring young people to appropriate full-time education, training, work placement and developmental opportunities
completing an Exit Youth Service Plan with the young person before they exit the Service to support them into employment or further education or training. The Exit Youth Service Plan must be signed by the young person as confirmation that it was completed with them.
the Provider will make any young parent aware of the benefits of enrolment in Well Child, a Primary Health Organisation and approved early childhood education (ECE) services and support and encourage them to access approved ECE or other suitable childcare while participating in education, training or work-based learning.
support a young person to engage with a family planning provider to discuss sexual health and contraception; and apply for financial assistance when cost is a barrier to contraceptive access and use.
the Provider will develop and maintain positive working relationships with existing services and organisations, including Government Departments, particularly the Ministry of Justice, Department of Corrections and the Ministry of Education, schools, family and whanau, iwi and community groups, training providers and employers in their area.
Work and Income - Roles and Responsibilities
A summary of the key roles Work and Income are responsible for, including administration responsibilities; client interaction and working with you are outlined below.
Youth Service Support Unit (YSSU)
YSSU is a centralised Work and Income team responsible for managing all client information for those participating in Youth Service. YSSU is your main contact with Work and Income for all Youth Service client interaction.
YSSU are responsible for:
referring YP and YPP young people and young partners of a main beneficiary to you
receiving and screening all applications
10 assessing entitlement and processing all applications for YP and YPP and other Work and Income financial assistance
processing all changes in circumstances which impact a young person’s YP, YPP or other financial assistance from Work and Income
monitoring information you enter within ART
providing advice, support and clarification around any ART processing requirements
providing advice, support and clarification around Work and Income procedures
approving any transfers between Providers (for YP, YPP and Young Partners only)
approving a risk rating change for a NEET young person
managing manual referrals for NEET young people including assigning the NEET risk rating for a NEET young person
Contact information for the YSSU
Phone: 0800-559-278
Email: [email protected]
Postal address: PO Box 43195, Mangere 2153
Regional Contracts Manager (RCM)
The RCM’s primary role is to maintain the ‘face to face’ relationship with you, including: reviewing and verifying reports produced via ART releasing payments to you monitoring performance of your service working with you and YSSU to resolve any issues, as they arise.
Regional Training Coordinator (RTC)
The RTC’s primary role is to deliver training to Youth Service provider staff.
To request staff training please contact your RCM.
11 Work and Income Contact Centres
The primary role of Work and Income contact centres is to provide a first point of contact for YP/YPP young people and young partners and provide information on the services Work and Income can provide for YP/YPP and/or Young partner clients. Their responsibilities include: handshake calls to YSSU for screening purposes handshake calls to YSSU when requested for the young parent to contact us provide advice and guidance for young parents manage young parent partners queries refer current young parents to their Youth Service provider if they wish to apply for financial assistance.
Work and Income Service Centres
The primary role of Work and Income Service Centres is to address any immediate needs young person or young partner may have.
Their responsibilities include: accept any forms or documents a young parent wishes to drop off scan and upload forms or documentation and assign to YSSU assist young parents to use the self-service kiosk test and administer young parents entitlement for emergency hardship assistance if they are a walk-in client interview the young parent if the service provider is not able to meet the minimum standards or if the IT systems are down process the transition to a main benefit if a young parent approaches the service centre manage the Youth Service delivery where the Youth Service provider is at capacity.
Work and income Service Centres - Young Partners of Main Beneficiaries
Young partners aged 16 to 18 years old of main beneficiaries will continue to have all financial assistance managed by Work and income contact centre and their local service centre staff. This includes all applications for supplementary assistance, hardship assistance, and all changes in their circumstances.
YSSU will manage and process all activity failures, sanctions, recompliance and exemptions for young partners of main beneficiaries.
If a new applicant for YP or YPP needs hardship assistance before they have been referred to a Youth Service provider, then the Service Centre should help them.
12 2 Part B: Standards of Delivery for Youth Payment (YP), Young Parent Payment (YPP) and Young Partners
Young person applies for YP and YPP
This section details how a young person can apply for YP and YPP. Please note Young Partners are not required to complete the online application process, but will be referred to you by YSSU. More information is detailed later in this section.
Section one: Applying for YP and YPP
Online applications
Young people applying for YP and YPP will complete an online application. The online application is on the Work and Income website.
Where a young person is not able to access the internet or a computer, they can visit a Work and Income service centre and use a kiosk to apply. Work and Income staff will support a young person to apply if requested.
Please note that young people who have a disability or literacy issues can also use a kiosk at the service centre and receive staff support to complete their online application.
13 MyMSD
MyMSD is a convenient way for young people to check payments and debt details anytime. MyMSD can be used on mobile, tablet or desktop devices from anywhere, including kiosks at service centres.
Submitting the online application
The young person will receive an automated response once the online application has been submitted to acknowledge receipt of their application. The response will advise them: what information and documentation is required to support their application (they will need to bring this to their first appointment with you) that someone will be in touch with them to discuss their application further, and what their next steps will be.
Young person approaches you to apply
If a young person approaches you to apply, refer them to the Work and Income website.
Please note that if you choose to assist the young person to complete an online application they might not be assigned to you following receipt of their application, in which case you will not receive an Enrolment Fee.
Website unavailable
In the unlikely event the website is unavailable, the young person will need to contact Work and Income and complete a paper application at their local service centre.
Application lapses
All applications remain active for 20 working days. This means the young person has 20 working days from the first day they make contact for financial assistance to: undergo screening from YSSU meet with you as their assigned Provider provide all supporting documentation to you.
If a young person does not complete their application within this timeframe (unless there is a good reason for the delay) their application will lapse and be declined by YSSU.
If a young person contacts you after 20 working days to proceed with their application you must make contact with YSSU.
YSSU will determine whether or not the young person had good reason for the delay and advise you if their application can continue or if they will need to reapply and complete a new application for financial assistance.
14 Young Partners of main beneficiaries
Young Partners of main beneficiaries will continue to apply for their main benefit at their local Work and Income service centre.
The Work and Income service centre will identify if a Young Partner is subject to Youth activity obligations. They will refer them to YSSU who will then refer them to your service via ART.
Young Partners will continue to receive written correspondence from Work and Income; they will not receive text messages.
Ministry for Vulnerable Children, Oranga Tamariki clients
The process for working with young people exiting Oranga Tamariki care to the Youth Service is outlined in Part D of the Youth Service Provider Operational Guidelines under Ministry for Vulnerable Children, Oranga Tamariki.
Work and Income brochures for clients
You can order brochures on a monthly basis and the cost is met by Work and Income.
To place orders, please email YSSU with: number of brochures type/code YSSU will process the order and courier the brochures to you directly.
15 Screening a young person for YP and YPP
This section provides information about what happens when YSSU receives the online application and completes the initial screening process.
At this step in the process, YSSU is responsible for talking to the young person about their personal circumstances and determining if their application should proceed past this point.
Screening the young person
YSSU will phone the young person to discuss their individual circumstances, and will: establish the reasons for applying for financial assistance (for example exiting Oranga Tamariki care, family breakdown, caring for a dependent child or in a recognised relationship). review and confirm that the information provided in their application is correct reiterate the privacy statements and their youth activity obligations they will be subject to if their application is granted advise the young person that they will be referred to you as their Provider, and you will contact them directly to arrange an appointment remind the young person of what information and supporting documentation they need to take to their appointment with you arrange an appointment for the young person to undergo a FBA with an Independent Assessment Provider (where applicable). Please note YSSU will inform parents or guardians that their child has applied for YP or YPP whenever a FBA is required. A young person exiting Oranga Tamariki care might not be required to undergo a Family Breakdown Assessment.
16 Where a young person refuses parental involvement without a good and sufficient reason, and there is not sufficient information to grant, their application will be declined by YSSU.
Family Breakdown Assessment
Young people may be required to undergo a FBA to test their entitlement to YP and YPP.
Please note where a young person has been discharged from Oranga Tamariki care or another authorised agency they do not require a FBA.
In addition to this, 18 or 19 year old parents and 16-17 year olds in a recognised relationship are not subject to a FBA. There are guidelines where a client is in a recognised relationship. For more information, please refer to the Work and Income website: http://www.workandincome.govt.nz/individuals/brochures/relationships-and-income- assistance.html
The purpose of the FBA is to determine if a family breakdown exists between the young person and their parents or guardians. Work and Income pay for this service and will organise an appointment for the young person and their parents or guardians to undergo this assessment with the Independent Assessment Provider.
The Independent Assessment Provider will interview the young person and their parents or guardians and complete the FBA report which will detail their findings and recommendations.
A copy of the FBA report is uploaded into ART when YP/YPP is granted.
As part of this report, the Independent Assessment Provider may recommend FRC where appropriate and advise if the young person and their parents or guardians have agreed to participate (as this is a voluntary service). If both parties agree to participate, YSSU will arrange the FRC.
Please note where FRC is recommended, you must encourage and support the young person to attend and complete their FRC sessions. FRC is an opportunity for the young person and their parents or guardians to potentially resolve their family breakdown and where appropriate, reconcile.
For more information about Family Breakdown Assessments, please refer to MAP in the Work and Income website. http://www.workandincome.govt.nz/map/youth-service/young-parent- payment/independent-assessment-provider-01.html
17 Family Breakdown Assessment report - confidentiality
The FBA report is strictly confidential and remains the property of Work and Income.
You must not disclose names or any information contained in the FBA report to any other party or person. This includes details of the client, their parents or guardians or any other person identified in the report. You must not print the FBA report and you must only view it from ART.
If you receive any requests to access a copy of the FBA report, you must refer the request directly to YSSU within one working day.
The information in the FBA report may be used by you to identify interventions that your client may need.
Young Partners
Please note Young Partners are not required to undergo screening by YSSU when they refer them to you.
Referring a young person to the Provider
This section outlines how YSSU will refer YP, YPP and Young Partners to you as their assigned Provider.
Accepting a young person into your service
YSSU will refer young people to your service at anytime in ART.
You must check ART for referrals daily (at a minimum) and accept or decline by the end of the next working day after receiving the referral.
For more information about referrals, please refer to your ART User Guide.
Some referrals may be inappropriate
There may be times where it is inappropriate to work with a young person. You must decline a referral where: there is a dispute or clear conflict of interest; or it is unsafe for you to work with the young person and they have been trespassed from your service’s premises. For more information about when you can decline a young person, please refer to Part D of the Youth Service Provider Operational Guidelines, under Issues Management.
18 Preparing to contact the young person
When you accept a young person into your service, you will be able to view their client profile in ART, including their online application and any other relevant information provided by YSSU.
You can use the application checklist to view what supporting documentation the young person needs to provide.
You must contact a young person within two working days from the date of receiving the referral to arrange an appointment with you. You will need to remind the young person what supporting documentation they need to bring to complete their application.
You must make every attempt to contact the young person for their initial appointment. If you are unable to make contact with the young person within the two day time-frame, you must send them a letter with an appointment time and date and the option for them to contact you if this is not suitable.
If the young person does not respond to the letter or fails to show for their appointment you must send YSSU a notification via the ART.
It is recommended that you set up an activity type engagement to record your initial meeting and have available for future engagement with the client.
For more information about creating an engagement activity, please refer to your ART User Guide.
Meeting with the young person – initial appointment
This section details what must happen at the initial appointment where the young person, including their spouse or partner and/or children (where applicable), meets you to complete their application. Discussion with the young person
At the initial referral appointment with the young person (and their spouse or partner and/or children where applicable) you will need to discuss and advise: you are their point of contact for all questions or concerns regarding their payments (excluding Young Partners), obligations and activity obligations that to receive financial assistance from Work and Income, including their incentive payment where applicable, they must comply with their activity obligations about what money management means and issue them with an inactive payment card issue them with an inactive payment card they may update their personal details online via MyMSD they must advise you of any changes in their circumstances immediately, and their information will be shared with Work and Income and relevant information may be shared with other agencies.
19 20 Verifying supporting documentation
You must check and verify all original supporting documentation provided from a young person, including scanning and uploading it into ART, and retaining a physical copy of each document in their secure client file.
You must ensure that all supporting documentation provided from a young person meets the requirements as outlined in Part B of the Youth Service Provider Operational Guidelines, under Minimum Processing Standards.
Parental income verification
Parental income verification only applies for 16 and 17 year olds applying for YPP who are living: at home with their parents or away from home with the agreement of their parents (no family breakdown has occurred) YSSU, as part of the screening process will determine and advise you if the young person needs to provide proof of their parent’s income to you.
If proof is required, the young person’s parent must complete the Parent’s Income Verification form and provide proof of their income (which must be under the Family Tax Credit cut-out points). A copy of this form can be downloaded from the Work and Income website. http://www.workandincome.govt.nz/documents/forms/youth-payment-and-young- parent-payment-form.pdf
For more information about the Family Tax Credit cut-out points, please refer to the Inland Revenue website. http://www.ird.govt.nz/wff-tax-credits/entitlement/what-is-wfftc/ftc/wfftc-ftc.html
My MSD
MyMSD can be used on mobile, tablet or desktop devices from anywhere, including kiosks at service centres and enables client’s to check benefit payments, debt details and change some of their circumstances such as: •Email •Mobile Number •Fax Number •Landline for Home •Landline for Work
When checking a client’s contact details encourage them to change their contact details themselves on MyMSD while they’re with you, or if the client is a confident MyMSD user it would be appropriate for them to do this in their own time.
For more information on MyMSD please refer to the Work and Income website: https://www.workandincome.govt.nz/online-services/mymsd/
21 Payment Card
At the initial appointment, you must provide the young person, young partner or young parent partner with an inactive Payment Card and you must get the client to sign this Payment Card while they are at their appointment with you.
You must scan an image of both sides of the Payment Card to show the reference number, and their signature and upload to ART. The Payment Card will be activated by YSSU if YP or YPP is granted.
If YP or YPP is granted or for young partners and young parent partners, they will have money loaded onto their Payment Card and they can use this card to purchase food, groceries and other items and services at specified outlets.
For more information about the types of goods and services a young person can purchase using their payment card see: http://www.workandincome.govt.nz/individuals/payment-card/youth-service-payment- card.html
The young person will swipe their Payment Card through an EFTPOS machine to pay for items. They must select the ‘CHQ’ option and enter their PIN (this is the last four digits of their Payment Card number).
Suppliers will be sent an ‘accept with signature’ message through the EFTPOS terminal and the young person must sign the receipt.
As part of your budgeting discussions you will need to monitor the young person’s use and expenditure of funds deposited to their Payment Card. To help with these discussions you can use the Payment Summary Sheet from the young person’s ART record.
Redirections
Redirections are the process where YSSU will pay a supplier on behalf of a young person directly out of the young person’s payments.
You will need to have a discussion with the young person, young partner or young parent partner about any expenses they may need to have paid on their behalf as part of redirections. This can include but is not limited to: rent or board power telephone other accounts as identified, for example hire purchases mandatory redirections, for example child support, court fines.
You must sight and verify all supporting documentation and complete the Redirections Template, a copy of which can be downloaded from ART. For more information about redirections, please refer to MAP in the Work and Income website.
22 http://www.workandincome.govt.nz/map/youth-service/youth-payment/redirection-of- youth-payment-01.html
Child Support
Young people applying for YPP who are sole parents must apply for Child Support from Inland Revenue for each dependent child. This includes those cases where there is an existing private arrangement with the paying parent. Inland Revenue is responsible for collecting Child Support. You must assist the young person to complete an Inland Revenue IR101 application form. A copy of this form can be downloaded from the Inland Revenue website: https://www.ird.govt.nz/resources/a/b/abce8e004ba3dc039e17bf9ef8e4b077/ir101.pdf
This application must be signed and dated by the young person and the original posted to Inland Revenue along with a copy of the birth certificate for their child. You must scan and upload the signed application into ART. Inland Revenue will assess the application and will send the young person a letter advising the outcome of their application.
When clients do not need to apply for Child Support Applications:
Under an administrative agreement with Inland Revenue-Child Support, the Ministry agreed to encourage every client on a sole parent rate of benefit to complete an application. During the benefit grant appointment if the client is showing reluctance in applying for Child Support, you will need to understand whether there are any underlining reasons to the young person’s reluctance.
A young person does not need to apply for Child Support if any of the below circumstances apply:
if the paying parent (or parents) is deceased
the young person, or their children, would be at risk of violence if they took steps to meet their Child Support obligations
the child was conceived as a result of incest or sexual violation
the carer’s partner is in prison and they were living together prior to separation and they will reconcile once their partner has been released from prison
Shared care criteria
Where YPP applicants applying for Child Support have a shared care arrangement in place, or if they are unsure whether they meet the shared care criteria, they must contact Inland Revenue 0800 240 943 to discuss. For more information about Child Support, please refer to the Inland Revenue website. https://www.ird.govt.nz/childsupport/
Father is not named on the birth certificate
If the young person has not named the father of their child on the child’s birth certificate, they may have a portion of their YPP payment deducted if an exemption is not applied for and approved.
23 You must have a conversation with the young person to determine if an exemption is appropriate as there may be sensitive issues that you will need to consider when you have this discussion.
Exemptions for section 70A deductions
For more information on exemptions from applying for Child Support please refer to the Inland Revenue website: http://www.ird.govt.nz/childsupport/payments/exemptions/
Obtaining proof to legally identify the paying parent
If a young person is granted YPP, you will need to ensure they are taking active steps to legally identify the paying parent unless an exemption has been approved. You must follow up with the young person to discuss if they are continuing to take active steps to legally identify the paying parent. There is an acceptable list of proof that the young person must provide evidence of to show that they are taking active steps in identifying the legal identity of the paying parent. For more information on what is acceptable proof, please refer to MAP in the Work and Income website. http://www.workandincome.govt.nz/map/income-support/core-policy/child- support/proof-of-active-steps-to-establish-paternity-01.html
Young person has payments reduced and is now taking active steps
If a reduction is already in place, and the young person has provided proof that they are taking active steps, they can apply for an exemption to remove the reduction to their payments. This exemption is taken from the date YSSU receives proof the young person is now taking active steps to establish the paternity.
To request an exemption for your young person you must scan and upload a copy of any proof provided against their young person record in ART and retain a copy for their secure client file. You must then send a notification in ART to YSSU recommending an exemption.
Please note if the young person refuses to identify the father of the child or refuses to take reasonable steps to identify the father you must advise YSSU via ART who will apply a deduction to their payments.
The client will be advised by text message that they have had a change in their payments. The text message will refer them to the Work and Income website where they can view their My Account to check for payment information.
You will receive a notification from YSSU via ART advising that the client has had a change in their payments.
If a client does not have a mobile phone (or if they have not agreed to receive text message correspondence) YSSU will send the client a letter advising of the changes in payment. You will still receive a notification in ART when a letter has been sent.
24 For more information on what is considered active steps, please refer to MAP in the Work and Income website. http://www.workandincome.govt.nz/map/income-support/core-policy/child- support/active-steps-01.html
Young person is a paying parent
If a young person is named as the paying parent YSSU will deduct Child Support payments from their YP, YPP or the young partners portion of their main benefit.
Consent from a young person’s spouse or partner
Where a young person is in a relationship, you must print a copy of the YP/YPP Partners Form for their spouse or partner to sign. This applies only to those young people who are in a relationship and receiving YP or YPP.
You will also need to check if the young person’s spouse or partner agrees to receive text messages from Work and Income and record this detail in the notification you send to YSSU. You must scan and upload the signed YP/YPP Partners Form to ART.
New information
If, at this appointment, the young person discloses information which is different to that held by Work and Income or discloses a change in their circumstances (for example they are in a relationship) this could affect their entitlement to receive YP or YPP.
You will need to advise the young person of this possibility, notify YSSU immediately about what was disclosed and continue with their application process. The final decision for eligibility lies with Work and Income and YSSU are responsible for determining if the young person is eligible or not.
Young person requires urgent financial assistance
A young person may require urgent financial assistance prior to their application being approved, for example they have no money to pay for food.
