1. Steps 2 Success Design and Delivery
This presentation details the design and delivery for Steps 2 Success. It is a high level presentation aimed to give you an overview of the entire process. More detailed Steps 2 Success Staff Guidelines have been written and where issued for comment a couple e weeks ago.

2. Presentation Objectives
To outline the:
Overall design of the Steps 2 Success programme
Role of Operational Staff/ Communication channels
Eligibility and Referral Process
Participation
Returners
The objective of the presentation is to give you a flavourof the overall design of the programme, a little bit about the eligibility and referral process, participation once a client has been referred and what happens to those who fail to find work.

3. Contract Areas
Northern Ireland will have 3 Contract Areas (Regions) each with1 Contractor
Region 1: Andersonstown, Falls Road, Shankill, Holywood Road, Shaftesbury Sq, North Belfast, Newtownards, Bangor, Lisburn, Knockbreda.
Region 2: Newtownabbey, Antrim, Larne, Carrickfergus, Ballymena, Ballymoney, Coleraine, Limavady, Foyle, Lisnagelvin, Strabane.
Region 3: Magherafelt, Cookstown, Dungannon, Omagh, Enniskillen, Banbridge, Lurgan, Portadown, Armagh, Downpatrick, Ballynahinch, Newcastle, Kilkeel, Newry.
There will be 3 Contract Areas with 1 Contracted Provider in each. Slight divergence from the Regional areas with a couple of offices shifting slightly – this was necessary for purely commercial reasons to ensure the right balance of client numbers for each contractor area.

4. Steps 2 Success Contractors
Region 1 – INGEUS
Region 2 - EOS
Region 3 – REED IN PARTNERSHIP

5. And what is not changing…..
Steps 2 Success is additional & subsequent to the support the Employment Service Advisers provide – it is not replacing it
Many JSA customers may never be referred to Steps 2 Success – they will get all the support they need to find work from Employment Service advisory teams
All referrals to Steps 2 Success will be made by advisers – while Contractors may market their service they cannot recruit directly
The Employment Service still have a major role to play in helping clients to find work. It will continue to be the first point of contact for clients and the main source of help and advice. Only when a client needs more specific help to overcome barriers to work or when they reach their mandatory trigger are they handed over to the Steps 2 Success Provider. S2S is complementary to the work of the Employment Service – not instead of or in competition with. It is always an ES Adviser who will make the decision to refer a client to S2S. The ability to accurately assess the employability needs of a client using the RED/AMBER/GREEN and knowing how to address those needs is crucial to delivering the right help at the right time.

6. What is Steps 2 Success and why is it different to previous provision?
Payment by results
Offers extended support for
clients for up to
12 or 18 months
Working for the client.
Designed by Contractors to meet
Individual customer needs
What is Steps 2 Success and why is it different to previous provision?
Stronger financial incentives
for Contractors to work
with the harder to help
Service Guarantee to ensure a minimum
level of support for clients
Greater incentives for
sustained
job outcomes
This diagram describes what the programme is and what is different from the previous programme - so you can see that the programme is designed to be a payment by results programme and that makes it different. It provides greater financial incentives for Providers to increase the number of sustained job outcomes by the way it is funded. Client activity and attendance is no longer determined by ES Advisers but by the Provider assessing the employability needs of the client. A Service Guarantee has been developed to ensure that clients get the help they need.
Much longer period of help
and support from
Contractor
3 Contract areas with
one Contractor in each area.
Personalised support
based on need
- not the benefit
claimed

7. Operational Role - Communication
Issue of Staff Guidance on ES Zone
Staff Awareness sessions – PMDB & Contractor
Clarification of issues raised – Updates via ES Zone
Contractors working with each office prior to and after go live – October 20th 2014
S2S mailbox for specific queries
Ongoing co-operation between Contractor & Employment Service

8. Customer signposted to
JSA various entry points
Deferral/Exemption
FJR
(for JSA customers)
Fresh
Claim
Interview
Steps 2 Success
52 / 78 Weeks
Post
Programme
Support
Customer
Journey
Referral
Interview
JSA
Adviser
Support
Contracted
Support
First Contact
ESA
Key
This is a schematic overview of what a client may experience – it is not the expected journey! The goal is still to move clients into work at the earliest opportunity. It is not a competition where the client gets a prize if the manage to reach the end of the maze without having to take a job.
JC/JBO Adviser
Work Capability
Assessment
ESA New Joiner
WFI
Claim
SSA
Provision
Steps 2 Success
Customer signposted to
JC/JBO to discuss
IB/IS
Voluntary referral

