2019-Wesley-Mission-Annual-Report - Flipbook - Page 54
Looking forward
Our courageous
commitment to
long term growth
2017/18 has been a year of
deliberate and purposeful
connection and expansion.
Through new systems, improved
processes and rigorous
organisation-wide governance,
we’ve joined up the people,
services and functions within
Wesley Mission like never before.
Over the coming year, this connection will translate
into an even greater focus on delivering
communities with integrated, person-centred, and
evidence-based care. Through data-led
improvements, and the commencement of the
rollout of a new service model in Taree, we’ll make
our ever-widening range of services more
accessible to more communities.
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Filling the gaps in Australia’s community
services sector
The government provides funding for many of the
community services delivered by Wesley Mission,
and organisations like us, in Australia. But this
funding doesn’t cover the breadth of the needs we
see in our community and there are always some
people and some needs that fall between the gaps
of available services.
resilient as a result of our achievements over the
past 12 months. We’re prepared, and in a good
position to face the likelihood of recent changes to
funding structure and service delivery models
expanding into other service areas.
We’ll also continue to expand our highly successful
Mums and Kids Matter program, with a focus on
outreach services to meet the needs of clients
living in regional and rural areas of New South
Wales (NSW).
Both aged care and disability have new quality
frameworks that we’ll transition into over the next
year and which will impact across the whole of
Wesley Mission.
And we’re pioneering a new model for legal
services: a person-centred approach that allows us
to track results and outcomes over time. We’re
developing a local presence in regional NSW,
targeting areas with high rates of gambling
addiction. We’ll be upskilling our community
lawyers and developing resourcing models
to deliver a best practice integrated legal
service model.
Wesley Mission has a long history of filling those
gaps. We use the extensive skills and experience of
our people and resources, including the time
invested by volunteers and the generous support of
donors, to create and run innovative new programs.
We also generate funds through providing highquality fee-for-service programs such as our private
hospital and residential aged care network. These
funds and resources enable us to respond to the
need in our community, allowing us to advocate
on behalf of and support those who fall through
the cracks.
Pioneering new programs and expanding
existing services
In the coming year, we’ll take this even further. We’ll
open our first location operating with a new model
of service in Taree, offering people a more
accessible and seamless way to engage with
Wesley Mission’s wraparound services. We aim to
meet people’s full range of needs and continue to
reduce the gaps in Australia’s community services
landscape.
In 2018/19, we look to find more opportunities to
give children in care the permanency that they
deserve. Although we facilitate and support
adoptions we’re not currently an accredited
adoption agency. Achieving accreditation will mean
that we can give children and foster carers more
options where adoption is the recommendation of
our Permanency Panel.
Continuing to build our resilience, flexibility
and agility
We’ll also continue to build the transition pathways
out of care. Over the last 12 months, we extensively
expanded the scope and reach of Wesley Take
Charge of Your Life, which assists young people
leaving care to transition into an independent life.
And in the coming year, we’ll continue to invest in
new ways of equipping young people with skills and
support to set out on their own with confidence.
We’ll continue to invest in strengthening our
systems, processes and people over the coming
year to build on the significant work we’ve
completed this year. Through a rigorous risk
management framework and comprehensive whole
of organisation governance over project and service
delivery, our organisation is stronger and more
Following the framework of risk rating we formalised
in 2017/18, we have four key focus areas of risk for
2018/19: work health and safety, risk of significant
client harm, data security and contracts.
We’re continually trusted with new business, trusted
to lead pilot programs and receive renewed funding
for pilots and programs that we’ve pioneered. As
we enter the new financial year, we’re excited about
building on the successes of 2017/18.
We aim to increase sector capacity through
education and training, with an emphasis on an
early intervention approach to minimise legal
escalation. An important part of the new model will
be the creation of a bespoke legal services
outcomes reporting framework. This will give us a
solid evidence base for future funding and serve our
longer-term goal to build a scalable service offering.
Strategic property investment framework
We’ve developed a strategic property investment
plan which we’ll begin implementing in 2018/19. All
of our major properties are now covered by a
development strategy to ensure we optimise the
use of the land we have available. The framework is
a $300 million, ten-year property plan which will
upgrade five of our properties – Wesley Edward
Eagar Lodge, Frank Vickery Village and Lodge,
Wesley Hospital Kogarah, RJ Williams Lodge and
the new Wesley Mission Taree.
Focus on measuring outcomes and evidence
based care
With the implementation of our Business
Intelligence Portal last year, we’ve already begun
expanding our understanding of the social impact of
our services. In 2018/19, one of our focuses will be
further developing this system to provide managers
with a deeper understanding of their services. For
example, we plan to develop a one-page dashboard
report that will contain all of the information
managers need: income, expenditure, staffing
numbers, clients assisted, etc. We’ll also continue
to work with individual service areas to tailor the
system to their needs and to build their capacity to
analyse their data and use it to inform continuous
improvement.
As we enter the third year of our 2016-2021
Strategic Business Plan to achieve 50 per cent
growth, we’re confident in the foundations we’ve
laid this year to underpin that growth. In today’s
environment of constant change, organisations can
be unwilling, or unable, to commit to long-term
projects. As an organisation founded on the
long-term commitment which stems from our
Christian faith, we’re working with purpose and
determination to realise our strategic objectives and
deepen Wesley Mission’s presence in Australian
communities.
As we enter the next 12 months of deliberate and
planned growth, we’re prayerfully committed not
only to each other but also to the ways that God is
leading us to grow with purpose.
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