If they have applied for YP or YPP and their payments have not yet started, they may qualify for some emergency assistance. You’ll need to scan and upload an application for emergency assisantance and task this through to YSSU.
25 Approving and declining YP and YPP
YSSU is responsible for making the final decision to grant or decline all applications for YP and YPP.
Application is granted
You will receive a notification via ART from YSSU to confirm: the young person has been granted YP or YPP their Payment Card has been activated a copy of the FBA report (where applicable) is available and whether or not FRC is approved by YSSU (where applicable).
You must make contact with the client to book a post-grant appointment which must be attended within two working days from the day the young person is referred to your service.
At this appointment you must discuss with them: their activity obligations the process of the Youth Service Plan frequency of ongoing appointments with you and support to attend FRC (if applicable)
At this stage of the process, the young person is officially a client assigned to your service. Your role is to engage with and support the young person to meet their activity obligations and address any barriers preventing them from meeting these obligations.
26 Twenty working days to be on Money Management
When Youth Service clients are granted a Youth Service payment, or are accepted into the Youth Service, they’ll have 20 working days to provide the relevant documentation to be on Money Management. If they don’t supply the relevant documents within the timeframe, without good and sufficient reason, they can receive an obligation failure.
Notifying the client when YP or YPP is granted
The young person will be advised by text message that they have been granted YP or YPP. The text message will refer them to the Work and Income website where they can view MyMSD to check for payment information.
If a young person does not have a mobile phone or they have not agreed to receive text message correspondence YSSU will send the client a letter advising they have been granted YP or YPP.
Application is declined
If an application has been declined, YSSU will notify you via ART and detail: the reasons for declining the application
If you are contracted to deliver the NEET service, you can contact the young person to offer this service.
If you are not contracted to deliver the NEET service, the young person will be referred to a NEET service by YSSU.
For more information about the NEET service, please refer to Part C of the Youth Service Provider Operational Guidelines, Referring clients to NEET services.
Notifying the young person when YP or YPP is declined
A young person will receive a letter acknowledging that their application is declined.
The letter will refer the young person to the Work and Income website for more information about other services that may be available to them, including the NEET service.
The letter will also advise the young person how they can review the outcome of their application if they disagree.
For more information about the review of decision process, please refer to Part D of the Youth Service Provider Operational Guidelines, under Issues Management.
27 3 Section two: Supporting YP, YPP and Young Partners
This section provides an overview of how you must support and work with clients receiving YP, YPP or Young Partners.
First Appointment
After you’ve received your first grant, you need to have a general discussion with the client at the first appointment about how you are going to engage and provide support for the duration of their time in your service.
You must advise the client that: they are required to attend regular meetings with you as part of meeting their obligations they are to tell you of any changes in their personal circumstances or their family’s situation, including contact information, straight away together, and signed by the client, you will complete a Youth Service Plan. This means that: o they must undergo a needs assessment to identify any underlying issues or barriers that may affect their participation in your service, including their ability to meet their activity obligations, for example a mental health issue or a disability o develop a plan for managing their activities o develop a transition plan for exiting your service. their activity obligations are mandatory and if they fail to comply without a good and sufficient reason or do not have an exemption, their payments will be affected you will request that they share information from their MyMSD or My Account as part of their budgeting discussions with you.
Youth Service Plan
Clients must undertake specific activities to meet their obligations.
The Youth Service plan captures both the needs assessment and the activities that the young person is required to complete in order to meet their obligations and goals.
1. The needs assessment
This will help identify the specific activities (for example, education and budgeting) and to also identify any other activities that may address barriers preventing a client from meeting their activity obligations (for example, mental health issues, drug and alcohol counselling).
28 Your organisation may have its own needs assessment process and tools. The needs assessment is non-specific and you can use an assessment tool you think is appropriate for your client’s circumstances.
At a minimum the needs assessment must identify: a young person’s personal circumstances any barriers preventing them from engaging and remaining in education, training or work-based learning and suitable interventions any barriers preventing them from meeting their other activity obligations and any other interventions that may be appropriate.
You must capture information from your needs assessment with each young person in ART. For more information about how to capture the client’s needs in ART, please refer to your ART User Guide.
2. A Youth Service plan (including Setting up activity obligations)
You can decide if this appointment is an appropriate time to identify and refer a client to activities they need to complete as part of their obligations.
When you refer a client to any service, you must record this as an activity in ART.
You must also: ensure your client understands the requirements to meet their activity obligations and what will be expected of them ensure the activity you refer them to is readily available and discuss any financial assistance that may be needed for them to attend these activities with YSSU and complete a Youth Service plan that details how your client is going to achieve their goals and how you are going to support them. The Youth Service plan must be signed by the client and uploaded in ART.
Please refer to Appendix E of the Youth Service Provider Operational Guidelines for example templates.
Secure client records
Please note some clients will have a secured record in ART which prevents you from viewing details without it first being ‘unsecured’. If you need the record unsecured, talk to your Manager. If they are unavailable phone YSSU.
Ongoing engagement
You can determine the frequency of engagement taking into consideration the client’s personal circumstances. However, contractually at a minimum you must meet with the young person, face-to-face at least every 90 days.
29 Supporting your client
As part of engaging and supporting a client you must: ensure they are meeting their activity obligations advise YSSU of any change to the client’s circumstances straight away by sending a notification to advise of the changes, including uploading any applications and supporting documentation in ART. Please note that any change may affect their entitlement or rate of payment review their budget and help them to make any changes necessary to manage their finances responsibly identify entitlement to other forms of assistance, for example supplementary assistance or hardship assistance, as appropriate ensure they are actively engaged in appropriate education, training or work- based learning activities identify and refer to other interventions where appropriate and ensure their childcare arrangements are satisfactory (where applicable)
Changes to their circumstances
A client can have a change in their circumstances at any point in time. These changes may affect their entitlement to receive financial assistance from Work and Income, therefore it is important to notify YSSU as you become aware of any change.
As part of a client’s entitlement to receive YP, YPP or a main benefit, they must notify you immediately of any changes which may affect their payments. You must notify YSSU immediately of these changes via ART.
YSSU will advise you if additional information is required from the client to support their change in circumstances.
Please note that some clients may make contact directly with Work and Income. In these cases, Work and Income will accept any information from the client and forward this to YSSU. YSSU will then advise you via a notification in ART of any changes to the client’s circumstances. The client will also be reminded by Work and Income that they must contact you in future when they have a change in circumstances.
For more information about changes in circumstances and the processes to be followed, please refer to Part B of the Youth Service Provider Operational Guidelines, section four, under Minimum Processing Standards.
30 Client debt
When a YP, YPP or Young Partner of a main beneficiary doesn’t tell you straight away of changes to their circumstances and as a result they are overpaid, they will incur a debt. You must contact them and determine a weekly amount for the debt to be repaid.
Once you have agreed to the amount to be repaid, taking into account the young person’s financial situation, you must send a notification confirming the amount to be deducted to YSSU.
The client will be advised by text message. The text message will refer them to the Work and Income website where they can view their MyMSD to check for changes to their payment.
You will receive a notification from YSSU via ART advising that the client has a debt.
If a client does not have a mobile phone or they have not agreed to receive text message correspondence YSSU will send the client a letter advising them that they have been overpaid, how much they will be repaying and what their new payments will be from a certain date. You will still receive a notification in ART when a letter has been sent.
Client transfers from YP to YPP
A client receiving YP should transfer to YPP if they have a child. To do this they should complete a Child Inclusion form, apply for Child Support to Inland Revenue and provide a copy of their child’s birth certificate.
You must scan and upload the information into ART. YSSU will review their circumstances, including their payments.
You will receive a notification from YSSU via ART advising that the client’s payments have changed.
If a client does not have a mobile phone or they have not agreed to receive text message correspondence YSSU will send the client a letter advising they have been granted YPP or not and the payment details. You will still receive a notification in ART when a letter has been sent.
Client transfers from YPP to YP
If a client needs to transfer from YPP to YP because a child has left their care the client should complete a Personal Details form.
You must scan and upload the Personal Details form into ART. YSSU will review their circumstances, including their payments.
31 The client will be advised by text message. The text message will refer them to the Work and Income website where they can view their MyMSD to check for changes to their payment.
You will receive a notification from YSSU via ART advising that the client’s payments have changed.
If a client does not have a mobile phone or they have not agreed to receive text message correspondence YSSU will send the client a letter advising they have been granted YP or not, and the payment details. You will still receive a notification in ART when a letter has been sent.
Warrants to arrest
Warrants to arrest are issued in a range of circumstances, usually when people miss court appearances or breach bail conditions.
If the young person has an arrest warrant YSSU will send you a notification in ART.
You must contact the young person and tell them that the arrest warrant must be cleared.
Failure to do so may mean that the young person’s benefit will reduce by up to half (if they have dependent children) or stop (if they don’t have dependent children) unless either: it’s cleared; or they’ve taken all reasonable steps to clear the warrant but the young person can’t because of circumstances outside their control.
If the young person’s benefit payment stops or reduces, it can start again once the arrest warrant is cleared but payments won’t be backdated. An arrest warrant can be cleared by going to a court’s criminal counter.
Child Sex Offenders
You will be contacted by the Technical Officer at YSSU to inform you that the young person in your service has been identified as a Youth Service Child Sex Offender.
The Technical Officer from YSSU will give you the young person’s probation officer’s details and advise you to contact the probation officer when making any referrals to activities for the young person.
The young person’s record in ART will be secured.
32 Money Management
This section provides information about Money Management and how you will need to monitor and support your client.
What is Money Management?
Money Management is the payment structure that applies to YP, YPP clients and young partners who are referred to the youth service on or after 25 October 2016. This means the client’s costs such as, accommodation, utilities and other lawful debts, will be paid directly to suppliers. These direct payments are called redirections.
As part of Money Management, a client will be paid an in-hand allowance of up to $50.00 per week directly to their personal bank account. If there is more than $50.00 remaining after their costs are paid directly to suppliers, the remainder will be allocated to their Payment Card.
You will be responsible for monitoring their payments, including what the young person spends their money on.
Note a young person has 20 working days from the date they are notified to submit the relevant documents for redirections. Failure to do so may result in an obligation failure.
Some clients will not be subject to Money Management. This is when they: have earned the right to receive their total payment directly by demonstrating to you continuing compliance to specific activity obligations and you recommend they should no longer be subject to Money Management because they are financially competent have chosen to stay on YP or YPP past their 18th or 20th birthday while continuing their studies until the course end date unless their course finishes in December, then 31 March the following year. r
Client has high costs
If your client has living costs which exceed what they can afford, for example high rent, you must discuss a plan with them to help them to reduce their costs.
The client may be eligible for additional supplementary assistance from Work and Income. For more information about what supplementary assistance may be available, please refer to the Work and Income website for more information. http://www.workandincome.govt.nz/individuals/brochures/need-extra-help-with- costs.html
There is also A-Z benefit information: http://www.workandincome.govt.nz/individuals/a-z-benefits/index.html
A ‘check what you might get’ online calculator is also available on the Work and Income website. http://www.workandincome.govt.nz/online-services/eligibility/index.html
33 For more information about how a client can complete an application for supplementary assistance, please refer to Part B of the Youth Service Provider Operational Guidelines, Section four under Supplementary Assistance.
Assistance not subject to Money Management
There are some payments that are not subject to Money Management. These are: Disability Allowance Special Disability Allowance Child Disability Allowance Training Incentive Allowance.
Where clients are eligible for this type of assistance it will be paid directly into their bank account.
Reporting on Money Management in ART
For more information about how to record a client’s redirection costs in ART, please refer to your ART User Guide.
Change in redirection payments
A client may have a change in their living costs which affects their payments. They must advise you any time this occurs as per the change in circumstances section of these guidelines.
As part of your role to monitor the client’s progress with Money Management you are responsible for ensuring YSSU are immediately aware of any changes that may affect a client’s payments, including redirections of their payments. You must send a notification in ART to advise of the change.
For more information about sending a notification, please refer to your ART User Guide.
Recommending Money Management is removed
As part of your ongoing engagement you will need to consider when a client is ready to manage their finances independently.
For a client to earn control over their payments, you will need to assess that they are financially competent, including continued compliance with their activity obligations.
To be considered financially competent, a client will need to demonstrate (for a three month period): they have earned their budgeting incentive and have shown consistent, sound financial judgement which may include:
34 o the client is spending their in-hand allowance on items that are appropriate for their situation o any hardship assistance accessed is justified o the client has lowered their costs o the client has found a part-time job and is managing the money they receive from that in a way that is appropriate for their situation.
A client must have demonstrated continued compliance with their activity obligations for Money Management to be removed. This means: they have earned all of the incentives that are available to them they have been meeting with you when you have required them to the client has not had an activity obligations failure in the last six months.
If the client has met the requirements for managing their own money, you must: update the client’s budgeting activity in ART send YSSU a notification in ART recommend Money Management is removed.
Please note that clients who are not subject to the education, training and work-based learning activity obligation, can still be considered for Money Management to be removed if they have demonstrated continued compliance with all other activity obligations.
YSSU will make the final decision when reviewing your recommendation to remove Money Management from a client’s payments.
For more information about sending notifications to YSSU, please refer to your ART User Guide.
You will receive a notification from YSSU via ART advising that Money Management is removed for the client’s payments. You must advise the client of this change in their payments.
Returning to Money Management
If you identify that a client should be returned to Money Management, after earning the right to manage their own payments you must notify YSSU via ART.
Your client can be returned to Money Management for the following reasons: they have a sanction imposed for not meeting their activity obligations (they will be returned to Money Management when they recomply) they are demonstrating poor financial judgement.
YSSU will review the information you’ve recorded in ART and decide whether or not the client should be returned to Money Management.
For more information about returning a client to Money Management, please refer to MAP in the Work and Income website.
35 http://www.workandincome.govt.nz/map/youth-service/youth-payment/money- management-01.html
36 4 Section three: Activity Obligations for YP, YPP and Young Partners
Meeting their activity obligations
This section outlines a range of activities that clients must undertake in order to meet the specific activity obligations that are required of them while receiving YP, YPP and Young Partners.
Partners aged 16 to 19 years old
Young partners (aged 16 to 19 years old) of clients receiving a main benefit have youth activity obligations if they are: aged 16 to 17 years old without dependent children or aged 16 to 19 years old with a dependent child and is married to, or in a civil union or de facto relationship with a person
How does a young person meet their activity obligations?
Young people receiving Youth Payment have the following activity obligations. They must: be enrolled in and undertaking, or be available for, a full-time course of secondary or tertiary education, or approved training or work-based learning leading to a NCEA level 2 qualification or an equivalent or higher qualification when required to, participate in and complete an approved budgeting programme report to their service provider or Work and Income "in-house" service on progress in meeting their education and budgeting obligations (above) as often as required when required to, attend and participate in any interview with their service provider or Work and Income "in-house" service and when asked, provide within 20 working days, to their service provider or Work and Income “in-house” service, details of the young person’s accommodation costs, service costs and lawful debts or other liabilities co-operate with their service provider or Work and Income "in-house" service in managing the spending of their Youth Payment and attend and participate in regular discussions on budgeting at any discussion, or when asked, provide details of: - accommodation costs and service costs such as power and phone - lawful debts and liabilities - how they spent any in-hand allowance and any money credited to their payment card or any other device
Young people who fail without good and sufficient reason to comply with their activity obligations may be sanctioned.
37 Are there specific activities for Young Parents (YPP)?
In addition to the above, a young person receiving Young Parent Payment is also subject to the following obligations. They must: enrol their child with a Primary Health Organisation, where a local provider is available keep their child or children under the age of 5 years up-to-date with their Well Child/Tamariki Ora checks ensure their child's attendance at an approved Early Childhood Education (ECE) programme or other suitable childcare, while they are participating in education, training, work-based learning or part-time work
All obligations apply from the time Young Parent Payment is first paid except where the young person is caring for a child aged less than 12 months of age the obligation to be in education, training or work-based learning may apply from a later date.
Please note, that if a child has a health condition the young parent may be eligible for an exemption for a period of time. For more information about when an exemption may apply, please refer to the Exemption section, within the Youth Service Providers Operational Guide.
Are there incentive payments for activity participation?
Yes, those young people who are receiving the youth payment and young parent payment and young partners will be eligible to receive Incentive payments when they meet their activity obligations.
What happens if the young person does not meet their activity obligations?
When a young person does not meet their activity obligations without a good and sufficient reason, you must inform YSSU that a failure has occurred.
For example, YSSU need to know when a young person does not attend a budgeting programme as they may be subject to an activity obligation failure.
What prior learning can be recognised?
Any budgeting and parenting programmes that the client may have completed can be recognised as prior learning so long as they meet the Youth Service Budgeting or Parent Programme guidelines. For more information please refer to the Budgeting and or Parenting activity sections of the Youth Service Operational Provider Guidelines.
Provider Action
To keep YSSU informed of whether a young person is meeting their activity obligations you must update the young person’s activity in ART. For more information about updating activities, please refer to your ART User Guide.
38 Education, training and work-based learning activity obligation
This section outlines what is an appropriate education, training and work-based learning activity.
What are appropriate Education activities?
If a young person is attending secondary school during usual school hours, regularly attending classes and completing assignment and other course requirements, they will be meeting their activity obligations. Secondary education includes: secondary schools composite schools correspondence schools.
What are appropriate Training activities?
If a client is regularly attending training during required hours and is completing assignments and other course requirements, they will be meeting their activity obligations. Training means employment-related training that must: be reputable and expected to teach the client skills that will help them find work in their local labour market have an emphasis on training rather than study offer full-time training (at least 30 hours per week) offer NCEA or National Qualification Framework (NQF) or NZQA level 4 credits
What are appropriate Tertiary study activities?
If a client is attending tertiary education and is enrolled and attending a full-time course as well as completing assignments and other course requirements, they will be meeting their activity obligations. Tertiary education includes a course of study provided at Universities or Polytechnics.
What is an appropriate Work-based learning activity?
Work-based learning activities include courses that offer more practical, hands-on learning than the school environment. Study may also be combined with work. For example, a young person can be working towards an NCEA or National Qualification Framework credits as part of the employment. Programmes that contain elements of work-based learning include Youth Guarantee programmes and part-time Industry Partnerships.
What happens during the school holidays?
As part of your client’s activity obligations you can ask them to attend appropriate short- term NCEA related activities during the school holidays. 39 What happens if the client does not meet their activity obligations?
If your client does not attend a required education, training or work-based learning activity, and they do not have a good and sufficient reason for not attending, you should advise YSSU. In such circumstances, YSSU may initiate an obligations failure.
Provider Action
To keep YSSU informed of whether a client is meeting their activity obligations you must update the client’s activity in ART.
For more information about updating activities, please refer to your ART User Guide.
Budgeting activity obligation
This section details guidance to assist you when working with the client to meet their budgeting activity obligation.
What is the client required to do?
On-going budgeting discussions
YP, YPP and Young Partners are required to co-operate with you in managing their spending, which includes sharing with you information about: how the portion of money paid directly to them on their payment card and in- hand allowance is spent what their accommodation costs (rent, board) and service costs (power, gas, phone, internet) and other lawful debts and liabilities are (hire purchase, credit cards) for the purposes of Money Management.
For more information about Budgeting Obligations, please refer to MAP in the Work and Income website. http://www.workandincome.govt.nz/map/youth-service/youth-payment/approved- budgeting-programme-activity-01.html
40 What are you required to do?
Finding an approved budgeting programme
You are responsible for referring a client to complete an approved budgeting programme. An approved budgeting programme must meet the Youth Service Budgeting Guidelines and can only be delivered by an Authorised Budgeting Provider. You must ensure that all approved budgeting programmes are being delivered in accordance with the Youth Service Budgeting Guidelines.