9. Eligibility
Clients will be eligible for mandatory referral to Steps 2 Success as follows;
after 39 weeks on JSA for clients aged ;
after 52 weeks on JSA for clients aged 25 and over;
Eligibility Reports – 2 weeks before trigger points
Okay - so what is the eligibility criteria for S2S –as you can see it is relatively straightforward – JSA 18 – 24 at 9 months - although it looks longer than StW if you consider the 16 weeks of Step One you will now be referring this client group to contracted provision one month earlier than before. For the 25+ group referral to a Provider now occurs approximately 10 months earlier than before. This will significantly free up Advisers to work more rigorously with those who have less barriers to employment or been out of work for a shorter period of time and therefore more job ready.

10. Early Entry Eligibility
Early Entry to Steps 2 Success may be considered by an ES Adviser from;
the first day of a JSA claim for an ex-offender on release from prison;
at or from 13 weeks on JSA where they are persuaded that a client has significant barriers preventing them from finding work and these barriers cannot be addressed by the Employment Service Customer Offer;
These clients will have an ‘Attachment ‘ period of 18 months
Once referred all normal participation rules, including sanctions, apply to these clients
Prisoners can be referred to S2S from Day One – in recognition of the difficulty a criminal record can present in trying to find work. There are of course other sources of help that these clients can be directed to such as Prince’s Trust or NIACRO. Other clients with barriers to work which cannot be overcome within Customer Offer can be referred to S2S by early entry at 13 weeks. JSA clients aged 25 and over who have no apparent barriers but are still out of work after 6 months can request referral to the S2S provider if they feel this is more advantageous. Once the decision is made that S2S is the appropriate route these clients must attend and participate or sanctions may apply. This is where sound judgement calls by Advisers are crucial. Early entry reports will be available for monitoring purposes.

11. Voluntary Referrals
While Steps 2 Success is primarily aimed at clients in receipt of JSA there are some other clients who may also participate . These are;
Lone parents in receipt of Income Support with a child aged under 7
Income Support claimants with caring responsibilities
ESA clients in receipt of ESA(WRAG) prior to the start of Steps2Success
Clients in the Employment and Support Allowance Support group
Pension Credit claimants
As these clients have no legislative requirement to prepare for or take up employment, sanctions will not apply if they fail to attend or participate on the programme.
Advisers should satisfy themselves that S2S is the most appropriate route for these clients before making the referral
The purely voluntary clients who can be referred to S2S and will not be sanctioned will most likely be a very small proportion. They are lone parents on Income Support with a young child, carers, existing IB/ESA clients or those in the Support Group and clients in receipt of Pension Credit who are seeking work. So that is eligibility in a nutshell.

12. Referral Process
Arrange a Steps 2 Success Referral interview via CMS dairy
At the interview, give the client an overview of the programme, including who their Contractor will be & what they can expect from the programme
Discuss Service Guarantee – Section 10 of guidelines
Ensure that mandatory clients are aware of their responsibilities and that failure to attend or participate on Steps 2 Success without good cause may result in benefit sanctions
Ensure the clients details and Progress Review Record are up to date
Input the referral details on CMS, print a Referral Notification and issue this to the client
Warm handovers, where appropriate, should be arranged with Contractors. This issue will form part of the local delivery arrangements
Step by step details are included in the Staff Guidelines
Actual referral to S2S will be a very straightforward process. Advisers no longer need to consider the nature or length of provision as they are simply referring the client to the Provider who will design provision to meet the clients employability needs. The referral will be a system generated referral directly to the Provider. Local arrangements between offices and Providers will be an essential part of good working relationships without which clients are likely to suffer i.e. Good relationship around initial contact with clients rather than sanction referral. Referral notification and a short client history will be forwarded electronically.

13. Deferrals and Exemptions
Advisers will be able to temporarily defer a referral to Steps 2 Success where, for example – a client has an imminent start date for a job or is awaiting the outcome of a recent job interview.
Exemptions can be considered in certain circumstances; for example – where a pregnant client is within 3 months of her due date.
Examples of each are contained in Staff Guidance.
Advisers will be able to exempt or defer a referral to S2S for a specific reason i.e. a JSA client is awaiting the outcome of a recent job interview or a client is within 3 months of her expected date of confinement. Can also be used to exempt an ESA client for whom S2S is not appropriate. Exemption and Deferral reports will be available for monitoring purposes.

