Solas outcomes monitoring toolkit

Solas Outcomes monitoring tool kit available now!!

The outcomes monitoring tool used by Solas – the outcomes ‘star’ - was originally developed by St Mungo’s for use with single homeless people. It is a way of monitoring or tracking the outcomes of services by service users themselves, or working with their keyworker as part of support planning, to identify the distance they have travelled in relation to a number of factors while they are in receipt of the service. It is based on the views of service users and staff and uses a numerical way of capturing these views.

Although the most intensive development of the outcomes star has been in relation to services for single homeless people, a variety of organisations have adapted the approach for use with their service users. The outcomes star can be used in services that vary in expected length of stay for service users, as well as for service users with very different needs. Solas uses the star in its services which vary from a day centre to homelessness hostels, tenancy support and supported housing.

Organisations that use the outcomes star have found it to be motivating for both service users and staff, as well as helpful in terms of providing information to funders about the outcomes of their investment. Solas’ experience of using the outcomes monitoring star is that staff learnt more about service users, that service users felt more involved and that the star helped them to work out their detailed goals.

With the support of funding from the Welsh Assembly Government’s homelessness good practice grant programme, Solas worked with a project group of supported housing providers to develop a toolkit to guide organisations through the process of developing the outcomes monitoring star in a way that is appropriate for the local context in which they work and for their service users. The toolkit has been produced on CD Rom and is now available for £5 from Solas.

To order a copy of the toolkit – please contact Solas Head Office 01633 664045 or Email: admin@solas-cymru.co.uk