Prepare your client
Make sure your client is prepared with information about their budgeting needs before they attend the budgeting course. They need to know what their weekly income is and what their outgoings are. They need to understand that they will be required to complete homework as part of the course. If they don’t complete their homework they may not pass and will be required to do the course again.
Authorised Budgeting Provider
An Authorised Budgeting Provider is the agency approved by the Ministry to deliver budgeting programmes for Youth Service clients. In some cases an Authorised Budgeting Provider may not be funded directly by the Ministry, but may be funded by other key Government agencies. For a full list of Authorised Budgeting Providers available in your area, please refer to the Work and Income website. http://www.workandincome.govt.nz/community/ys-provider-resources/approved- budgeting-providers.html
Authorised Budgeting Provider unavailable
Your first option should be to refer a client to an Authorised Budgeting Provider in every instance; however there will be times where they are unavailable. In this situation, you may be required to deliver a budgeting programme, as part of your service directly to the client. Before you deliver any in-house budgeting programme to a Youth Service client, you must obtain written approval from your local RCM who will seek approval on your behalf from the General Manager Contracts.
Youth Service Budgeting Guidelines
Approved budgeting programmes should: generally comprise of 10-12 hours of learning and be delivered in a modular fashion (typically 5-6 modules) be able to be completed within a three month period to allow the client to achieve their incentive payment provide the client with a certificate of completion
41 have a formal course evaluation completed by each client at the completion of the course have no more than 15 participants per instructor. Modules should cover areas such as: What is budgeting? Understanding my living costs Identifying poor spending habits Managing credit, consumer rights and contracts Use of bank accounts Getting further assistance.
Completion of Budgeting Course
A fee is payable to the provider for every young person who has successfully completed a Budgeting course. Upload a copy of the young person’s completion certificate into ART as validation. Refer to the ART User Guide.
42 Parenting activity obligation
This section details guidance to assist YPP and Young Partners with dependent children to meet their parenting activity obligation.
What is the client required to do?
Client enrols with a Primary Health Organisation
A client must have their child enrolled at a Primary Health Organisation (PHO) or with a registered medical practitioner or specialist. Where places are short at either a PHO or registered medical practitioner, the client can be considered to be meeting this activity obligation if they have a plan in place to: be enrolled at a PHO when a place becomes available, and get health care for their child if their child becomes unwell.
Enrolment and attendance at WellChild visits
If a client has a dependent child under five years old, they must register their child and provide evidence that their child is attending their WellChild Tamariki Ora (WellChild) visits.
What are you required to do?
Finding an approved parenting programme
As their assigned Provider you are responsible for referring a client to complete an approved parenting programme. An approved parenting programme must meet the Youth Service Parenting Guidelines and can only be delivered by an Authorised Parenting Provider. For more information about Parenting Obligations, please refer to MAP in the Work and Income website. http://www.workandincome.govt.nz/map/youth-service/young-parent- payment/parenting-obligations-01.html
Authorised Parenting Provider
An Authorised Parenting Provider is the agency authorised by the Ministry to deliver parenting programmes for Youth Service clients. In some cases an Authorised Parenting Provider may not be funded directly by the Ministry, but may be funded by other key Government agencies. For a full list of Authorised Parenting Providers available in your area, please refer to the Work and Income website. http://www.workandincome.govt.nz/community/ys-provider-resources/approved- parenting-providers.html
43 What if the Authorised Parenting Provider is unavailable?
Your first option should be to refer a client to an Authorised Parenting Provider in every instance; however there will be times where they are unavailable. In this situation, you may be required to deliver a parenting programme, as part of your service directly to the client. Before you deliver any in-house parenting programme to a Youth Service client, you must obtain written approval from your local RCMwho will seek approval on your behalf from the General Manager Contracts.
What are the Youth Service Parenting Programme Guidelines?
Approved parenting programmes should: generally comprise of 10-12 hours of learning and be delivered in a modular fashion (typically 5-6 modules) be able to be completed within a three month period to allow the client to achieve their incentive payment provide the client with a certificate of completion have a formal course evaluation completed by each client at the completion of the course have no more than 15 participants per instructor. Modules should cover areas such as: Reading babies' cues - the first step in a great relationship with a child is the ability to understand what cries, gurgles and gestures mean and be able to respond positively Child development - what to expect by age and stage, sensory learning and age appropriate activities Brain development: o the importance of the first three years o attachment as a mechanism for developing neural pathways o the differences between the teen brain and the infant brain Conscious parenting – considering what sort of parents we want to be Managing behaviour: o coping with crying o dealing with tantrums o understanding the difference between discipline and punishment Keeping children safe: o preventing child abuse and neglect o promoting safe secure attachments o providing a physically safe environment at home and in the community Managing stress: o developing strategies for keeping calm o having realistic expectations
44 o coping with the round-the clock demands of parenthood The importance of play - which is essential to the social, emotional, cognitive and physical well-being and development of children.
Completion of Parenting Course
A fee is payable to the provider for every young person who has successfully completed a Parenting course. Upload a copy of the young person’s completion certificate into ART as validation. Refer to the ART User Guide.
Incentive payments for YP, YPP and Young Partners
A young person may be eligible to receive incentive payments, providing they have met and continue to meet their activity obligations. A client must meet the following to be considered eligible to receive their: Education Incentive Payment - complete six months of continued active participation in education, training or work-based learning activities Budgeting Incentive Payment - complete an approved budgeting programme and have engaged in three months of regular budgeting discussions with their assigned Provider Parenting Education Incentive Payment – complete an approved parenting programme and: o enrol their child with a PHO o keep their children under 5 years up to date with WellChild checks o ensure their child’s attendance at ECE or other suitable childcare while they are in education, training or work-based learning or part-time work o have engaged in three months of regular parenting discussions with their assigned Provider. Incentive payments are: non-taxable not considered as chargeable income for the purposes of supplementary and hardship assistance paid at $10.00 per week for each payment Paid with YP or YPP, to be redirected and/or flow onto the client’s payment card as part of Money Management.
How can a client receive their incentive payment?
You must notify YSSU immediately as soon as the client is eligible for incentive payments. You must update the client’s activity and send a notification to YSSU in ART recommending the client is eligible to receive their incentive payment.
45 For more information about updating activities in ART, please refer to your ART User Guide.
Confirming eligibility for an incentive payment with you
YSSU will send you a notification via ART to confirm the: client is eligible to receive their incentive payment client’s payments have been revised. For more information about Money Management, please refer to Part B of the Youth Service Provider Operational Guidelines, Section two.
46 Informing clients that they will receive an incentive payment
The client will be advised by text message that they are eligible for an incentive payment and that their payments have changed. The text message will refer the client to the Work and Income website where they can view their My Account to check for payment information.
If a client does not have a mobile phone, or if they have not agreed to receive text message correspondence, YSSU will send the client a letter confirming eligibility and advising of the changes in payment. You will still receive a notification in ART when a letter has been sent.
Client no longer qualifies for an incentive payment
A client will continue to receive their incentive payments until: they are no longer eligible for YP or YPP and their payments are cancelled their payments are sanctioned because they have failed to comply with their activity obligations; or YSSU stops an incentive payment because the client is intentionally acting in a way that is inconsistent with the purpose for which the incentive payment was granted.
When you should recommend an incentive payment is stopped
You must advise YSSU if it is no longer appropriate for the client to receive their incentive payment because they have intentionally acted in a way that is inconsistent with the purpose for which the incentive payment was granted. YSSU can exercise discretion to stop the incentive payment.
Examples of when an incentive payment may be stopped include if (but are not limited to): the client is attending but not ‘actively participating’ in school, training or work- based learning CYF advise they have taken action in relation to a YPP client whose child may be at risk or, the client is no longer managing their budget and no longer demonstrates they are financially responsible.
When you are recommending that an incentive payment stop, you must: ensure sufficient information is recorded in ART; and send a notification to YSSU detailing your recommendation to stop the incentive payment.
47 Sanction has been imposed
If a client has their YP or YPP sanctioned, any incentive payments will be stopped from the day their YP or YPP is sanctioned.
Each incentive payment paid will cease. This will occur automatically when YSSU applies the sanction.
More information about sanctions is detailed later in this section under activity obligations failures.
Informing clients that their incentive payment has stopped
YP and YPP clients will be advised by text message that their incentive payments have stopped and there has been a change in their payments. The text message will refer them to the Work and Income website where they can view their MyMSD to check for payment information.
You will receive a notification from YSSU via ART advising that the client has had a change in their payments.
If a client does not have a mobile phone (or have not agreed to receive text message correspondence) YSSU will send the client a letter advising of the changes in payment. You will still receive a notification in ART when a letter has been sent.
Correspondence for young partners and young parent partners Young partners and young parent partners will receive letters and cannot opt into receiving SMS text messages.
Exemptions
As their Provider you will need to recommend to YSSU if a client can be exempt from their activity obligations. Exemptions can be made where the client is unable to reasonably meet their activity obligations. A client may need to provide you with documentation to support their case.
If your client is suitable for an exemption, you must: meet and discuss the reasons the client is applying for an exemption ensure the Activity Management section in ART is updated scan any supporting documentation and upload it into ART (where applicable) and retain a copy of all information against the client’s secure file.
You must send YSSU a notification to review the client’s circumstances and any supporting documentation provided to determine if a partial or full exemption should be applied.
48 Granting an exemption
A client may be granted an exemption from meeting some or all of their activity obligations for a specified time if they have good and sufficient reasons. Such reasons may include (but are not limited to): have been a victim of family violence have recently lost the support of their partner through bereavement or separation (single YPP clients only) have a disability have a dependent child who has a disability and requires extra care and attention as a result are caring for their partner on a full-time basis because they are ill or disabled are temporarily sick, injured or disabled or have conditions imposed by the court which restricts them attending activities (please note that you must negotiate where possible with the court for activities to continue).
For more information about when a client may be exempt from their activity obligations, please refer to MAP in the Work and Income website. http://www.workandincome.govt.nz/map/youth-service/youth-payment/exemptions- from-activity-obligations-01.html
Partial exemptions
A client can be granted a partial exemption from their activity obligations when they cannot participate full-time in education, training or work-based learning. When they have a partial exemption they will still be required to: meet with you as their Provider attend a budgeting programme attend a parenting programme and meet their other parenting requirements.
Full exemptions
A client may be granted a full exemption if they are unable to meet any of their activity obligations.
A client who has a full exemption from their activity obligations may still be required to attend an interview with you to discuss their circumstances and when it might be appropriate for them to start to plan towards a return to education, training or work- based learning.
Exemption timeframes
All exemptions from activity obligations are time limited and the duration will vary depending on the client’s individual circumstances. The initial time limit of the exemption can be extended if you feel this is appropriate. You will need to advise YSSU via an ART notification of the extended timeframe and the reasons why.
49 Work Capacity Medical Certificates
If a client is applying for an exemption due to sickness, they need to meet with their doctor who must complete a Work Capacity Medical Certificate.
Once completed by their doctor it will be sent electronically from the doctors practice management system to the Ministry’s Centralised Services who will then notify YSSU.
Dependent child or children
A YPP client is not required to be in education, training or work-based learning if their youngest dependent child is aged less than 12 months, or six months if a suitable Teen Parent Unit is available.
These clients are automatically exempt from this particular activity obligation but are still required to meet with you to complete their other activity obligations.
Approving, declining and following up on an exemption
YSSU will make the final decision to approve or decline any exemption.
You will receive a notification via ART confirming if the client’s exemption is approved or declined or of any follow up that may be required.
If declined, YSSU will include the reasons in the notification.
For more information regarding review of decisions, please refer to Part D of the Youth Service Provider Operational Guidelines, Issues Management.
Activity obligations failure and Sanctions
All clients receiving YP, YPP and Young Partners are subject to an activity obligation failure if they do not comply with their activity obligations without good and sufficient reason. If a client does not re-comply within the required timeframe, a sanction may be applied – the result being that their payments are either reduced or stopped. For example, a sanction may be applied when a client is, without a good and sufficient reason: not attending their meetings with you as their assigned Provider not enrolled, undertaking, or available to participate in education, training or work-based learning not participating in and completing an approved budgeting programme or not participating in and completing an approved parenting programme. For more information about Activity Obligations Failures, please refer to MAP in the Work and Income website. http://www.workandincome.govt.nz/map/youth-service/youth-payment/activity- obligations-failures-01.html
50 Recommending an activity obligations failure
Before you recommend an activity obligations failure you must make contact with the young person to find out why they haven’t complied with their obligations. Where a young person has failed to meet an activity obligation, you must work with them to help them re-comply within 5 working days before their payments are affected or to establish if the client has a good and sufficient reason for not undertaking an activity. Advise YSSU via a notification in ART.
If you cannot make contact with the young person you must update the activity management section in ART to: recommend an activity obligations failure and describe what steps you have taken to contact the client and why the client has failed there activity obligations.
Once the activity is updated, ART will automatically send a notification to YSSU. YSSU will respond via ART to your notification confirming if the activity obligations failure has been initiated.
Advising clients of their activity obligations failure
The client will receive a text message where they have consented to be contacted in this way or by letter notifying them of their activity obligations failure. The client will then have five working days to: recomply before their payment is affected (i.e. sanction is imposed); or dispute their activity obligations failure. If the client does not make contact, recomply, or dispute their activity obligations failure their payments may be affected.
Correspondence for young partners and young parent partners
Young partners and young parent partners will receive letters and cannot opt into receiving SMS text messages.
Advising clients of their sanction
Clients will be advised by text message when a sanction has been imposed. Please note that the client will have five working days from the day the sanction has been imposed by YSSU to recomply. The client can also dispute the failure within the five working days. The client will be advised by text message that their payments may stop or be reduced if they do not contact you within five working days. The text message will refer them to the Work and Income website where they can find more information about how to recomply.
You will receive a notification from YSSU via ART advising that the client has been notified of their sanction.
If a client does not have a mobile phone or if they have not agreed to receive text message correspondence, YSSU will send the client a letter advising of the sanction. You will still receive a notification in ART when a letter has been sent.
51 Correspondence for young partners and young parent partners
Young partners and young parent partners will receive letters and cannot opt into receiving SMS text messages.
Re-compliance
You must discuss re-compliance options with a client if they are not meeting their activity obligations or if a sanction has been imposed. A client can recomply with their activity obligations by participating in the same or a similar activity to the one which they failed. As soon as a client re-complies you must send a notification to YSSU and capture their re-compliance under the Activity Management section of ART.
Impact of sanctions on GCAP
If a client receiving YPP is sanctioned because they failed to meet their education, training or work-based learning activity obligation they are not entitled to GCAP. YSSU will suspend a client’s GCAP until they recomply. For more information about GCAP please refer to Part B of the Youth Service Provider Operational Guidelines, Section four.
Reviewing a client’s entitlement to receive YPP
If a YPP client has a sanction imposed and has not re-complied after four weeks, YSSU will initiate a review of their entitlement to YPP. You will need to meet with the client to gather information necessary for this review. YSSU will send a letter to the client requiring them to contact you by a specific date to discuss their situation and whether they remain eligible to receive YPP.
Client makes contact with you
When a sanctioned client makes contact with you to review their entitlement to YP or YPP, you must discuss their circumstances and encourage and arrange a re-compliance activity.
At this meeting you must discuss: are they prepared to re-engage and comply with their activity obligations? are they meeting the eligibility criteria? how have they been living on reduced payments? and, if they are receiving income from any source. You must notify YSSU of the outcome of this meeting, including any re-compliance activity via ART. YSSU will determine ongoing entitlement and resume the client’s YP or YPP if appropriate. If the young person does not make contact with you, you must notify YSSU via ART who may stop the young person’s YP or YPP payments.
52 Disputes or reviewing a decision
A young person has the right to dispute or review activity obligation failures or sanctions. A young person should always be given the opportunity to review and discuss any decision, including final decisions made by YSSU. If the young person wishes to lodge a dispute or review of decision, you must follow the process outlined under Part D of the Youth Service Provider Operational Guidelines, Issues Management. You must also provide the Your Review Rights brochure to the client, for a copy of this brochure see the Work and Income website: http://www.workandincome.govt.nz/documents/forms/review-of-decision-application- form.pdf
Sanction process for Young Partners and Young Parent Partners
The type of sanction to be applied is dependent on whether or not the young partner or young parent partner is on Money Management.
Young partners/parent partners who are on money management, and fail their obligations for the first or second time, will have their in-hand allowance and any incentive payments they have earned stopped until they recomply.
Young partners/parent partners who are not on money management, and fail their obligations for the first or second time, will have the main benefit sanction applied and all incentive payments they have earned stopped until they recomply.
Young partners and young parent partners will receive letters and cannot opt into receiving SMS text messages.
For more information about sanction regimes for Young Partners and Young Parent Partners please refer to MAP in the Work and Income website. http://www.workandincome.govt.nz/map/income-support/main-benefits/jobseeker- support/activity-failures-for-young-partners-01.html [updated link to MAP page]
53 Income and employment
Some young people may already be in part-time employment at the time they apply for YP or YPP or may want to supplement their YP or YPP with part-time earnings from work. You will need to discuss the level of income a young person can earn before it affects their entitlement to receive YP or YPP. For more information about how income affects clients receiving YP and YPP, please refer to MAP in the Work and Income website. http://www.workandincome.govt.nz/map/youth-service/youth-payment/charging- income-01.html
A young person advises income
A YP, YPP, young partner or young parent partner must advise you of their income as their assigned Provider. You must send a notification to YSSU immediately detailing the young person’s income including: name of their employer (or other source of income) gross amount earned frequency of payment (for example, fortnightly) pay period.
YSSU will review their payments and action any YP or YPP changes required. Its really important that the young person’s payments are reviewed as soon as possible so as to avoid any overpayment.
Young people receiving YP and YPP will be advised by text message if they have had a change in their payments. The text message will refer them to the Work and Income website where they can view their MyMSD to check for payment information.
You will receive a notification from YSSU via ART advising that the young person has had a change in their payments.
If a young person does not have a mobile phone or they have not agreed to receive text message correspondence YSSU will send them a letter advising of the changes in payment. You will still receive a notification in ART when a letter has been sent.
Income abatement for young partners and young parent partners
Young partners and young parent partners will continue to have their benefit type income abatement rules and will not have the Youth Service income abatement rules applied.
Young partners and young parent partners will receive letters and cannot opt into receiving SMS text messages.
54 Employment
Part time employment may be appropriate for young people However, itt is unlikely that a young person in full time employment would qualify for YP or YPP because the: amount of money they would be earning from full time employment would be likely to mean that they would be ineligible for YP or YPP number of hours they are working may mean they are unable to meet their activity obligations.
55 5 Section four: Extra help from Work and Income
Applying for extra help
This section provides an overview of the extra financial assistance available from Work and Income, including the processes to be followed when assisting a client to complete an application. A client can apply at any time while they are assigned to your service and you must never refuse to accept any application where the client has specifically requested help to apply for extra financial assistance.
Assisting your client to apply for extra financial assistance
There will be times a client approaches you to apply for extra financial assistance or you may identify this as a need as part of your ongoing budgeting discussions. You must consider Temporary Additional Support to ensure your client is receiving all financial assistance available to them. At any time a client applies for extra financial assistance, you must identify if they require this assistance to meet: an emergency need an immediate one-off cost their day to day living costs.
You must determine how they are progressing in meeting their budgeting obligation and consider the nature and frequency of their applications for extra financial assistance. You may need to have a discussion with your client about reducing their costs to minimise the need for extra financial assistance. As their assigned Provider you must assist the client to complete their application and obtain any supporting documentation. You must scan, upload and send a notification to YSSU in ART. For Youth Service clients, all applications for extra financial assistance must be made using the appropriate application form downloaded from the Work and Income website. For more information see: http://www.workandincome.govt.nz/individuals/forms.html
Payment Card Balance Transfers
If a young person has an essential need that they can't use their payment card to meet, they can apply to have their payment card balance transferred to meet this need. The balance will either be paid to a third party, such as a landlord, or back onto the payment card for use at a specific supplier.
