	Shelter Services

Introduction

Administration and Management

Service Delivery Administration Standards

Service Standards

SH 12: Exit Planning, Aftercare, and Follow-Up

Each individual or family participates in the development of an exit plan that includes supports and services needed to adjust to living in the community and to maintain stable housing.

SH 12.01

The shelter initiates exit planning at intake.

Interpretation: Service planning and exit planning for shelter stays are often the same process and service and exit plans are often integrated.

SH 12.02

Exit plans for homeless and runaway children or youth take into account differences presented by:

youth who have left home;
youth for whom return home is not an appropriate plan;
youth meeting legal requirements for emancipation; and
youth who are without family or community supports.

NA The shelter does not serve children or youth without their parents.

SH 12.03

The organization explores a range of aftercare alternatives with homeless and runaway children and youth, including:

return to family when possible and in the best interest of the individual served;
referral to community-based residential facilities or foster care; and
residence with friends, relatives, or independently in the community.

NA The shelter does not serve children or youth without their parents.

SH 12.04

The organization takes the initiative to explore suitable resources and contact service providers when appropriate.

SH 12.05

Upon case closing, the organization notifies collaborating service providers, including the courts, as appropriate.

SH 12.06

The shelter follows-up, whenever possible, with each person or family regarding their progress and well-being.

Interpretation: If follow-up of a particular person or family is not possible, the reasons are to be noted in the case record.

SH 12.07

When the organization has a contract with a public authority that does not include aftercare or follow-up, the organization:

conducts a formal evaluation and assessment of unmet needs when service ends; and
informs the public body of any recommendations, in writing, as appropriate to the contract and with the permission of the person or his/her legal guardian.

NA The organization does not have a relevant contract with a public authority.

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	PURPOSE: Shelter services meet the basic needs of individuals and families who are homeless or in transition, set them on the path toward stable family or independent living, and provide a point-of-entry to the continuum of community care.

RELATED FILES


	SERVICE One or more organization-operated programs or activities that have a common general objective and deploy the organization's material and human resources in a planned and systematic manner. An organization that publicly promotes or identifies itself in writing as offering a service, is licensed to deliver a service, assigns personnel and/or space to a service, or allocates financial resources to a service is considered to offer that service.


	FAMILY Two or more people who consider themselves family and who assume obligations, functions, and responsibilities generally essential to healthy family life. Child care and child socialization, income support, long-term care, and other caregiving are among the functions of family life. The definition of "family" will rest with an individual's indication of who plays a family member role, including current or former foster family, adoptive family, extended family members, fictive kin, or significant others. Organizations that believe family is the central constellation in a child's life, and that family attachments are of primary importance for human development, will strive to work with professional staff to develop a common understanding of "family."


	COMMUNITY A specific group of people living in the same locality and who may share a common culture, values, and norms. Communities can also be defined by race, religion, ethnicity, age, occupation, political status, tribal affiliation, interest in particular problems or outcomes, or other common bonds. The term "community" encompasses worksites, schools, tribes, residential neighborhoods, business districts, recreational areas, and health and human service sites.


	PLANNING The process of specifying objectives, evaluating the means for their achievement, and exercising deliberate decision making about appropriate courses of action.


	INTAKE The client's entry point for services at which eligibility is assessed against established criteria and a preliminary evaluation of the presenting problem occurs.


	PARENTS Parents can include: birth, foster, kinship, and adoptive parents. Please see service standards for more specific information about use of this term.


	AFTERCARE Additional services provided beyond the period of primary care that offer continuity and supportive follow-up.


	CASE CLOSING A voluntary or involuntary process which occurs when an organization no longer assumes responsibility for providing services to a particular individual, group, or family. Also known as "termination" or "discharge."


	CASE RECORD A written compilation that describes the client and the services delivered. Records can be in hard copy and/or electronic format. The case record can be used as a source of information for quality improvement or other evaluation activities, for research purposes, or to demonstrate accountability to funding bodies.


	CONTRACT A formal written agreement between two or more parties that specifies the services, space, or products to be provided in exchange for some form of compensation. Also known as "purchase of service arrangement."


	EVALUATION The review and assessment of organizational operations, programs and services.


	ASSESSMENT An evaluation, which utilizes professional expertise and skills in the collection and analysis of data to understand and describe the nature of service needs of an individual, family, or group. Assessment, as in needs assessment, is also used to determine priorities of program planning and service development for the organization as a whole. See also DIAGNOSIS.


	LEGAL GUARDIAN A person who has legal responsibility for the care and management of a person incapable of administering his/her own affairs. In the case of a minor child, the guardian is charged with the legal responsibility for the care and management of the child and of the minor child's estate.