14. CMS – TMS Interface Programme Participation Screen
Client Referred- Referral notification issued
Client Attached
Participant ‘ Completer’
Post Programme Support
‘Returner’
Eligibility/Overdue Reports/Exit Reports

15. Culture Shift
Once a client is referred to Steps 2 Success they will remain with the Contractor for 12 or 18 months and are no longer part of an ES Adviser caseload
If a client starts work while on the programme the Contractor should still continue to provide support to help them sustain their employment
Most JSA Clients participating on the programme will continue to attend Fortnightly Reviews to ‘sign on’. The S2S Contractor will draw up a Progress to Employment Plan which will include all activities that participants are currently engaged in . Their participation on S2S may form part of their evidence that they are actively seeking work
All other appointments will be with the Contractor
The Contractor decides the appropriate support, plus the method & frequency of S2S appointments
Following the referral this is where the changes take effect. Previously Advisers had to monitor clients and approve payments and Output Related Funding for Providers. This is no longer necessary as monitoring of delivery of provision and funding will become the remit of HQ staff. This will free up Adviser time to concentrate efforts on the clients who remain on their caseload. While participants on S2S will continue to sign on each fortnight all jobsearch and work preparation are being addressed by the Contracted Provider so there should be no necessity to duplicate this effort each fortnight.

16. Culture Shift (cont’d)
Only one referral will be made for the duration of the Attachment period.
Staff should liaise with the Contactor if a client leaves benefit and returns to make a fresh claim while the client status on CMS is showing ‘Attached’.
The Contractor still retains responsibility for the client/participant for the remainder of their Attachment period.

17. Participation
Following referral Contractors will have up to 15 days to engage with clients. All work related activity will then remain the responsibility of the Contractor for the following attachment periods:
12 months for JSA clients;
18 months for JSA Early Entrants and ESA (WRAG) clients; and
12 months for IS, Pension Credit, Carers and existing ESA clients who volunteer to join Steps 2 Success
Once clients are referred to S2S the Provider will have 15 working days in which to arrange and carry out the initial engagement with the client. From that point clients will remain the responsibility of the Provider for a specific period of time as detailed above.

18. Steps 2 Success Activity
Contractor and client agree what activities the client will undertake
If a client needs to spend more than 30 hours per week undertaking activity the client will move to Benefit Based Training Allowance
BBTA will continue for the period of full time activity
Contractor is responsible for ensuring that client attends office to have necessary process completed
This is again covered in Staff Guidelines

19. Referrals to Decision Maker
Employment Service staff will continue to refer clients to the SSA Decision Maker for any issues relating to availability or actively seeking employment
S2S Contractors will make a referral directly to the SSA Decision Maker for all issues relating to attendance and participation on Steps 2 Success
The procedures for this are currently being discussed with SSA colleagues.
If not agreed by go-live date then existing arrangements will apply
ES staff will continue to make referrals to the SSA Decision Makers where a doubt about availability or actively seeking work arises. However any doubts in connection with attendance or participation on S2S will be referred directly by the Contracted Provider to the SSA Decision Maker.

20. Returners
Clients who claim benefit at the end of the S2S Attachment period will return to the frontline for a further 26 week period of support
S2S Contractors will issue an exit report outlining what the client has achieved during S2S
The intensity of the support required will be dependant on what has taken place while on S2S
After 26 weeks of this support clients will be referred back to the S2S Contractor for up to 12 months of further support.
Those clients who continue to claim benefit when they complete their time on S2S will return to the front line for ongoing support. The level of support will depend on what has occurred during S2S. Those who have gained significant work experience during the 12/18 months may require a minimum level of support while those who have no work may require significantly more. If after 26 weeks these clients have not found work they will be referred again to the Provider as an S2S ‘Returner’ for a further 12 months. Attachment fees will be less to encourage Providers to get it right first time.

21. RETURNERS
EMPLOYMENT SERVICE
JSA mths
JSA mths
JSA Early Entry mths
ESA Flow
Voluntary
SUPPORT CONTRACT
CONTRACTORS
STEPS 2 SUCCESS
Max 12/18 months
Return for further 12 months
EMPLOYMENT SERVICE
Post programme support
26 weeks
RETURNERS
This diagram shows the route that returners will follow if they are unsuccessful in finding work.