56 Eligibility Criteria
To qualify for a Payment Card Balance Transfer a young person must: have an essential need that falls under the Payment Card Balance Transfer categories be requesting a need that is of a reasonable cost have enough resources to meet essential needs that would otherwise be met with their payment card until their next benefit payment.
Payment Card Balance Transfer Categories
Health services or products (including travel costs) Essential household furniture, bedding, and white ware Driver licenses School expenses Stranded travel Costs associated with attending funerals and tangihanga Utilities, rental, and tenancy costs Other goods or services deemed to be essential depending on the client's circumstances, such as a birth certificate.
Reasonable Costs
The requirement that the cost is reasonable is more flexible than the most economic requirement for Special Needs Grants. YSSU retains the discretion to decline an application if the cost appears unreasonable. This is because a Payment Card Balance Transfer is technically a repayment of the young person's benefit under Money Management, with the knowledge of the young person's circumstances. Where the cost appears unreasonable or excessive, this would need to be met by the young person's in-hand allowance.
Processing Standards
Processing standards make up the minimum requirements that need to be met to approve a transfer. YSSU will need: Identity verification (one document that shows the identity exists, or two documents that support the identity) Quotes for non-standard costs a scanned payment card, front and back a completed Payment Card Balance Transfer Application form confirmation from you, via the ART task, that the young person could still meet their ordinary costs.
57 58 Preferred Suppliers
Because a Payment Card Balance Transfer is not hardship assistance, young people do not need to use a preferred supplier. However, they can purchase goods under the preferred supplier arrangement if they want to.
No Review of Decision
There is no right to review a decision for Payment Card Balance Transfers. This is because the transfer is made under Money Management regulations.
Process To process a Payment Card Balance Transfer, you need to: 1. create a Payment Card Balance Transfer task under the Hardship Assistance task category in ART 2. identify the client as per processing standards for SNGs 3. upload a quote, unless the transfer is for petrol or a standardised cost, such as a birth certificate 4. scan and upload both sides of the young person's payment card 5. upload a completed Payment Card Balance Transfer form in ART 6. complete the task template.
Note: if money is paid onto the payment card to use at a supplier then the young person has three days to use it.
Commonly applied for extra financial assistance
Accommodation supplement
If a client needs extra help to pay for accommodation costs, they may qualify for an Accommodation Supplement from Work and Income. Please note that a client will not qualify for Accommodation Supplement if they or their partner have a tenancy agreement with Housing New Zealand or a Community Housing Provider. In this case, they may qualify for income-related rent instead.
Advance Payment of Benefit
Advance Payment of Benefit is a recoverable payment to help clients meet an immediate need for something essential (for example appliances, furniture, bedding, accommodation or school related costs such as, books, school activity fees and school uniforms)). Generally Work and Income pay the supplier for the goods or services directly to their bank account. In these cases the client will need to provide quotes to demonstrate the least amount required to meet their immediate need.
59 60 Course Participation Assistance
Course Participation Assistance provides financial assistance towards the actual and reasonable costs for clients participating in a short-term employment related training course or programme. These courses or programmes are generally less than 12 weeks long. The objective of Course Participation Assistance is to help clients take part in training and work related skills development by providing financial assistance to help with the extra costs incurred through participation in the course or programme.
Special Needs Grants
A Special Needs Grant is a payment that may be available to clients in specific circumstances to help pay for an emergency need when they have no other way of paying for it. A Special Needs Grant is generally for urgent non-recoverable financial assistance, meaning the client may not have to pay it back. For example a client has no money to pay for food.
Temporary Additional Support
Temporary Additional Support is a weekly payment to help a client meet their regular essential living costs while you work with them to reduce these costs.
Temporary Additional Support is granted for a maximum of 13 weeks, at which point the client can reapply.
They must meet with you to reapply and discuss their budget with you to help assess if there is still a need for this assistance.
Training Incentive Allowance
YPP (sole parents only) may be eligible for Training Incentive Allowance (TIA) where they are enrolled in a recognised employment related course.
Transition to Work Grant
Transition to Work Grant is a payment that can be made to help meet the additional costs of entering into employment. There are maximum amounts payable depending on the type of employment transition costs that the client is facing.
Unsupported Child’s Benefit or Orphan’s Benefit
If a client is 18 years of age or older and they are caring for a child who is not their own they may be eligible for an Unsupported Child's Benefit or Orphan's Benefit. Unsupported Child’s Benefit can be paid to a client when they are caring for a child and they are not:
61 the child's natural parent, adoptive parent or step-parent and there is no natural parent, adoptive parent or step-parent able to care for the child because of a breakdown in the child's family. To determine if there has been a breakdown in the child’s family, a family breakdown assessment with the Independent Assessment Provider is required. YSSU will manage the referral process to the Independent Assessment Provider and determine if the client is eligible for Unsupported Child’s Benefit.
Orphan’s Benefit can be paid to a client when they are caring for a child and they are not: their natural or adoptive parent the child's parents must either be deceased, or cannot be found or, they suffer from a serious long-term illness or incapacity, which makes them unable to care for their child. For more information about the eligibility criteria for Unsupported Child’s Benefit or Orphan’s Benefit, please refer to MAP in the Work and Income website. http://www.workandincome.govt.nz/individuals/a-z-benefits/unsupported-childs- benefit.html http://www.workandincome.govt.nz/individuals/a-z-benefits/orphans-benefit.html
Health related assistance
Assistance for contraception
A Special Needs Grant is available to help with the costs of the assessment, insertion, follow-up and, if necessary, the removal of subsidised long-acting reversible contraception. This grant does not need to be paid back. A person can have more than one grant for subsidised long-acting reversible contraception provided the total amount paid is no more than $500 in any one year. Long-acting reversible contraception includes: contraceptive injections contraceptive implants intra uterine devices (IUDs)
A doctor can give more information on these options and which would be the most appropriate.
Child Disability Allowance
Child Disability Allowance is available if the client is the main caregiver of a dependent child who has a serious physical or intellectual disability.
It is not taxed and is not dependent on their income or costs. The child must need constant care and attention for at least 12 months because of their disability.
62 Child Disability Allowance applications require a medical certificate from the child’s doctor. They may be able to get both the Child Disability Allowance and the Disability Allowance for the same child.
Disability Allowance
Disability Allowance helps with the extra costs the client, their partner or child have because of a disability that is likely to last at least six months.
Clients will be required to provide a medical certificate, completed by their doctor to support this application. Where the assistance is to meet the costs of ongoing counselling, the client’s doctor and counsellor will need to complete the Disability Certificate – Counselling form.
The amount your client will receive depends upon the cost of such items as ongoing visits to the doctor, medicines, extra clothing and travel.
Community Services Card and Pharmaceutical Subsidy Card
The Community Services Card is available to help with the costs a client incurs with visits to the doctor and paying for prescription medication. It is a family card and can be used for dependent children. The Community Service Card is issued automatically when a young person is granted either YP or YPP.
A client may also qualify for the Pharmaceutical Subsidy Card if they or their children require a high volume of prescriptions per year. To find out more about this card, a client will need talk to their pharmacist to apply.
If a client does not qualify for the Community Services Card, they may be eligible for a High Use Health Card if they visit the doctor often for an on-going medical condition. This card cannot be used for other family members and a client should apply for this via their doctor.
Emergency Housing
Special Needs Grant for emergency housing is last resort assistance and can be used when a client cannot access other accommodation that is adequate for their needs.
Before paying a Special Needs Grant for emergency housing, you must have considered: places where the client can stay using their own resources or other sources eg staying with family and friends, retaining their current accommodation or emergency housing not contracted by the Ministry of Social Development accessing a Ministry of Social Development contracted emergency housing place
If a client has access to other accommodation that is adequate for their needs in the short-term, they do not have an immediate emergency housing need and will not be eligible for a Special Needs Grant for emergency housing.
63 To be considered to have an immediate emergency housing need, the client is not able to access any adequate accommodation for some or all of the next 7 days from when they applied. This provides the client and their immediate family with a stable place to stay while they find other accommodation. For more information about emergency housing and to access the tables for the 25% recorvery rate limits based on income, age and family composition please refer the Work and Income website:
Emergency Housing overview https://www.workandincome.govt.nz/map/income-support/extra-help/special-needs- grant/emergency-housing.html
Recovery rate for grant where emergency housing accommodation costs are recoverable https://www.workandincome.govt.nz/map/income-support/extra-help/special-needs- grant/recovery-rate-for-grant-where-emergency-housing-accommodation-costs-are- recoverable.html.
If you have any questions, please contact YSSU: [email protected]. Please use the email subject: Emergency housing message
More information for extra financial assistance (applications and eligibility)
For more information about the eligibility criteria and details of what extra financial assistance is available, please refer to MAP in the Work and Income website http://www.workandincome.govt.nz/manuals-and- procedures/income_support/extra_help/index.htm
There is also A-Z benefit information and a ‘check what you might get’ online calculator available on the Work and Income website. http://www.workandincome.govt.nz/individuals/a-z-benefits/index.html http://www.workandincome.govt.nz/online-services/eligibility/index.html
If at any point you need help or you are unsure if the client qualifies, contact YSSU to discuss this.
64 Assisting your client to apply for extra financial assistance when they are suffering hardship
Completing the application
All applications where the client is suffering hardship are considered an immediate priority and should be treated with urgency. You must also provide an application for Temporary Additional Support the first time a client applies on the grounds of hardship.
If a client wishes to apply on the basis they are suffering hardship, you must: meet with the client on the day they make contact (as per Minimum Processing Standards) advise the client what supporting documentation they need to provide (this should be done prior to meeting with the client) complete the Special Needs Grant and Advance application form (download a copy from ART) with the client complete the Recommendation for Hardship Assistance template (download a copy from ART) with the client contact YSSU by phone to discuss the client’s application if it is urgent or an emergency retain a copy of the application and any supporting documentation against their secure client file.
Please note that you do not need to decide which form of assistance will meet the client’s needs, YSSU will determine if the client qualifies for a Special Needs Grant or Advance Payment of Benefit. For more information on Special Needs Grants or Advance Payment of Benefit, please refer to MAP in the Work and Income website. http://www.workandincome.govt.nz/manuals-and- procedures/income_support/extra_help/special_needs_grant/special_needs_grant- 01.htm http://www.workandincome.govt.nz/manuals-and- procedures/income_support/extra_help/advance_payment_of_benefit/advance_payment _of_benefit-01.htm
Assistance approved
If their application is approved, YSSU will send you a notification via ART with the Application Result and Supplier Authorisation (where applicable) forms attached. You will need to contact the client to advise the outcome. The Application Result form is for the client to retain as a record of the assistance approved and details of the assistance approved, including the process to review should they disagree with the outcome.
Supplier Authorisation form
The Supplier Authorisation Form must be issued to the client. You must witness the client signing the Supplier Authorisation form. The client must have this as proof when they collect their goods or services from the supplier.
65 66 Paying assistance to a Payment Card
A client will be able to view their payment in their My Account if it is paid directly to their Payment Card (this can be the same one that is used for the client’s ongoing payments). While the client will use their Payment Card to complete the transaction, the supplier will use the Supplier Authorisation form as a way of verification against the client’s Payment Card when they receive the goods or services, except for food and petrol.
Paying assistance directly to a supplier
If a supplier does not have EFTPOS capability (for example private landlords) payment will be made by direct credit to the supplier’s bank account. YSSU will advise you when a supplier is not listed with Work and Income at the time they receive the client’s application. YSSU will contact the supplier directly when payment is approved. If the supplier is not listed with Work and Income, the client will need to talk to the supplier to register via the Work and Income website.
Assistance is declined
If a client’s application is declined, YSSU will send you a notification via ART with the Application Result form attached. You will need to contact the client to advise the outcome. Again, the Application Result form is for the client to retain as a record of their assistance being declined, including the process to review the outcome should they disagree.
Client approaches Work and Income to apply for assistance
If a client approaches Work and Income, they will be asked to make contact and meet with you as their assigned Provider. If a client approaches Work and Income and they are outside of their area, (for example stranded travel), Work and Income will take the application and refer it to YSSU for processing. The Work and Income service centre will contact you directly to discuss your recommendation for the client’s application.
67 Guaranteed Childcare Assistance Payment (GCAP)
This section outlines how to assist YPP clients to access appropriate childcare when they are in education, training or work-based learning activities.
Finding appropriate childcare
Your role is to discuss the benefits of Early Childhood Education (ECE) for their child and to assist them to find an approved ECE Provider. Please refer to the Ministry of Education (MoE) website for the full list of approved ECE Providers in your area. If there is no ECE Provider available, you will need to make contact with YSSU who will will send the ‘Locate Childcare Place’ form to MoE who will advise if they are able to locate a place for the client’s child. If the MoE are able or unable to find a place, they will make contact with you directly.
For more information on where YPP clients can find ECE places in their area please refer to the following link: www.minedu.govt.nz/Parents/AllAges/ECEListing.aspx
For more information on how to find advice on the benefits of ECE please refer to the following link: www.minedu.govt.nz/Parents/EarlyYears.aspx
No place available with an approved Early Childhood Education Provider
There will be times where a place is unavailable with an approved ECE Provider. If MoE are unable to locate a place they will contact you. Under no circumstances can we make a payment for childcare provided informally (for example through family or friends who are not licensed to provide a home-based education and care service) or a childcare centre or service that is not approved (not licensed). If a client has a potential carer who is interested in the role, you will need to put them in touch with MoE who can facilitate the introduction process of becoming an approved ECE Provider.
68 Applying for GCAP
You must support a client to complete their application for GCAP.
The client and their ECE Provider are required to complete separate sections of the GCAP application form.
Following receipt of the completed GCAP form, you must scan and upload the form, and send a notification to YSSU via ART.
The client will be advised by text message that they have had a change in their payments. The text message will refer them to the Work and Income website where they can view their MyMSD to check their payment information.
You will receive a notification from YSSU via ART advising that the client has had a change in their payments.
If a client does not have a mobile phone or have not agreed to receive text message correspondence YSSU will send the client a letter advising of the changes in payment. You will still receive a notification in ART when a letter has been sent.
Where GCAP is declined, the client will be sent a letter.
Reviewing GCAP over the Christmas period
As their assigned Provider, you must contact clients receiving GCAP between the 1st and 21st of December each year. This is to determine if the client intends to return to education, training or work-based learning the following year. GCAP can continue over the Christmas break if the client does intend to return to education, and are subject to fees incurred at their childcare facility.
A client who works during the December holidays can continue to receive GCAP for a maximum of 15 hours per week. If a client works full-time they are no longer entitled to GCAP however they can apply for other forms of childcare assistance.
You must send a notification via ART to YSSU confirming if GCAP should continue or not. YSSU will amend GCAP payments as appropriate and send you a notification via ART confirming any changes in payment.
The client will be advised by text message that they have had a change in their payments when their GCAP has been extended. The text message will refer them to the Work and Income website where they can view their MyMSD to check for payment information.
You will receive a notification from YSSU via ART advising that the client has had a change in their payments.
If a client does not have a mobile phone or have not agreed to receive text message correspondence YSSU will send the client a letter advising of the changes in payment. You will still receive a notification in ART when a letter has been sent.
69 Where GCAP has not been extended, the client will be sent a letter.
Contact YSSU directly to discuss how the client can continue to receive financial assistance for their childcare arrangements when they are in employment.
Annual reviews
All clients receiving GCAP will be subject to an annual review to determine if their circumstances have changed. The client will be sent an annual renewal form to complete on the anniversary date of when their GCAP assistance was first approved.
The client is required to return the GCAP Annual Review form along with their supporting verification documents to you.
You must verify the GCAP annual review form and any supporting documentation in accordance with the Minimum Processing Standards detailed later in this section.
70 6 Minimum Processing Standards
The Minimum Processing Standards (MPS) are the guidelines you must follow when working with clients receiving YP, YPP or Young Partners. Please note that some of the following processes detailed in this section do not apply to a Young Partner as any applications for financial assistance are managed by their Work and Income case manager. Under this section we cover off the following requirements: Supporting documents Acceptable forms of personal identification Examples of acceptable identification documents Two year history identity Identification for clients applying for one-off extra financial assistance Bank accounts Work and Income applications Verifying a client’s information Scanning and uploading information into ART Timeliness Retaining a client’s personal information Sending documents to YSSU Payment Card security Frequency of contact
Supporting documents
Work and Income have standards about what we can and cannot accept as supporting documentation. For example, for personal identification we require specific forms to validate the person is who they say they are. Supporting documentation may include (but is not limited to): personal identification, such as New Zealand Driver License, Birth Certificate and Passport confirming residency in New Zealand (including partners and/or children where applicable) bank account number verification Inland Revenue (IR) number employment and income details (where applicable) verification of their living costs to be redirected, including bank account details for payments to be redirected (for example tenancy agreement, board letter, power, telephone, hire purchase and loan accounts) proof of residency parental income
For more information about what documents are acceptable, please refer to MAP in the Work and Income website. 71 http://www.workandincome.govt.nz/individuals/what-to-bring/financial-assistance.html
72 Acceptable forms of personal identification
You must verify the identity of every client who applies for on-going financial assistance. On-going financial assistance can include (but is not limited to) an application for YP, YPP or Accommodation Supplement. A client must provide for their YP or YPP application all of the following: one document to show that their identity exists, and two documents that supports their identity, and one document that demonstrates a two year history of their identity. These documents will vary depending on whether the client and their partner (where applicable) were born: in New Zealand or overseas.
Examples of the types of documents we can accept for confirming their identity exists are outlined in the following table:
Born in New Zealand Born overseas If you were born in New Zealand we Documents accepted for people born will require government issued overseas are as follows: documents that at a minimum provide New Zealand Passport details of your: passport from another country full legal name and endorsed with permanent residence in date of birth New Zealand Certificate of Citizenship or Refugee These documents could include: status New Zealand passport Certificate of Identity Full New Zealand birth certificate for Australian clients, full Australian Birth Certificate, Passport, or Proof of New Zealand driver licence Residence New Zealand firearms licence for Cook Island, Tokelauan and Niuean Steps to Freedom clients, full Birth Certificate, Letter of CYF issued Custody Order Confirmation, Certificate of Registration, or Naturalisation Note: Government issued documents refer to documents issued by central Confirmation of Permanent Residence government departments not local letter from the New Zealand government departments such as local Immigration Service councils.
Examples of the type of documents we can accept to support a client’s identity is outlined below: household accounts: utility bills such as; power and phone. Documents from suppliers of goods and services such as; hire purchase agreements or other documents such as a tenancy agreement bank/insurance company: documents such as; bank account statements, mortgage papers, insurance policy
73 health/education organisation: documents such as; student identification card, school report, school leaving certificate, doctor's bill, degree or trade certificate prominent community members: support letters from people such as; Justice of the Peace, doctor, Kaumatua, clergyman, Women's Refuge co-ordinator.
Two year history identity
The young person applying for on-going assistance (including social housing) must provide one form of documentation that shows they have been using their identity for at least two years.
The document must either have an issue date, or have a history showing the young person has used that name two years ago or longer. The two year period must be calculated from the day before the application and date back 104 weeks.
Document examples could include, but is not limited to:
a letter showing a date at least two years before the young persons date of application a bank statement (which may have a recent issue date) that shows the history of the bank account for at least two years before the young person’s date of application a school report showing a date at least two years before the young person’s date of application a letter from the school or GP showing the date enrolled in their service for at least two years a copy of their NSI (National Student Identification) number showing the date enrolled in school.
Identification for clients applying for one-off extra financial assistance
When a young person applies for one-off extra financial assistance (for example a Special Needs Grant) they must provide two supporting identity documents with their application such as their CSC and their Payment Card. If they cannot provide these, then they must provide any two of the following listed below:
Identification for a child
If a child’s birth certificate is not immediately available, you can include the child when the client provides: Plunket records (for example the child’s WellChild book) confirmation from the client’s midwife or doctor of the date of birth of the new child or hospital papers.
