What is the High and Complex Needs Interagency Strategy?
The High and Complex Needs Interagency Strategy was developed in 2001 as a joint initiative of the Ministries of Health, Education and Social Development and the former Department of Child, Youth and Family Services.
The High and Complex Needs Interagency Strategy is about a way of working together across agencies and professional boundaries to improve outcomes for children and young people. The Strategy’s vision is to improve outcomes for children and young people with high and complex needs through effective interagency collaboration by:
- fostering collaboration between agencies
- improving service delivery effectiveness
- building agency capability.
The Strategy was developed as a response to the government’s recognition that sometimes local agencies lacked the resources and mechanisms to be able to meet the needs of children and young people with high and complex needs. It wanted to meet these needs and provide a coordinated response.
It is not a prevention strategy – instead it’s about managing the severe and current needs of the most challenging children or young people. It is for short-term, intensive interventions aimed at making significant improvements.
At the heart of the Strategy is the belief that effective collaboration makes a positive and essential difference to the lives of children and young people. When needs are high and complex and two or more government agencies are involved, it makes sense to work together. This means that, for every child or young person supported by HCN funding, there will be an interagency team of professionals and family/whanau working together on one plan to improve their wellbeing. This plan is supported by at least two local managers, and one agency takes the lead in managing any funding that is approved.
Everyone’s expertise is needed on the team to make sure interventions meet the needs of the child or young person, rather than the child or young person having to make do with what is available.
You can access a copy of the High and Complex Needs Interagency Strategy via the HCN website: www.hcn.govt.nz