74 Bank accounts
A client must supply their original bank documentation or an internet banking print-out. All forms of bank documentation must show: bank logo full bank account number and account name (including other names if a joint account) a web address along the top or bottom of the page (if they provide an internet banking print-out). Note: any banking document that does not have the above information is not acceptable unless it has been stamped and initialled by the bank. If a client requests to change their bank account, they will need to complete a change of bank account form and provide the verification listed above.
Subsequent applications
For subsequent applications, if the client and partner (where applicable) uses the same bank account as before you do not need to verify it again.
Change of bank account suffix
A change of suffix on a bank account does not require supporting documentation; however, you must advise YSSU of this change by sending a notification in ART.
Work and Income applications
You must assist a client and partner (if applicable) or their authorised agent to complete all directed questions on any Work and Income forms. If the form directs a client to bypass a question, then it can be left blank. Where the client does not consider a directed question to be relevant it is preferable to have the client answer 'nil' to all questions that do not apply, however it is acceptable to respond: 'n/a' (not applicable) no nil or a line through the answer.
All answers must be written using pen to create a permanent record and to ensure that answers are clearly visible for scanned documents. The form must be signed by the client or the client's agent. In doing so the client is stating the information is correct.
Any amendments or alterations that are made to a form must be initialled by the client or their agent.
Written authorisation must be obtained where the client has not completed the form themselves, except for periods where the client is temporarily incapacitated.
75 You must not complete or alter any part of the application form unless the client gives written authorisation for you to do so.
You must note when you have completed or altered any part of the application form and why. This includes adding a note in the client notes in ART.
Verifying a client’s information
You must verify that you have sighted a client’s original supporting documentation for your client. To do this you must hold a specific stamp that must show: your organisations legal name the date original or copy signed by (need section for the person to sign on behalf of your organisation).
Scanning and uploading information into ART
As their assigned Provider you are responsible for scanning and uploading all Work and Income forms, including all supporting documentation received from a client into ART.
You must send notifications to YSSU anytime you scan and upload a document to a client record in ART.
Timeliness
Timeliness is your response time to ensure the client receives a service that is: timely and transparent information, decisions and practices.
You must accept all applications, including any review of decision at first contact and scan and upload into ART within 24 hours of receipt.
If a client contacts you because they need urgent financial assistance or are in hardship you must meet and assist the client on the same day that they contact you.
Filing standards
All paper client files that you create must: be kept in a file record the client name on the front of the file record the client Work and Income number on the front of the file record the date you open the file.
Please contact YSSU to order file covers.
76 77 Returning client files
When a client exits your service, you must return the client file (with all paper documents) to YSSU within three months. You must courier (track and trace) these documents to YSSU for archiving. This is the only acceptable way to transport files. You must return all paper client files at the end of each month.
Retaining a client’s personal information
While a client is assigned to your service, you must hold a copy of their supporting documents in your office.
Any hardcopy documents or electronic files you retain in your office must be collected for the purpose of administering Youth Service, including storage of that information in a secure way that is protected at all times from unauthorised viewing and/or theft.
In retaining and disposing of your own client information you must adhere to the Privacy Act and Public Records Act.
Payment Card security
You will be responsible for ensuring that Payment Cards are held securely in your premises and they are kept in a locked drawer (they do not need to be held in a central point). You will also need to ensure that you keep track of the stock you have on hand at any one time, so you know when you need to reorder. You must nominate one person in your organisation to be responsible for holding and allocating Payment Cards in lots of up to 50 cards at a time. Payment cards and card numbers do not need to be individually recorded in a register.
Frequency of contact
You will be responsible for determining the frequency of contact with your client. This will be dependent on their needs and the support required to ensure their well-being. The minimum contact required as stated in the contract is to meet the young person face-to-face at least every 90 days.
Using social media to communicate with clients
As with any client-worker communication, caution must be taken to ensure that the communication is professional and avoids confusing the client that the relationship is more of a friendship.
Sending text messages to clients and their families or whānau is appropriate as a way of communicating appointment and meeting times. However, you should avoid communicating private, confidential or other sensitive information by text message. It is inappropriate to use a personal social media profile to communicate with clients.
78 Code of Conduct
Your organisation must have and maintain a Code of Conduct that is reviewed as appropriate. This needs to be readily available for clients to view on request.
79 7 Section five: Exiting Your Services
Client exiting your service
This section provides information about what needs to happen when you exit a client from your service.
Exit Youth Service Plan
You are responsible for ensuring your client transitions smoothly to an appropriate destination, for example employment or tertiary study and you must include this in the young person’s Youth Service Exit Plan. The transition component of your plan can be updated throughout your ongoing engagement with your client.
The transition component must: be tailored to the client’s individual circumstances include the client’s next destination (if known) include appropriate activities to be completed.
When a client transitions from your service, you must ensure all activities are resulted and a relevant reason entered in ART.
A client can exit your service at any point in time for a number of reasons. For example a client may: turn 18 or 19 years, therefore their YP or YPP payments may be cancelled reconcile with their family and return home have gained full-time employment transition to another Provider or destination apply for a main benefit from Work and Income.
Paper files
When a young person exits your service, you must return the client file (with all paper documents) to YSSU within three months for archiving. The only acceptable way to transport files is by courier using track and trace.
Clients turning 18 or 20 years old
Generally, when a client turns 18 or 20 years old they will no longer be entitled to receive YP or YPP from their 18th or 20thth birthday unless they meet either of the circumstances outlined under "Client remains on YP or YPP past their 18th or 20th birthday" below.
80 What happens
Clients turning 18 or 20 years old will be sent a text message or letter four weeks before their payments stop, advising them to make contact with you.
Provider action
When this happens you should make contact with the client to discuss their circumstances and help them decide what is right for them.
You are responsible for advising YSSU if the young person no longer needs financial assistance, or chooses to stay on their YP or YPP because they are in education, training, or work-based learning.
ART System action
When a young person wants to stop their payment or transfer to a main benefit, you will need to ensure the client’s details and activities are up to date and request their exit in ART. A form to support this process is available in the documents library.
Transferring to a Main Benefit
A new application is not required unless there has been a significant change in circumstances, such as a child coming into or leaving the young person's care, or the young person becomes responsible for the care of someone with a health condition, injury or disability. In all cases, the following must be provided: Youth coaches will need to explain the new benefit obligations to the young person an obligation form signed by the young person proof of identity, such as a passport, birth certificate, or, drivers licence, or record 'Known to Youth Service Provider' in ART Youth Payment and Young Parent Payment Continue or stop payments form completed by the young person. where applicable, partners also need to provide this information Youth coaches will complete a “Youth Coach report”. YSSU will process all transitions to a main benefit if a request has been sent to them by a Youth Service provider.
New application required
If the young person has had a significant change in their circumstances, then they will need to complete an application form for the appropriate benefit and provide supporting documentation relevant to their change in circumstances, such as a child's birth certificate. If the young person approaches a service centre, the service centre will process the transition to a main benefit.
81 A case manager may also request supporting documentation from the Youth Service Support Unit (YSSU).
Can a client remain on YP or YPP past their 18th or 20th birthday?
When a young person ages out of the Youth Service and their future is being discussed, you should consider what current activity is being undertaken by the young person. Full time students cannot receive Job Seeker Support. This includes young people participating in Youth Guarantee programmes, tertiary education and other full-time education that may or may not qualify for student allowance and/or loans.
It is suggested that when a young person commences training/education a Training Statement be completed by the Training Provider.
Young person turns 18 or 20 years old
There are two situations where young people receiving Youth Payment (YP) or the Young Parent Payment may remain in the Youth Service. These are:
Attending secondary education
When a young person reaches the age of 18 years (YP) or 20 years (YPP) and is attending secondary school their YP or YPP will continue to be paid until the following 31 March. For example a young person attending school who turns 18 (YP) or 20 years (YPP) in June will continue in the Youth Service until the following 31 March.
Attending tertiary education, training or work-based learning
When a young person is attending tertiary education, training or work-based learning and they turn 18 (YP) or 20 years old (YPP), their YP or YPP may continue to be paid until their course finishes, unless their course ends in December.
If their course ends in December, their YP or YPP will continue to be paid until 31 March the following year. For example: a young person is part way through a training course when they turn 18 years old. The training course finishes on 20 November. The young person will be exited from the Youth Service on 21 November. a young person is part way through a training course when they turn 20 years old. The training course finishes on 20 December. The young person will continue to receive their Youth Payment and remain in the Youth Service until the following 31 March.
Provider action
You must have a discussion with your client (prior to their 18th or 20th birthday) to determine if they meet the requirements to remain on YP or YPP after their 18th or 20th birthday.
82 ART system action
Where they have spent six months in the service and they choose to remain in your service beyond their 18th or 20th birthday you must send a notification to YSSU and upload the Youth Service continue form to confirm: that the client has chosen to remain on YP or YPP and is continuing to be enrolled in their education, training or work-based learning, and the date on which their training or work-based learning course ends.
YSSU action
YSSU will then ensure the client’s payments are not automatically cancelled when they turn 18 or 20 years old.
Client reconciles with their family
If a client tells you that they have resolved their family breakdown and they are returning home, they may no longer be eligible to receive their YP or YPP payments.
ART system action
You must send a notification via ART to advise YSSU who will reassess a client’s entitlement to YP and YPP.
Client is in full-time employment
If a young person receiving YP or YPP or a young partner or young parent partner tells you they have full-time employment,
You must send a notification via ART to advise YSSU. Please include the employers name and address, start date of employment and how much they will be earning. YSSU will stop the client’s payments if necessary.
A client may be eligible to receive financial assistance from Work and Income to support them into work, including non beneficiary assistance. You will need to liaise with YSSU who will help you to ensure the client receives all assistance to which they are entitled. For example, accommodation supplement.
83 Employment assistance from Work and Income
A client may be eligible to receive financial assistance when starting a job. This can include Accommodation Supplement and other assistance from Work and Income, and Working for Families assistance from Inland Revenue. For more information about employment assistance, please refer to MAP in the Work and Income website. http://www.workandincome.govt.nz/individuals/a-z-benefits/assistance-to-transition- into-employment.html
If you are unsure what assistance is available or how clients should access this please talk to YSSU.
Referring a client to Work and Income funded activities
Where appropriate you may wish to refer your client to a Work and Income funded activity. For more information about Work and Income funded activities, please refer to the Work and Income website. http://www.workandincome.govt.nz/look-for-work/get-work-ready/training.html#null
Balance of payment card refunded to client
Request in writing
When a young person exits the youth service, or transfers to a main benefit any remaining balance on their payment card must be refunded to them. The young person must request in writing that the balance on their payment card be refunded into their bank account. To do this they must complete either: a Personal Details form if transferring to a main benefit or the Continue / Stop form if exiting the service for any other reason.
ART action
The Provider must complete the following question within the TASK Note Template:
Client has requested to transfer the current balance of their Youth Service Payment Card and deposit it into their bank account - No / Yes
Send the TASK to YSSU to process.
Please note the minimum refund amount is $1.00 – anything below this will remain on their payment card.
84 Transferring between Providers
When a young person moves to another area they need to be transferred to a new Provider.
ART action
Old Provider
When a young person tells you that they have moved to another area, you must send a notification to YSSU who will transfer them out of your service.
Prior to the client transferring out of your service, you will need to result all activity participation against the young person’s profile in ART and send a notification to YSSU confirming: the young person’s new address is updated in ART and any supporting information you hold about the young person relevant for the next Provider is captured in ART.
YSSU will refer the young person to their new Provider who will make contact with the young person for a follow up appointment.
New Provider
If the young person makes contact with a new Provider first, the new Provider must send a notification to YSSU confirming:
the young person’s new address (note; the young person can also do this on-line through My Account) their accommodation costs any other changes to their circumstances
YSSU will add notes into ART and send a notification to the young person’s old Provider to complete the transfer process outlined above under ‘Current Provider’.
Paper file
When a young person transfers from their old Provider to a new Youth Service provider, the old Youth Service provider must send their paper file to the new provider. To do this, you must courier the files (using track and trace). This is the only acceptable way to transport files.
85 8 Part C: Standards of Delivery for a young person not in education, employment or training (NEET)
Introduction
The NEET service is a voluntary, targeted service for young people who are not engaged in employment, education, or training, or young people who are at risk of becoming NEET.
Youth coaches provide a mentoring and support service to young people to support them to re-engage in education, achieve qualifications, and transition into employment or education.
Youth Service providers are the primary contact for young people who enrol in the service. The Youth Service Support Unit provides administrative support to Youth Service providers. Work and Income have no direct contact with young people as a result of enrolment in the NEET service.
Please refer to the ART guide for ART processing information.
Eligibility
Basic Criteria
To be eligible for the NEET service, a young person must: meet residency requirements be aged 16 or 17 years old o some 15 year olds can be eligible, and 18 year olds only have continued eligibility, see below. be NEET, or at risk of becoming NEET and have a risk rating of low, medium, high or very high. not be receiving a main benefit from Work and Income not be receiving a similar service already funded by another agency, see below. All eligibility criteria must be met for a young person to participate in the service. Once enrolled, it is your responsibility to exit a young person from the service if a change in their circumstance makes them ineligible.
Requirements for 15 year olds
Fifteen year olds are only eligible for the NEET service if: they have an Early Leaving Exemption from the Ministry of Education the school year has finished, the young person will turn 16 before the next school year starts, and they have no intention of returning to school when they are 16. Fifteen year olds will not be accepted if they don’t meet these criteria.
86 87 Funding from another agency
Young people who are already funded for support to assist them with their education and training needs cannot participate in Youth Service NEET. This includes young people who are:
assisted by Special Education - Ongoing and Reviewable Services funding participating in a non-community based Youth Justice programme under 18 years and under the care of Oranga Tamariki
Note young people who are participating in a community based Youth Justice programme may enrol in the NEET service with the agreement of their Youth Justice social worker. For more information please refer to Part D of the Youth Service Provider Operational Guidelines, working with Oranga Tamariki clients.
Continued eligibility for 18 year olds
Eighteen year olds cannot enrol in the NEET service and can only continue to remain beyond their 18 birthday if they are:
Attending secondary education
When a young person reaches the age of 18 years and is attending secondary school they can remain enrolled in the NEET service until the following 31 March.
Attending tertiary education, training or work-based learning
When a young person is attending tertiary education, training or work-based learning and they turn 18 they can remain enrolled in the NEET service until their course finishes, unless their course ends in December.
If their course ends in December, they can remain enrolled in the NEET service until the following 31 March.
Provider responsibilities
It is your responsibility to: ensure a young person meets the eligibility criteria before accepting an enrolment or requesting a referral
exit a young person from the NEET service if they become ineligible while enrolled. If you are unsure if a young person is still eligible for the service you should contact YSSU who will advise if the young person is still eligible or needs to exit the service.
88 Important terms - NEET Assessment and enrolment
There are several terms with definitions specific to the NEET enrolment process that you should familiarise yourself with. These are listed and defined below.
NCEA/NZQA or equivalent qualifications
This refers to: NCEA/NZQA, at any level National certificates, at any level National Diplomas, at any level. You should specify the qualifications a young person has achieved, including the level, on the NEET Assessment form. If a young person has received qualifications outside the NZQA framework then you must give information about their qualifications and the system they achieved them in.
Merit or Excellence endorsements
Merit or excellence endorsements refer to course or qualification endorsements. Examples include: NCEA/NZQA Level one, endorsed with Merit Level 2 Mathematics, endorsed with Excellence
Merit or Excellence endorsements do not refer to the number of credits or standards that have been achieved at merit or excellence level. A sufficient level of achievement at merit or excellence is required for a course or qualification to be endorsed.
Merit or Excellence endorsements are displayed at the top of a young person’s Record of Learning.
At school
In general, a young person is at school if they are enrolled in education delivered by the Ministry of Education. This includes:
State secondary schools (including where part of a young person’s education is delivered through an industry partnership)
Alternative education
Teen Parent Units
Correspondence school
A young person is also considered to be at school if they are home-schooled, enrolled in a Charter School, or a private school that delivers secondary education. If a young person is in some form of education that is not listed above then it is likely that they will be considered as having left school. Examples include:
Youth Guarantee Programmes
89 Other forms of tertiary education not delivered through the Youth Guarantee scheme
Apprenticeships
If a young person is enrolled but has stopped attending and does not plan to go back then they can be considered to have left school. Young people enrolled in correspondence school that have stopped doing work for a sustained period of time and have no intention to continue study through correspondence school can be considered to have left school.
Early Leaving Exemptions
In general, it is the law for young people to be enrolled in school up until age 16. Fifteen year olds do not have to be enrolled in school if they are granted an Early Leaving Exemption. Most of the time it is an eligibility requirement for fifteen year olds to have an Early Leaving Exemption in order to be enrolled in the service. Note that a young person will not have an Exemption if they are enrolled in Alternative Education or a Teen Parent Unit. Exception: a fifteen year old will not need an Early Leaving Exemption if it is the end of the school year, they will turn sixteen over the summer holiday, and they have no intention of returning to school for the next school year.
When a young person leaves school
The time of year a young person leaves school has a strong weighting on the risk rating that is assigned. Although it may be unreasonable to know the exact date a young person left school, you need to provide us with the rough time of year the young person left.
Examples of sufficient detail Examples of insufficient detail After exams last year 2015 Halfway through term three Year 12 Last August 2 years ago At the end of the last school term of last year At the end of term two this year
90 Participating in the NEET service
The NEET service is voluntary. A young person cannot be required to take part in the service. Once enrolled, they can stop participating in the service at any time.
The young person must consent to the information sharing required to deliver the service. They must sign a consent form to participate. Young people will be assigned a risk rating which will determine: if they are in the target group for the NEET service the level of service appropriate for their circumstances.
Targeting the service
The service is intended for young people who are NEET, or at risk of becoming NEET. The Ministry uses a risk rating system to target the young people who are most appropriate for the service. Young people with a rating of low, medium, high or very high are the target group.
Generally risk ratings signal the level of service the young person requires relative to other young people in the target group.
Risk ratings
Risk ratings are based on a young person’s age, gender, educational achievement, continuous absence and truancy, low school decile and NCEA results, intergenerational benefit receipt and (if applicable) Oranga Tamariki notifications, and other socio- economic and health factors. Risk ratings are not intended to fluctuate if a young person’s situation changes while they are enrolled. For example, a risk rating would not increase if a young person left school while they are enrolled. Likewise, a risk rating would not decrease if a young person achieves qualifications while they are enrolled.
Using the NEET Assessment tool
You must use the NEET Assessment tool to evaluate the risk rating for all manual NEET applications including any that are referred to you from YSSU.
The tool is Excel based You will see an indicative risk rating score once you have completed the questions in first part of the form There are extra factors to consider when evaluating the risk rating.
This tool first takes into account age, gender, educational achievement and whether or not the young person has a Oranga Tamariki record.
91 Other Factors that influence the risk rating score
There are other factors that have a strong effect on young people’s outcomes. These are: risk of continuous absence & truancy low school decile & NCEA results intergenerational benefit receipt
These other factors are included in the tool and change the scoring as follows:
If the score based on the original factors is Very Low and one of the extra factors listed above is true then the risk rating will be increased to Low. If the score based on the original factors is Very Low or Low and two or more of the extra factors listed above are true then the risk rating will be increased to Medium. If the score based on the original factors is Medium or above then the extra factors will not change the rating.
Endorsement
We require endorsement from the schools for the first two factors to ensure that the schools want the Youth Service to provide the extra support that the school is unable to provide for these young people. This endorsement will need to be in writing, either via email to you or as a letter from the school and scanned and uploaded into ART with the NEET Assessment Tool. Also, if you have written endorsement from a professional such as a Doctor, counsellor or Mental Health expert, please upload this to ART as well.
Other Factors
The second section at the bottom of the form includes extra factors that influence the risk rating. Please note, these are not included in the automatic calculation. They are included so you can capture all factors on one form.
Please also add the impact that these factors are having on the young person’s life.
YSSU use these additional factors and the impact of these to potentially increase the risk rating. Having all these factors on one form will make it easier for them to find the relevant information and complete their risk rating review.
How to use the form
The form is in Excel, you can download this from ART Documents and save to your computer with the suffix .xlm Detailed instructions are in this form.
92 Revised risk ratings
Extra factors may be revealed as you and the young person work together. These additional factors may influence the overall risk rating. Such factors can include: criminal convictions and pending criminal charges health conditions, including mental health, and disabilities drug, alcohol and substance abuse problems family circumstances attempted suicide
You must request a review of the young person’s risk rating within 90 days of the young person enrolling in your service unless exceptional circumstances exist. Guidelines describing exceptional circumstances are outlined on page 97.
Information Sharing
The NEET service relies on information sharing between the Ministry of Social Development and Youth Service providers. The Ministry of Social Development has a formal agreement with the Ministry of Education to share information about school leavers and potential school leavers.
There are additional provisions for authorised third parties to share information with Youth Service providers and the Ministry of Social Development.
A young person may complain to the Privacy Commissioner if personal information relating to them is disclosed in breach of the Privacy Act or authorisations provided for in the Social Security Act.
Please see Part E: Appendix 7 for a copy of the Letter template to organisations listed under the Order in Council
93 Enrolling NEET clients
NEET service: Ministry of Education referrals Referrals you request Referrals from YSSU
The process you need to follow to enrol a NEET client, and ensure all enrolments have an initial risk rating, depends on what referral stream the young person is in.
This page provides information about how to enrol a client depending on their referral stream. It is your responsibility to ensure all NEET enrolments have risk ratings.
Referrals from the Ministry of Education
Each fortnight Work and Income receives information about all school leavers from the Ministry of Education (MoE). This information is used to create a client profile in ART and assign an initial risk rating.
Young people within your catchment area will be referred to you if they have a risk rating within the target group (low to high). This is an automated process that takes two days for IT systems to complete.
You need to contact the young person and offer them the service. If a young person would like to participate in the NEET service then they must sign the consent form. This form must be uploaded onto their ART profile in order to complete the enrolment process.
If you cannot contact them within two months then you should cancel the referral.
Some referrals may be inappropriate
There may be times where it is inappropriate to work with a young person. You must decline a referral where: there is a clear conflict of interest; or it is unsafe for you to work with the young person and they have been trespassed from your service’s premises.
Requesting more information
Sometimes you will not be able to contact a young person because their information is out of date. YSSU may be able to provide you with more up to date contact information. You can create a Request More NEET Information task. Where possible, YSSU will provide you with more recent contact information.
94 Referrals you request
You can actively recruit young people from your community. These young people may have already had an ART profile created by another provider, or through the MoE school leavers’ data feed. In some cases you will need to create a new profile before requesting a referral.
To request a referral: 1. Identify the young person to give you sufficient confidence in their name and date of birth, including any names they have used in the past.
2. Search for an existing record in ART: o If a record does not exist you need to create one o Complete the NEET assessment form Download a copy of the form Enable macros and save a completed copy of the form as a PDF o Upload the NEET assessment form using the category “NEET Questionaire” o Upload a signed consent form
3. Request the referral in ART.
YSSU will check if the young person is eligible and use the information from the Youth Service Application to assign a risk rating. YSSU will process your referral within five working days. You will receive a notification in ART once the referral has been processed.
Record exists - When should I upload the NEET assessment form?
If the education information on a young person’s profile is out of date then you must complete a NEET assessment form and upload it to ART. The longer it has been since their ART profile was created the more likely it is that their information is out of date. If the information that is on their ART profile is out of date then their risk rating may be incorrect.
What if I can’t request a referral?
Sometimes you will not be able to request a referral because the young person’s profile is in another provider’s Client to Accept queue. This may happen if a young person has moved to a new address since leaving their last school. You can contact the provider to ask them to cancel the referral or email YSSU with the ART identifier.
95 Referrals from YSSU
From time to time YSSU will refer a NEET client to you. These will generally be: former YP clients declined YP applicants that still want the support of the NEET service young people aged 15 years who have an early school leaving exemption.
Former YP clients often do not have a risk rating. This is because the information needed to apply for a benefit is different to the information needed to enrol in the NEET service. You will need to create a NEET questionnaire task and upload a completed NEET Assessment form.
Completing the enrolment
To enrol a NEET client you need to: complete a consent form confirm enrolment
You may also need to request a review of the young person’s risk rating.
Ongoing Engagement
Initial Youth Service Plan
The initial Youth Service Plan helps identify what interventions are required to address any barriers for your client to participate in education, training or work-based learning (for example, mental health issues, drug and alcohol counseling).
There is no set assessment that you are required to carry out. You can determine what assessment tools are most appropriate for your clients and organisation. The initial Youth Service Plan must identify:
a young person’s circumstances any barriers preventing them from engaging and remaining in education, training, or work-based learning appropriate interventions to address these barriers.
The Plan must also include, as part of the on-going engagement with your client, what their goals are and what commitment they are prepared to make to achieve them.
You will complete a Youth Service Plan which must detail: activities and goals agreed by both of you other interventions referred to the commitment your client has agreed to how you are going to support your client to achieve this. 96 The Plan is non-specific and you can tailor it to support your client’s needs taking into consideration their personal circumstances.
All information from the plan and the plan itself must be signed by the young person and uploaded in ART. This is a contract requirement (necessary to trigger the administration fee). You must complete a Youth Service plan within 30 days of enrolling a client in ART and it must be reviewed at least every 90 days
If you identify substantial barriers in the plan then you may consider a risk rating review.
Changing the risk rating
In general, the risk rating should signal the level of service that is appropriate for young people based on their circumstances. During interactions with the young person, you may identify other significant barriers for your client that was not captured in the initial risk rating. These include: criminal convictions and pending criminal charges health conditions, including mental health, and disabilities drug, alcohol and substance abuse problems
Other factors may be considered on a case by case basis. They must be objective in nature. For example: a risk rating may be reviewed based on geographic isolation if a young person lives in a rural area and there is no transport available a risk rating would not be reviewed because of low motivation or lack of family support.
A risk rating review cannot be considered based on education information. This is because education history has already been taken into account in the initial risk rating.
How to review a risk rating
You need to create a risk rating review task. In this task you need to clearly state the additional factors that you have identified. You need to provide enough detail for someone to assess the severity of the risk factor and the impact on the young person’s life.
When reviewing a risk rating, YSSU will: identify the reason you are requesting a review and consider whether it is appropriate assess the severity of the young person’s needs increase the rating as appropriate or decline the request.
YSSU may ask for more information if there is not enough to make a decision to review the rating.
97 Although verification is not required to review a rating, you must be able to provide verification if the Ministry requests it.
You must complete a review within 90 days of enrolling a young person in the service. YSSU can decline a request to review the rating after the 90 days following enrolment, unless exceptional circumstances exist.
Exceptional circumstances
The criteria for considering whether a situation or event is an exceptional circumstance that warrants the review of a young person’s risk rating outside the 90 day period are that it must be unforeseen, out-of-the ordinary and could not be planned for.
Examples of exceptional circumstances could include (but are not limited to) the following: unforeseen hospitalisation seriously sick or injured bereavement of immediate family emergency or adverse event victim of violent crime (including domestic violence or abuse) attempted suicide or suicidal thoughts self-harming behaviour
You need to create a risk rating review task. In this task you need to clearly state what the exceptional circumstances are. You need to provide enough detail for YSSU to assess whether or not the circumstances are exceptional and meet the criteria to review the risk rating outside of the 90 timeframe.
98 Transfers to another provider
While enrolled, a young person may want to transfer to another provider. This may happen if they move to another area, or make a specific request to transfer to another provider.
Information for current providers
When a young person tells you that they have moved to another area, you need to update their contact details and transfer them to another provider. Before transferring the client you must: check that the young person’s record is up to date upload or record any supporting information you hold about the young person that may be relevant for the next provider result all activity participation against the young person’s profile in ART
The client will be exited from your service once the new provider accepts the transfer and shows client acceptance in ART. Once the young person is enrolled with the new provider you must send their paper file to them. This must be sent with a tracked courier service. This is the only acceptable way to transport files.
Information for new providers
ART will notify you when a young person is transferring into your service. You need to contact the client to arrange an initial appointment. After confirming that they would like to continue participating in the NEET service, you should note that the client has accepted in ART. Sometimes a young person will make contact with a new provider without telling their old provider they have moved. You can request a transfer through ART or by contacting the young person’s current provider.
99 Exiting a NEET client
Transitioning out of the service
You are responsible for ensuring your client transitions smoothly to an appropriate destination on exiting your services, for example employment or tertiary study. You must include this in your Youth Service Exit Plan. The transition component of your plan can be updated throughout your ongoing engagement with your client. The transition component must: be tailored to the client’s individual circumstances include the client’s next destination (if known) include appropriate activities to be completed.
When a client exits your service, you must ensure all activities are resulted in ART and a relevant exit reason entered.
Stops participating
As the NEET service is voluntary, a young person can stop participating in the NEET service at any time and for any reason. You must exit a client from ART if they become ineligible for the NEET service while they are enrolled. A client will be exited when: you have been unable to contact them during the previous 90 days (without a good and sufficient reason) you wish to withdraw from offering the service to them milestones are unable to be achieved for 180 days without an explanation that is acceptable to the Ministry the young person is deceased the young person has left the country permanently the young person makes application for Youth Payment or Young Parent Payment or begins receiving a main benefit the young person moves to another area and the transfer to another provider is completed the young person reaches the age of 18 years and is not continuing in education, training or work based learning.
100 Attending secondary school, tertiary education, training or work-based learning
Attending secondary education
When a young person reaches the age of 18 years and is attending secondary school they can remain enrolled in the NEET service until the following 31 March.
Attending tertiary education, training or work-based learning
When a young person is attending tertiary education, training or work-based learning and they turn 18 they can remain enrolled in the NEET service until their course finishes, unless their course ends in December.
If their course ends in December, they can remain enrolled in the NEET service until the following 31 March.
You must send a notification to YSSU and upload the Youth Service continue form to confirm: that the client has chosen to remain in the NEET Youth Service and is continuing to be enrolled in their education, training or work-based learning, and the date on which their training or work-based learning course ends.
For more information on exiting a client from your service, please refer to the NEET ART Checklist.
101 NEET Processing standards
This section outlines processing standards for the NEET service. YSSU may decline referrals or reviews if these standards are not met.
ART Profiles
Before you create a new profile you should check if a profile already exists. This prevents duplicate profiles from being created.
When creating a profile you need to ensure basic identifying information is accurately recorded. You should use the young person’s legal name, or the name that is recorded on their birth certificate as the main name on their profile. Any other names they use or have used should be recorded as aliases. Also include their address and telephone numbers these can be matched in ART to check for existing records.
This will prevent other sources from creating duplicate records. For example, when a young person applies for a benefit or when information comes through from the Ministry of Education.
Duplicate profiles
You must notify YSSU if you identify a young person with more than one profile. If they are enrolled in your service then you can do this through the Duplicate Record task under the Issues Management category. If they are not enrolled then you need to email YSSU with the duplicate ART identifiers.
Consent form
A young person must provide consent to the information sharing that underpins the NEET service. A consent form must be signed by the young person at the time they are offered the service and agree to participate. You need to upload this into ART. Please refer to Appendix 6 of the Youth Service Operational Guidelines for a copy of the Consent form.
NEET Assessment
The NEET assessment form is used to ensure manual referrals are eligible and to assign a risk rating. All questions on the NEET Assessment form must be answered. If a question is not relevant to a client then this needs to be clearly indicated. YSSU may decline a referral if the NEET Assessment form has not been uploaded, or these standards have not been met.
102 Verification
The information that you provide is used to assess eligibility, determine funding, and match the young person’s identity to other databases. You need to ensure the information that you enter in to a young person’s ART profile is accurate and complete to the best of your knowledge. For example, you should include other names a young person is known by or has used.
NEET enrolments and risk rating reviews do not require verification at the time of processing. However, YSSU may ask you to clarify the information that you have provided, or need you to provide more information in order for them to make a decision.
Youth Service providers are expected to gather supporting evidence as they work with young people. The Ministry can request verification from a provider at any time.
103 9 Part D: Youth Service – Common operational guidelines
Services over the Christmas and New Year holiday period
You are not required to deliver your full service on a non-working day as specified in your Contract.
However you must ensure staff are available for any days not specified as an official public holiday during the period 24 December and 15 January each year to provide assistance: to young people applying for YP or YPP for urgent applications for hardship for young people receiving YP or YPP
Your hours of operation must be business as usual for those days not specified as a public holiday.
You must ensure you have advised your clients of the operating times during this period, including your expectations for clients to continue meeting their activity obligations. Young people with disabilities or medical conditions
Some clients referred to your service may have a disability or medical condition which may or may not have been diagnosed.
Where a client advises you of a diagnosed disability you must ensure the client is referred to activity obligations that are appropriate for their needs. Where a client requires assistance to address barriers related to their disability you should consult and/or seek advice from appropriate agencies.
In some cases a client may have an undiagnosed disability or health condition or you may be unable to identify the cause of disengagement but suspect a disability or health condition may be a factor. If you are unsure, it may be appropriate to refer them to their regular registered medical practitioner for follow up.
A client’s local registered medical practitioner should be your first point of contact, however where a client may not have a registered medical practitioner, you should make contact with your local Child and Adolescent Mental Health service or local member of the New Zealand Federation of Disability Information Centres.
For more information about the New Zealand Federation of Disability Information Centres please visit the following link: http://www.nzfdic.org.nz/.
Please note that clients who have a disability or medical condition, may be exempt from meeting their activity obligations.
If you identify that a client has a permanent or severe disability that is likely to impact on their capacity to work for more than 2 years, they may be eligible to receive a Supported Living Payment. Please contact YSSU to discuss the matter further.
104 For more information about the Supported Living Payment, please refer to MAP. http://www.workandincome.govt.nz/map/income-support/main-benefits/supported- living-payment/introduction.html Support people to represent a young person
Advocates
Work and Income is committed to seeing that people get all the assistance they are entitled to and will work with them and their representatives to see that this happens. Some people have difficulty in explaining their needs and as a result, do not always obtain their full and correct entitlements.
A client may want to appoint an advocate to act as a voice for them while they are enrolled in your service. This consent must be in writing unless the person is present with the advocate. In that case verbal consent is enough for that meeting only.
Written consent needs to say what an advocate can do, for example; provide information to you on behalf of the young person or request a copy of their personal information held by you. It can also say what an advocate can't do. It must be signed by the advocate and the person giving consent.
You should only deal with an advocate within the terms of the consent.
If you require support when engaging with an advocate, please contact your local RCM.
For more information about advocates visit the Work and Income website at the following link: http://www.workandincome.govt.nz/community/advocates/index.html
Agents
A client may want to appoint an agent to act on their behalf while enrolled in your service. What an agent can do depends on what the client wants them to do. The client must decide exactly what rights and responsibilities they want to grant their agent.
The client may also specifically exclude the agent from doing certain things and you must ensure the client and their agent complete an Appointment of Agent form.
Where an agent is being appointed on the basis of a current Power of Attorney or Court Order, the Appointment of Agent form is not required. You must enter all Appointment of Agent details into ART.
A PDF Appointment of Agent form can be downloaded from the Work and Income website. http://www.workandincome.govt.nz/individuals/forms.html
105 Issues Management
This section details the processes to be followed when: managing complaints you receive a request from a client to review a decision made by Work and Income you receive a request from a client to review an activity obligations failure a dispute or conflict of interest arises between you and a client trespassing a client from your service reporting suspected fraud business continuity plan initiated in response to a major event.
Process for a client to make a complaint
A client can make a complaint verbally or in writing. They may approach you as their assigned Provider or a Work and Income office. A client may have appointed an agent or an organisation to act or represent them on their behalf (for example an advocate or MP).
Client makes complaint about your service
Any complaint you receive from a client that is about your service or a decision you have made, must be addressed and resolved by you in accordance with your organisations policy and procedure for complaints and dispute resolution. The complaints and dispute resolution process forms part of your Child, Youth and Family (CYF) Approval. You must document and record any complaint received from a client, including if the matter was resolved and/or any further action required. You should retain this information in their secure client file. If you are unable to resolve any complaints and you feel the matter could escalate further or you receive a serious or high risk complaint (for example those alleging serious misconduct or harm), you must notify your local Regional Contract Manager (RCM) immediately. Please note if you receive a complaint about the way you have managed an earlier complaint or the resolution of the original complaint, you must notify your local RCM immediately.
Client makes complaint to you about Work and Income
If you receive a verbal or written complaint about Work and Income you must notify YSSU who will acknowledge and investigate the complaint, including responding to the client. All verbal complaints must be recorded in their client profile in ART. You must: print a copy of their complaint for the client to date and sign retain a copy in their secure client file and send a notification to YSSU.
106 Any written complaints must be scanned and uploaded into ART. You must: retain a copy in their secure client file and send a notification to YSSU.
Where the client or a person acting on behalf of a client (for example an agent) lodges the complaint in person you must: provide them with a Work and Income Complaints brochure advise that their complaint will be sent to Work and Income for investigation advise they will be contacted with the resolution or an update within the next five working days.
Complaints with multiple issues
Where a complaint contains more than one issue that needs to be collectively managed by you and Work and Income, YSSU will coordinate the investigation process. YSSU will be responsible for keeping the client updated with progress, including the outcome of the complaint.
Work and Income receives a complaint about your service
If YSSU or any Work and Income office receives a complaint about your service, your local RCM will make contact with the young person to acknowledge receipt of the complaint. Following this, your RCM will assign the complaint to you to investigate and resolve the issue with the young person. On completion of your investigation, you must email your local RCM and detail: recommended resolution what contact you had with the young person any action taken since receipt of complaint.
As the complaint has been received by Work and Income, your local RCM is responsible for providing the written response to the young person. The local RCM will send a letter to the young person that outlines the outcome and contains information about what they can do or who to contact if they are still dissatisfied.
Review of Decision
The Review of Decision (ROD) is a process administered by Work and Income. The ROD process looks at how Work and Income reached a decision about the assistance a young person may or may not receive (for example a young person is declined an application for Accommodation Supplement).
The ROD process can take up to approximately 32 working days from start to finish and the young person may be invited to attend a Benefit Review Committee (BRC) meeting.
107 Your role is to support the young person to request an ROD which must be in writing. The young person can request a review of a decision in writing either by a letter, email or the online ROD application form. The online ROD application is available in the Work and Income website. The young person must state why they think the decision should be reviewed. There may be other factors that now need to be considered regarding the young person’s circumstances that were not considered when the original decision was made. You must then send a notification to YSSU and: scan and upload a copy of the ROD into ART retain a copy in the young person’s secure client file and
YSSU is responsible for managing all requests for ROD, including the outcome.
For more information about Work and Income’s Review of Decision process please refer to MAP in the Work and Income website. http://www.workandincome.govt.nz/individuals/your-rights-and-responsibilities/asking- for-a-review-of-decision.html
Activity obligation failure disputes
Any client can dispute their activity obligation failure where they believe they did not fail their activity obligations or they had a good and sufficient reason for failing to meet their activity obligations.
A client can do this by disputing the decision or lodging a formal Review of Decision.
All verbal disputes must be recorded in their client profile in ART. You must: record the dispute in writing which the client must date and sign scan and upload a copy to the client profile in ART retain a copy in their secure client file and send a notification to YSSU.
Any written disputes including supporting documentation must be scanned and uploaded into ART. You must: retain a copy in their secure client file and send a notification to YSSU.
YSSU will: consider the information provided by the client, including any supporting documentation determine if the decision to impose an activity obligations failure remains unchanged determine if they had a good and sufficient reason for failing to meet their activity obligation(s) take action to remove the sanction (where appropriate) advise the client in writing of the outcome.
108 You will receive a notification advising the outcome in ART. For more information about Activity Obligation Failure Disputes please refer to MAP in the Work and Income website. http://www.workandincome.govt.nz/map/youth- service/youth-payment/disputes-and-reviews-of-an-activity-obligations-fa-01.html
Disputes and conflicts of interest
When you are working with your client there will be times where disputes and conflicts of interest may arise.
Where there is a conflict of interest with your client, or the dispute jeopardises the integrity of your service, the safety of the client or your client’s participation in the service, you must contact YSSU immediately.
If it is necessary for the young person to change Provider, you must: discuss and provide full written details of the conflict of interest or dispute with YSSU ensure the client’s record is up to date before you end their participation in ART
If YSSU agree that the client must change Provider, they will refer the client to their new Provider who will make contact with the client.
Trespassed clients
If you find it is unsafe for you to continue to work with the young person and they are trespassed from your service’s premises you must: notify YSSU immediately via phone record full details of the trespass order in the client notes section in ART end the client’s participation in your service as per the above process.
YSSU will determine the best option to provide on-going services for a trespassed client, including: transferring to a new Provider in the client’s area, or transferring to the Work and Income in-house service, or encouraging the client to appoint an agent to manage face-to-face contact with the Provider on their behalf.
Suspected fraud
Where you are concerned a client may be committing benefit fraud, you must put your concerns in writing.
To do this, visit the ‘Reporting a suspected fraud’ section in the Work and Income website and complete the online enquiry form.
The Ministry will receive this information and follow up with your enquiry. If an investigation is initiated, you may be contacted to discuss your concerns in more detail.
109 Please note that as result of any investigation, the Ministry may prosecute the client you may be required to provide any information you hold about the client and/or summoned to be a witness in any legal proceedings.
If you are certain that the client has had a change of circumstances, refer to Section two, Ongoing engagement in this guide, under the paragraph Changes to their circumstances for the process to advise YSSU of this.
Business continuity
Your service is required to have a Business continuity plan that is current and understood by all staff members.
When an event occurs that causes a delay or default in the delivery of services to clients you must first assess the impact on your people, facilities and systems.
As soon as practical you should then contact the RCM and YSSU manager.
You will need to explain the situation and your capacity to deliver services and any expected timeframe to implement your business continuity plan. This should include: resource gaps and plans to cover these any support you require to cover the period of emergency management agreement on who is best placed to contact your clients and method of communication, i.e. website, text messages etc. agreement on how your clients are to be managed through the delay or emergency, i.e. you will continue to manage your clients or clients are sent to the local Work and Income service centre.
The RCM will coordinate any Ministry support for you.
110 Education options for YP, YPP, Young Partners and NEET clients
The following section outlines information provided by the Ministry of Education (MOE) on education options for Youth Service clients.
More detail on these options is available on the websites provided in this section.
Activity Centres
Activity centres provide alternatives for secondary learners deemed to be at risk of educational underachievement. There are approximately 14 activity centres around the country.
Some centres are seen as places where learners can have ‘time out’ and then be returned to regular secondary schooling. Other centres are seen as an alternative for those who cannot cope with a regular school.
Your local school will decide which learners are at risk and are able to be referred to the Activity Centre.
For more information on activity centres attached to secondary schools please refer to www.minedu.govt.nz
Teen Parent Units
A Teen Parent Unit (TPU) is an educational facility attached to an established state secondary school that provides education for teenage learners who are pregnant or already parents.
Teen Parent learners are eligible to receive free education at the TPU up to age 19 years.
For more information on Teen Parent Units currently in operation across New Zealand please refer to www.minedu.govt.nz
Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu – The Correspondence School
Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu - The Correspondence School provides personalised learning programmes based on your client’s individual interests, needs, and goals. It is able to offer enrolment in various categories, depending on the learner’s situation.
For more information on Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu – The Correspondence School please refer to www.minedu.govt.nz
111 Education options for Maori
Education options where learning takes place all or some of the time in te reo Maori mean Maori can enjoy and achieve education success as Maori. In these settings, Maori learners’ identity, language and culture is part of their learning. This leads to better engagement with education and learning and has proven to lead to better achievement.
For more information on education options for Maori please refer to: http://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/directories/list-of-nz-schools.
Schools that cater well for Pasifika learners
For many of the same reasons mentioned above some schools cater for their Pasifika learners very well. Pasifika learners are able to learn as themselves and their culture is included in that learning. This leads to higher achievement rates for Pasifika learners.
For more information on education options for Pasifika please refer to: http://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/directories/list-of-nz-schools.
The Youth Guarantee
The Youth Guarantee is the Government’s flagship programme to raise NCEA Level 2 achievement rates to 85% by 2016. The Youth Guarantee is about providing young people with more choices, ways and places to achieve NCEA Level 2, and pathways into further learning and work.
The Youth Guarantee encompasses all of the following components; Vocational Pathways - Guidance on future study and career options Education options for Maori Working with Pasifika learners Service and Trades Academies Fee’s-free learning opportunities Quality careers information and learning support
For more information on The Youth Guarantee initiatives, please refer to the following website www.youthguarantee.net.nz
112 Sharing information
Sharing information about a client
When you share information about a client with the Ministry or any third party provider or organisation, or receive information from the Ministry or any third party provider or organisation, about a client, you must comply with these Provider Guidelines and the information sharing terms and conditions set out in Schedule Three of your contract.
Information about a client can only be shared if it is necessary for the purposes of the Youth Service. Information can only be shared with the Ministry or with agencies and organisations listed in the Social Security (Youth Support – Authorised Agencies) Order 2012, or other organisations with the consent of the young person.
All information provided by the Ministry and received and/or accessed by you must only be used for the purpose of delivering the Youth Service. Any other use or disclosure of information provided by the Ministry is a breach of the terms of your contract and potentially the Privacy Act. You are responsible for any breaches made on your part.
There may be some young people referred to you while they are in the care of Child, Youth and Family (CYF) or while they are engaged with CYF Youth Justice. These clients are identified by a flag in ART. There are processes outlined in Part D, Common operational guidelines, under Child Youth and Family clients that you must follow for these clients.
Supply of Information from the Ministry
The Ministry will supply you with information about the YP/YPP clients and/or NEET young people you are responsible for making contact with and providing relevant services to.
The Ministry will provide the information to you via ART or through other secure means. Once you receive this information you are responsible for ensuring it is used, stored, shared and disposed of correctly.
Gaining Consent
NEET referrals
For young people to be engaged in the NEET service, consent is required from the young person. The information initially provided to you from the Ministry can only be used to contact the young person to invite them to engage in the NEET service in the first instance. You must not use the information for any other purpose.
You can decide how to make contact with the young person and how best to invite them to take part in the service. In attempting to contact them you may only engage in any detailed discussion with the young person themselves. For example, if initial contact is made with a relative of the young person you can identify yourself and your organisation but you cannot disclose any information you have about the young person.
113 Once contact with the young person has been made you must gain their consent to engage them in the service you are providing. In order to gain consent you must use the enrolment and consent form that is attached as Appendix One.
It is your responsibility to ensure that the young person is giving their informed consent. This means that the young person understands the implications of signing the consent form. It is important to ensure the young person is aware that their personal information may be shared with, or requested from the Ministry or other organisations (which can include health providers and the New Zealand Police), and that they have the right to withdraw from the service at any stage should they want to. You must also inform them that they have the right to complain to the Privacy Commissioner if they are concerned about the way their personal information is being used and/or protected.
If the young person declines to be part of the NEET service you must cease contact and you must not retain any information about the individual other than what is necessary to comply with the Public Records Act 2005. You must also inform the Ministry as soon as is practicable if the young person has declined to be part of the service.
If the individual agrees to be part of the Youth Service, you must scan a copy of the enrolment form into ART.
YP, YPP and Young Partners referrals
YP, YPP and Young Partners are obliged to engage in the Youth Service and meet their obligations in order to receive their benefit payment. You are not required to gain consent from YP and YPP clients or Young Partners using the enrolment form.
However, if a YP or YPP client refuses to engage in the service you must inform them that they may not be eligible to receive financial assistance and notify the Ministry immediately.
Collection and use of additional information
For clients engaged in the NEET service you are able to request any additional information from YSSU once the young person has given their consent to be engaged in the service. For clients engaged in the Youth Service for YP, YPP and Young Partners you will be provided with the additional information when you first receive their details.
Once a client is engaged in your service, you will also collect information directly from the individual.
Where a client has been or is engaged with Oranga Tamariki, if you decide you need to contact Oranga Tamariki to discuss the client’s past and current circumstances you should also follow the process outlined in Part D, Common operational guidelines under the Ministry for Vulnerable Children - Oranga Tamariki clients in this guide.
The collection of additional information about individual clients supports the tailoring of the service to the individual client and their particular circumstance. You may only request information that is relevant for those purposes and you must inform the individual of the purposes for the collection.
Information requests from other agencies
114 The Provider must contact the Ministry to get authorisation before any information is disclosed to other agencies, bodies or persons.
Requesting information from other organisations / agencies
When a third party agency or organisation holds information that is relevant to the services you are providing the young person, your first step should always be asking the individual themselves for the information you need. However, if the individual refuses to provide information that you consider relevant, or you are concerned that the information the individual is providing is not accurate, or they do not know it, you can make requests to other agencies who you think will hold the information.
You can make these requests in two ways – depending on whether or not the agency is listed in the Order in Council.
Under either option, if the agency refuses to disclose the information you are requesting, you can refer the matter to Work and Income for consideration of whether it is appropriate for Work and Income to request the information under its specific information collection powers.
Agencies specified in the Order in Council
If the agency is listed in the Order in Council, you should use the template letter provided to request the information. You will need to be specific about the information you are requesting and you will need to consider that information to be relevant to the services you are providing.
Being listed in the Order in Council gives the agency the authority to disclose the information under section 125D of the Social Security Act, and the template letter will explain that, and also the safeguards that you will apply to the information. It is expected however that in addition to providing the letter to the agency you are requesting information from, you will also discuss, where relevant, the reasons why you are requesting the information, and how it may be used. This will help the agency to determine if they consider the provision of the information relevant. Note that the section 125D enables but does not require agencies to share information.
The information you are requesting under this authority must be: relevant to the services you are providing to the young person about the young person (ie requesting information about family members of the young person is outside the scope of this authorisation).
If the agency is uncomfortable disclosing the information, or refuses to do so, you can refer them to Work and Income for clarification of their legal authority to release the information.
115 To view the authorised agencies in the Order in Council, please refer to
the Youth Service website.
Agencies not specified in the Order in Council
When the agency you want to request information from is not listed in the Order in Council, you can still request the information you need, but there is no additional authority for the agency to rely on in disclosing the information. This means that the disclosure will need to comply with the Privacy Act 1993. In most cases this will involve getting consent of individual as a first step.
Requesting information about family members/associates of the young person
When the information you are wanting to request is not about the young person but is about a family member or associate of the young person, the way to request that information is with the consent of the family member or associate.
Requests for information
Requests to access a client’s personal information
Clients have a right under the Privacy Act to access their own information. If a client is requesting information about themselves collected by you, you should release that information to the client unless there is authority under the Privacy Act to withhold it, or it would involve releasing personal information about a third party. If you receive any request from a client to access their personal information that is held directly by Work and Income, you must notify YSSU immediately.
YSSU are responsible for managing this request and will follow up with the requestor.
Please note you must never release any personal information Work and Income hold about a client directly to the client or a third party.
Information requests
Where you receive a request for personal information or information under the Official Information Act (OIA) from other agencies, bodies or persons you must contact your local RCM who will advise and manage the request with you.
The Ministry have a maximum of 20 working days in which to respond to a request for information.
When you receive a request for information you must verify the identity of the person making the request before you escalate the request to your local RCM.
116 Work and Income requests information from you
Work and Income receive information requests under the Official Information Act on a regular basis.
If the Official Information Act request is about your organisation including the contract and performance information, Work and Income will consult with you prior to releasing any information to the requestor.
In some cases, Work and Income may contact you to request information you may hold to respond to the request.
For more information about the Official Information Act, please refer to the http://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/ website or contact your local RCM who can assist.
Requests for information from an individual
If you cannot personally identify the individual or they cannot provide you with identification, you should ask three identifying questions such as: their date of birth, middle name, previous and current address, or other identifiers you feel will confirm for you who the individual is.
Requests for information from an Agent or Advocate
If an Agent or Advocate requests information on behalf of an individual, you must ask them to provide the authority by which they can receive another person's information, if you do not already hold that authorisation on the client’s file. This can be either in writing, or by verbally confirming the authority with the client and making a note in ART of the confirmation.
For more information on adding an Agent please refer to Part D, Common operational guidelines, under Support people to represent a young person in this guide.
Requests for information from a Solicitor
A solicitor is able to receive information about a person if they state in writing that they are acting for that person. No further proof is needed.
Security of Information
You will ensure that all personal data you receive and collect regarding Youth Service clients is protected at all times from unauthorised access, use and disclosure.
The minimum standards of physical, personnel, network and communications security you are expected to maintain should be consistent with the standards outlined in the New Zealand Information Security Manual located in the following link. http://www.gcsb.govt.nz/publications/the-nz-information-security-manual/
117 No information is to be disclosed to other agencies, bodies or persons unless specifically authorised by the Ministry.
The Privacy Act 1993
The Privacy Act controls how agencies and organisations are allowed to collect, use, store and give access to personal information.
The sharing of information for the purposes of the Youth Service overrides Principles 10 and 11 of the Privacy Act. This has been authorised under the Social Security Act.
Any information collection, storage, use or disclosure not specifically authorised by that Act will comply with the Privacy Act 1993 (“Privacy Act”) and any other Code of Practice made under the Privacy Act.
Public Records Act 2005
The Public Records Act 2005 sets the framework for creating and managing information in government. Its purpose is to promote government accountability through reliable recordkeeping, enhance public confidence in the integrity of government records and protect New Zealand’s documentary heritage.
As a provider of a government service you are required to manage information relating to Youth Service clients in a manner consistent with the Public Records Act.
This means that you need to keep accurate records of your dealings with clients and not destroy any business records without authorisation.
Complaints
Should a client want to make a complaint about a breach of privacy you must ensure they are aware of their legal rights and where to go in order to seek redress. In the first instance this is you as their Service Provider. However, if the client is not satisfied with the action you take as a result of the complaint, you must ensure they are aware that they can make a complaint to the Privacy Commissioner.
If you do receive a complaint about the service you are providing you must notify YSSU immediately.
Further support
If you require further clarification at any stage regarding the collection, storage, use, and disposal of information relating to the Youth Service it is important you contact YSSU.
118 Ministry for Vunerable Children, Oranga Tamariki clients
There may be some young people referred to you while they are in the Ministry for Vunerable Children, Oranga Tamariki (MVCOT). These clients will be identified by a flag in ART.
This information details how you need to work with these clients.
Young people in Oranga Tamariki care referred to you
If the young person is currently in the care of Oranga Tamariki you must contact the young person’s Social Worker, before contacting the young person. You will need to request a joint meeting between yourself, the Social Worker and young person. You will need to decide who is best to contact the young person to invite them to the joint meeting.
If the young person agrees to attend the joint meeting you will need to explain to them what your respective roles are and how you and the Social Worker are going to work together with them to achieve their goals.
Your role will primarily be for engaging and supporting the young person back into education or training. The Social Worker will continue to be responsible for the ongoing care of the young person, and they may share relevant information with you for you to effectively deliver the Youth Service to the young person.
When the Oranga Tamariki Social Worker starts to review their transition plan with the young person you can begin to have a wider understanding of the young person’s wider goals and needs, through discussion with the young person and their Social Worker.
You must advise the Social Worker if the young person does not want to participate in the service at any stage.
Contact with the client’s Social Worker can be made by calling the Oranga Tamariki freephone number 0508 FAMILY or by emailing [email protected] with ‘Youth Service Interface’ in the subject line.
Social Worker refers a young person in Oranga Tamariki care to you
When a young person turns 17 ½ years old their transition plan with Oranga Tamariki is reviewed.
At this stage, if the young person is not already in Youth Service (NEET), the Social Worker will discuss this option with them. If the young person agrees, the Social Worker will then contact you directly to discuss the referral and the desire to have a joint meeting with the young person.
At the joint meeting you will need to explain to the young person what your respective roles are and how you and the Social Worker are going to work together with them to achieve their goals. 119 You will be primarily responsible for engaging and supporting the young person back into education or training, however as they are beginning to transition out of Oranga Tamariki care you can begin to have a wider understanding of the young person’s wider goals and needs, through discussion with the young person and their Social Worker. The Social Worker will continue to be responsible for the ongoing care of the young person and they may share relevant information with you to help you effectively deliver the Youth Service to the young person.
You must accept or decline the NEET referral via ART as outlined earlier in this document.
120 Youth Justice Clients
There may be some young people referred to you while they are engaged with Oranga Tamariki Youth Justice. These young people will either be participating in a Youth Justice Family Group Conference (FGC), or on a Supervision order once they complete a Supervision with Residence order in a Youth Justice residence.
For more on Youth Justice please refer to the Child, Youth and Family website. https://www.mvcot.govt.nz/youth-justice/overview The information below details how you should work with Youth Justice clients.
Youth Justice clients referred to you
If a young person is referred to you while they are with Oranga Tamariki Youth Justice you may be invited by a Youth Justice Coordinator or Social Worker to meet with them and the young person to discuss what your respective roles are and how you and the Youth Justice Coordinator or Social Worker can work together with the young person.
If you choose to work with the young person referred to you by Youth Justice for the NEET service you should treat it as a manual referral and check if the young person already has a profile in ART.
If the young person applies for the YP/YPP service you will automatically receive the referral via ART. Due to the timeframes for holding an FGC you may be contacted by a Youth Justice Coordinator or Social Worker before the YP or YPP is granted.
Please note that if the YP/YPP application is declined, the young person might still qualify for the NEET service. YSSU will advise you of this.
You will be primarily responsible for engaging and supporting the young person back into education or training. Any agreed activities for the young person may form part of the FGC plan or the conditions of a Supervision order. You may be asked to attend the FGC, to discuss the plan for the young person. Your attendance at the FGC is encouraged but voluntary.
Existing Youth Service client is referred to Youth Justice
If a young person is already involved with your service and they are referred to Oranqa Tamariki for a Youth Justice FGC because of offending, the Youth Justice Coordinator will contact you and discuss how the young person’s current obligations and activities can be incorporated in the FGC plan.
The Youth Justice Coordinator or Social Worker will continue to keep in contact with you whilst the young person completes their Youth Justice intervention.
121 The Youth Justice Coordinator or Social Worker may share relevant information with you, for you to effectively deliver the Youth Service to the young person.
If you need to contact with the client’s Youth Justice Coordinator or Social Worker you can call the Oranga Tamariki freephone number 0508 FAMILY or email [email protected] ‘Youth Service Interface’ in the subject line.
Reporting care and protection or safety concerns for a child or vulnerable young person
This section details what you should do if you have any concerns about the care and protection, or safety concerns for a child or vulnerable young person.
Child abuse
If you become aware of potential or actual child abuse, neglect, or situations where a child is being exposed to family violence, while you are working with your client you should ring the Ministry for Vunerable Children, Oranga Tamariki (MVCOT) on 0508 FAMILY and advise YSSU via ART that you have done so.
The Oranga Tamariki Social Worker will assess if a Report of Concern is required and refer for follow up.
For more information on reporting concerns about safety of a child, please refer to the Oranga Tamariki website.
If you become aware of family violence and the client is over 17 years you should refer the client to Family Violence support services.
Suicide/self harm
If a client is suspected of, or has disclosed, self-harming behaviour or suicidal thoughts, you should contact your local Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) immediately.
CAMHS is the service responsible for assessing if there is an immediate risk and if they require further support under mental health services for a young people who are 19 years and under.
If you are unable to get a response from CAMHS and the young person is aged under 17 years, you should ring 0508 FAMILY to discuss your concerns.
If you are unable to get a response from CAMHS and the young person is 17 to 19 years old, refer to the Family and Community Services directory website or the Blue Pages in the front of your phone book to find a local mental health provider or crisis team in your area. 122 Family violence
If family violence is suspected or disclosed to you by your client you should assess the safety of your client and their child/ children immediately.
If their immediate safety is of concern you should contact either the Police or local Women’s refuge in the first instance, and advise YSSU via ART that you have done so.
You can also contact the the Family Violence Information Line on 0800 456 450 The Family Violence Information Line can put you in touch with organisations in your area who can help. It is available seven days a week, from 9am to 11pm.
You are also able to access on your client’s behalf, the Work and Income Family Violence Intervention Programme (FVIP).
Each Work and Income region has a Family Violence Response Coordinator (FVRC). They can provide advice to you on appropriate referral pathways including family violence intervention providers and networks to support the young person. FVRCs’ primary role is to: 1. provide staff with the right training, support, expertise and advice to enable them to deliver the FVIP effectively to clients. 2. ensure that appropriate referral pathways are established and supported by effective relationships with family violence intervention providers and networks. 3. ensure when clients disclose family violence, they are supported and encouraged to take the appropriate steps to improve their circumstances. 4. strengthen community capacity and capability by working strategically with family violence networks and stakeholders.
When a young person discloses family violence, you with the support of FVRCs need to make appropriate referrals to a broad range of service providers.
In the first instance these referrals should be made to family violence service providers who provide “Approved Family Violence Programmes” (AFVP).
Link to: http://www.familyservices.govt.nz/directory/index.jsp for agency listings.
123 Part E: Appendices Example Templates
Appendix 1: Initial Youth Service Plan
Initial Youth Service plan
All about you Name: ______
Preferred Name: ______
Date of Birth: ______Age: ______
Address: ______
Suburb: ______
Town: ______
Contact Number/s: ______
Email: ______
Ethnicity: ______
Iwi: ______
Do you have a connection with a Marae/elders? If yes, tell me about it:
______
______
______
Are you happy with where you’re living? YES / NO
If No, why not? ______
124 ______
Personal Identification: do you have the following?
Birth Certificate: YES / NO
IRD Number: YES / NO
Personal Bank account number: YES / NO
Driver Licence: YES / NO
Passport: YES / NO
Any other forms of ID: YES / NO
If Yes for other, what other forms of ID do you have? ______
______
______
125 More details about you…
What are your interests/hobbies?
______
______
______
Are you involved in any sporting activities/clubs?
______
______
How do you think people would describe you?
______
______
______
What do you do in your spare time? ______
What form/s of transport do you have?
Own Car Walking Biking Other
126 The following are some examples of strengths and areas of improvement.
Please Circle as many that apply to you and also write in the space provided.
responsible shy happy confrontational positive kind angry honest outgoing organised dodger/slacker sociable focused trustworthy lazy dependable loner caring dodgy confident reliable mature respectful mentally well sense of wanting to scared physically fit humour learn unreliable anxious
127 Goals and Planning
What are you doing with your time? i.e. a course, school, work?
______
______
______
What are your goals and what would you like to achieve in the next 12 months?
Education: ______
Training: ______
Employment/Work Experience: ______
______
Personal: ______
______
Do you think there may be anything that would slow you down or stop you from achieving your goals or plan?
______
How do you want us to assist you to achieve your goals in education and training, or what do you think you may need or like help with?
______
______
______
What skills would you like to gain?
______
Do you have a budget plan? Yes / No 128 Do you have a CV you are proud of? Yes / No Do you have a current Driver Licence? Yes / No If Yes, what is the current level? Learners Restricted Full
129 Education/training
Level 1: ______
Level 2: ______
Other: ______
Have you done any course training? E.g. first aid, early childhood
______
______
______
How confident are you with the following:
Reading Not confident OK Confident Very Confident
Writing Not confident OK Confident Very Confident
Maths Not confident OK Confident Very Confident
If you have left school, what was the last school you attended?
______
Why did you leave school?
______
130 Would you return to school if circumstances were different?
______
Is there anything to stop you attending a course, or getting there on time?
______
______
______
131 Health and Wellbeing
Is there anything stopping you from getting around or moving easily?
______
How about your mental health? Is anything making you feel down, unhappy or miserable?
______
If you’re unwell and needed someone to help you, who would you contact?
______
Who is your Doctor? ______
Do you have a dentist? Yes / No
If Yes, who? ______
Do you have any physical or mental health issues that need monitoring or managing (e.g.: asthma, depression, diabetes, migraines, injuries etc.)
Yes/No
If Yes, what physical or mental health issues do you need to monitor?
______
______
132 Do you know what Family Violence is? Yes / No
Have you been affected by Family Violence? Yes / No
Are you safe now? Yes / No / Unsure
Do you have any issues you are dealing with at the moment?
Family Relationships Drugs Alcohol
If yes, we can give you support. Would you accept support from us?
______
______
______
Are you in a relationship? Yes / No
Are you sexually active? Yes / No
Are there any services we can help you with?
______
______
______
Do you have any criminal convictions? Yes / No
Are you going before the courts soon? Yes / No
133 Family / Whanau Support
Who are you living with at the moment?
Name: Relationship to you: Name: Relationship to you: Name: Relationship to you:
Would you like the people you are living with to be a part of your journey? YES / NO
If Yes, how can we contact them?
______
______
Name: Address: Contact details: Name: Address: Contact details:
Are you currently enrolled/receiving support from any of the following places/services?
School ALT ED DENTISTS DOCTORS CYF OTHER
134 Details (ie: name of support agency/contact details/duration of contact)
______
______
______
135 Additional Notes:
______
Your name (Print): ______
Your Signature: ______
Date: ______
136 My Goal Plan
This goal is important to me because:
______
To reach my goal, I need to:
______
______
______
What could stop me from reaching my goal?
______
How will I know I have been successful?
137 ______
Timeframe for I’d like to reach my goal?
______
Your name (Print): ______
Your Signature: ______
Date: ______
138 139 Appendix 2: Youth Service plan review
Youth Service plan review
Name: ______Client/ART number: ______
Last Review Date: ______Date Review: ______
Contact Details: ______
Goals and planning progress
Education Training Employment / work experience Personal
Education / training
NCEA/NZQA level achieved Reading, writing, maths progress Course training
Health and wellbeing
Physical health Mental wellbeing Enrolled with dentist/doctor Safety
Family / whanau support
Any changes?
Coach name: ______Coach signature: ______
Your name (print): ______Your signature: ______
Date: _____ / ______/ ______
140 Appendix 3: Young Parent Initial Youth Service plan
Young Parent Initial Youth Service plan
All about You
Name: ______
Preferred Name: ______
Date of Birth: ______Age: ______
Address: ______
Suburb: ______
Town: ______
Contact Number/s: ______
Email: ______
Ethnicity: ______
Iwi: ______
Do you have a connection with a Marae/elders? If yes, tell me about it:
______
______
______
Are you happy with where you’re living? YES / NO
If No, why not? ______
______
Personal Identification: do you have the following?
Birth Certificate: YES / NO
IRD Number: YES / NO
Personal Bank account number: YES / NO
141 Driver Licence: YES / NO
Passport: YES / NO
Any other forms of ID: YES / NO
If Yes for other, what other forms of ID do you have? ______
______
______
142 More details about you…
What are your interests/hobbies?
______
______
______
Are you involved in any sporting activities/clubs?
______
______
How do you think people would describe you?
______
______
______
What do you do in your spare time? ______
What form/s of transport do you have?
Own Car Walking Biking Other
143 The following are some examples of strengths and areas of improvement.
Please Circle as many that apply to you, and also write in the space provided.
responsible shy happy confrontational positive kind angry honest outgoing organised dodger/slacker sociable focused trustworthy lazy dependable loner caring dodgy confident reliable mature respectful mentally well sense of wanting to scared physically fit humour learn unreliable anxious
144 Your Child/Children
How many children do you have? ______
Name Age Are they in your care?
Have you had any child minding experience? (eldest child, babysitting, cousins) ______
Do you use Plunket, Tamariki Ora or a similar service?
______
Are Well Child/Tamariki Ora checks up-to-date? Yes / No
Does baby/child…? Please tick √ or cross X for each one. have own room own sleeping space have any medical issues have developmental interact with other have contact with other issues children parent have contact with contact with other suitable car seat grandparents family birth certificate IR number dentist/doctor
Is/does your home…….? Please tick √ or cross X for each one.
145 smoke free have smoke alarms fenced yard
poisons/medicines have a first aid kit warm and dry locked away
Animals Safe
Does your child attend: (Please circle)
Kohanga Reo Day Care Crèche Playcentre
Other
If Other, please state which childcare provider your child/ren attend? ______
______
How many hours does your child attend? ______
Do you receive any childcare subsidy such as Guaranteed Childcare Assistance Payment (GCAP)? Yes / No
Are you a confident parent?______
What can we help you with? ______
______
Do you have a time out/down time plan for yourself? ______
146 Who helps you with raising your baby/child? ______
______
______
Do you know about other services like Jigsaw, Family First etc.?
______
______
______
Do you have any concerns about your parenting?
______
______
______
147 Goals and Planning
How do you spend your time? i.e. a course, school, work?
______
______
______
What are your goals and what would you like to achieve in the next 12 months?
Education: ______
Training: ______
Employment/Work Experience: ______
______
Personal: ______
______
Do you think there may be anything that would slow you down or stop you from achieving your goals or plan?
______
How do you want us to assist you to achieve your goals in education and training, or what do you think you may need or like help with?
______
______
______
What skills would you like to gain?
______
148 Do you have a budget plan? Yes / No
Do you have a CV you are proud of? Yes / No Do you have a current Driver Licence? Yes / No If Yes, what is the current level? Learners Restricted Full
149 Education/training
Level 1: ______
Level 2: ______
Other: ______
Have you done any course training? E.g. first aid, early childhood
______
______
______
How confident are you with the following:
Reading Not confident OK Confident Very Confident
Writing Not confident OK Confident Very Confident
Maths Not confident OK Confident Very Confident
If you have left school, what was the last school you attended?
______
Why did you leave school?
______
Would you return to school if your circumstances were different?
______
Is there anything to stop you attending a course, or getting there on time? 150 ______
______
______
151 Health and Wellbeing
Is there anything stopping you from getting around or moving easily?
______
How about your mental health? Is anything making you feel down, unhappy or miserable?
______
If you are unwell and needed someone to help you, who would you contact?
______
Who is your Doctor? ______
Do you have a dentist? Yes / No
If Yes, who? ______
Do you have any physical or mental health issues that need monitoring or managing (e.g.: asthma, depression, diabetes, migraines, injuries etc.)
Yes/No
If Yes, what physical or mental health issues do you need to monitor?
______
______
______
Do you know what Family Violence is? Yes / No
152 Have you been affected in the past? Yes / No
Are you safe now? Yes / No / Unsure
Do you have any issues you are dealing with at the moment?
Family Relationships Drugs Alcohol
If yes, we can give you support: Would you accept support from us?
______
______
______
Are you in a relationship? Yes / No
Are you sexually active? Yes / No
Are there any services we can help you with?
______
______
______
Do you have any criminal convictions? Yes / No
Are you going before the courts soon? Yes / No
153 Family / Whanau Support
Who are you living with at the moment?
Name: Relationship to you: Name: Relationship to you: Name: Relationship to you:
Would you like the people you are living with to be a part of your journey? YES / NO
If Yes, how can we contact them?
______
______
Name: Address: Contact details: Name: Address: Contact details:
Are you currently enrolled/receiving support from any of the following places/services?
School ALT ED DENTISTS DOCTORS CYF OTHER
154 Details (ie: name of support agency/contact details/duration of contact)
______
______
______
155 Additional Notes:
______
Your name (Print): ______
Your Signature: ______
Date: ______
156 My Goal Plan
This goal is important to me because:
______
To reach my goal, I need to:
______
______
______
What could stop me from reaching my goal?
______
How will I know I have been successful?
157 ______
Timeframe for when I’d like to reach my goal?
______
Your name (Print): ______
Your Signature: ______
Date: ______
158 Appendix 4: Engagement Letter Youth Payment
[Client first name] [client second name] [Street Address] [Suburb] [Postcode]
[Today’s date]
Client Number: [client number]
Dear [Client first name],
Appointment about your Youth Payment
We’ve tried to call you a number of times, but unfortunately have been unable to reach you.
We’ve made you an appointment at [meeting time] on [meeting date] with [name of coach] at [location] so we can talk about [friendly reason for the appointment].
If you don’t come to the appointment or contact us to make another appointment by [interview cancellation date] your payment may reduce or stop.
As you know, your payment is based on things like progressing your education, budgeting, Well Child/Tamariki Ora checks, as well as meeting [Provider name] to report on how things are going for you.
If you have any questions, please contact us on 0800 698 748 or [Coach email address]. It’s a good idea to have your client number handy. It’s at the top of this letter.
I look forward to seeing you soon.
Yours sincerely
[name of coach] [Provider name]
159 Appendix 5: Engagement Letter Young Parent Payment
[Client first name] [client second name] [Street Address] [Suburb] [Postcode]
[Today’s date]
Client Number: [client number]
Dear [Client first name],
Appointment about your Young Parent Payment
We’ve tried to call you a number of times, but unfortunately have been unable to reach you.
We’ve made you an appointment at [meeting time] on [meeting date] with [name of coach] at [location] so we can talk about [friendly reason for the appointment].
If you don’t come to the interview or contact us to make another appointment by [interview cancellation date] your payment may reduce.
As you know, your payment is based on things like progressing your education, budgeting, Well Child/Tamariki Ora checks, as well as meeting [Provider name] to report on how things are going for you.
If you have any questions, please contact us on 0800 698 748 or [Coach email address]. It’s a good idea to have your client number handy. It’s at the top of this letter.
I look forward to seeing you soon.
Yours sincerely
[name of coach] [Provider name]
160 Exit Youth Service plan
Name: ______Client/ART number: ______
Last Review Date: ______Age Out/Exit Date: ______
Contact Details: ______
What will you do when you leave the Youth Service? Further education / Job seeker / Other / Employment (If employment, Where are you working and how many hours a week do you work)
What qualifications and other certificates have you gained? NCEA Level 1 / NCEA Level 2 / NCEA Level 3 / NZQA Level 4 / Drivers Licence / Other
Do you have a current CV? Yes / No
If NO, would you like help creating one? Yes / No
Who can help you reach your goal? Write the name(s) of one or two people who will support and encourage you to reach your goal:
______
______
161 If you’re going into further study, are you prepared? Please √ or cross X
Pre-requisites for course entry Completed student enrolment Looked into scholarships Applied for a Student loan and/or allowance Arranged student accommodation if you need it Registered with Student Job Search Orientation dates
If you are going to work, are you prepared? Please tick √ or cross X
Pre-requisites for course entry An up-to-date CV An IRD number (tax number) Driver Licence A bank account Interview and work clothes Transport to and from work Childcare Budget
Are you aware of what’s available as a Non-beneficiary? Tick √ or cross X
Transition to work grant Extra help (Accommodation Supplement, Temporary Accommodation Assistance, Disability Allowance etc.) Working for Families Childcare Subsidy
Coach name: ______Coach signature: ______
Your name (print): ______Your signature: ______
Date: _____ / ______/ ______
162 Appendix 5: Letter to organisations listed under the Order in Council
Letter to organisations listed under the Order in Council
Name Business Address 1 Address 2 ADDRESS 3
Dear
Re: Request for information
As part of delivering effective Youth Service to [young person’s full name] we require some information.
The information we request is:
[specific information requested]
We have informed [young person] that we will be contacting you for this information.
You have the authority to provide information to us on [young person’s full name] under section 125D of the Social Security Act. We are operating under a contract with the Ministry of Social Development for the delivery of Youth Service.
The information will be used to assist us to address the needs of [young person’s full name] and support the delivery of our Youth Service.
Any information you disclose to us under this authority will be handled in accordance with the Privacy Act.
If you have any questions please contact [Name] on [(xx) xxx xxxx] in the first instance.
Should you wish to make contact with someone from the Ministry of Social Development regarding this request please email [email protected]
Yours sincerely
Name Provider legal name
163 Appendix 6: NEET enrolment and consent form
Individual Participant Enrolment Form – Youth Service NEET
Enrolment details
Participant name:
Participant date of birth:
Enrolment date:
Provider employee name:
Consent to share information
I understand that the information that I provide to [Provider name] is being provided voluntarily and for the purposes of providing me with the Youth Service. My information will be held by [Provider name] and I understand that under the Privacy Act 1993 I have the right to access and correct any information that [Provider name] may hold about me.
Any information held by [Provider name] will be provided to the Ministry of Social Development.
I agree that [Provider name] may contact schools, local agencies1, organisations or the Ministry of Social Development on my behalf for the purpose of providing me with the Youth Service, and that those same schools /agencies/organisations may provide any information that they hold for that same purpose.
I understand that I may be contacted by a researcher inviting me to take part in an evaluation of the Youth Service, and that if I am contacted I have the right to choose whether or not I participate in the evaluation.
I can expect to be treated with due respect, dignity and confidentiality by the providers/agencies during the time of my involvement with [Provider legal name].
I understand I can withdraw from the Youth Service at any stage by notifying [Provider name], and that I have a right to complain to the Privacy Commissioner if I am concerned about how my personal information is being used or protected by [Provider name].
Signature Date
1 Local agencies can include my doctor, the New Zealand Police, and education providers such as schools or private training establishments. 164 Appendix 7: Agencies Listed under Order in Council List of third party agencies or organisations covered by information sharing Where the service provider has not been able to get the information about a young person that is relevant to the service they are providing for the young person directly from the young person, they can ask the following agencies for this information: WellChild or Tamariki Ora provider any primary health organisation health practitioners providing health services to young people under the Integrated Family Health Centre Framework independent health practitioners who are not part of a primary health organisation any organisation employing or contracting individuals to provide health services to young people in schools any organisation providing mental health services to young people (including services provided in relation to drug or alcohol abuse) any organisation providing services to young people as "Youth One Stop Shops" any organisation employing or contracting individuals as socials workers to provide services to young people in secondary and primary schools any state school established as a secondary school, intermediate school, primary school including designated as Kura Kaupapa Maori under the Education Act 1989 tertiary education and training providers any organisation contracted to provide training and placements under the programme known as the Youth Guarantee any organisation providing an approved early childhood education programme (including Kohanga Reo) regulated by the Education Act 1989 New Zealand Qualifications Authority any organisation employing or contracting individuals as youth workers to provide services to young people in schools New Zealand Police Department of Corrections any organisation providing placements for alternative education funded by the Ministry of Education or approved by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority any organisation providing alternative education training for the purposes of the New Zealand Qualifications Framework any organisation providing services under the Family Start or Early Learning programme
Note an agency must be covered by the list above to be covered by the information sharing legislation.
Appendix 8: Letter Template to Organisations Listed under Order in Council
Name Business Address 1 Address 2 ADDRESS 3
Dear
165 Re: Request for information
As part of delivering effective Youth Service to [young person’s full name] we require some information.
The information we request is:
[specific information requested]
We have informed [young person] that we will be contacting you for this information.
You have the authority to provide information to us on [young person’s full name] under section 125D of the Social Security Act. We are operating under a contract with the Ministry of Social Development for the delivery of Youth Service.
The information will be used to assist us to address the needs of [young person’s full name] and support the delivery of our Youth Service.
Any information you disclose to us under this authority will be handled in accordance with the Privacy Act.
If you have any questions please contact [Name] on [(xx) xxx xxxx] in the first instance.
Should you wish to make contact with someone from the Ministry of Social Development regarding this request please email [email protected]
Yours sincerely
[Name] [Provider legal name]
166 167