This newsletter aims to keep you informed about recent developments in the Human Services Sector, the HSNet web site and HSNet team.

The HSNet Team has commenced many projects and completed numerous training sessions so far this year with many more planned for 2008 which you can read about below.

The HSNet newsletter reaches an audience of over 3,500 government and non-government staff, so if you would like to provide us with your good news stories, project information, accomplishments or 'What's happening' in your area please email hsnet@hsnet.nsw.gov.au

The newsletter is sent bi-monthly. To view submission closing dates please refer to the HSNet web site - HSNet General Group under Latest Documents

If you would like to view previous versions of the eBulletin, please refer to our public web site page under the heading archived eBulletin

A fond farewell to Vanja McCarthy our Senior Project Officer who will be taking Maternity Leave and embarking on a 24 hour, 7 day a week position as a new Mum.

We will definitely miss the knowledge, leadership and assistance that she has provided to our team and to HSNet users in training and other settings, but wish Vanja every happiness in her most important role ever.

Love from all of your family at HSNet.

Various Government and Non-Government employees working in the human services sector received FREE HSNet, ServiceLink and e-Referrals 'hands-on' training in February and March, guided by experienced HSNet trainers.

The workshops were held in:
Orange, Wagga Wagga, Holbrook, Goulburn, Queanbeyan, Cooma, Bega and Moruya.

These workshops were cross-agency in nature, therefore they proved to be valuable to frontline staff, managers and those working on  interagency projects, providing an opportunity for them to network and find out what others were working on.

Snippets of positive feedback received at the workshops were: 

'A great avenue to find information on services and keep connected with what's happening in other areas' - Cooma 5 March 2008.

'Very informative and useful to human service workers' - Cootamundra 19 February 2008

'The future way of doing business' - Holbrook 21 February 2008

If you or your organisation are interested in receiving HSNet training please contact the HSNet Service Desk on (02) 9228 4200 or email hsnet@hsnet.nsw.gov.au

ServiceLink is HSNet's comprehensive online directory of human services in NSW, including direct links to other state human service directories. There are currently over 16,500 outlets in ServiceLink.

There are approximately 25 government and non-government organisations with a direct link to ServiceLink from their own Intranet. This link allows staff working in the organisation to get straight to ServiceLink without having to log in, a great time-saver!

The increase in the number of organisations requesting a direct link via their own Intranet has increased the number of staff visiting ServiceLink and has therefore improved the quality of the service information on the system. This happens because more users mean more suggestions for improvements and changes, and more requests to include additional service information.

The quality of organisation information for both government and non-government agencies is very important, especially for agencies that are setup to send client referrals electronically.

If you would like to know more about setting up a direct link to ServiceLink on your agency's Intranet or about eReferral networks, please contact the HSNet Service Desk on (02) 9228 4200 or email hsnet@hsnet.nsw.gov.au

This project went live on 3 March 2008 and simplifies access to the Community Care system, ensuring that all eligible clients are assessed adequately using a consistent assessment methodology, and electronically referred to the most appropriate service provider(s).

There are currently 147 agency outlets and over 290 staff participating in sending eReferrals, mostly as part of the Access Point project. From 11 March to 31 March, 216 eReferrals were finalised, and there were many more referrals still in progress.

The HSNet Team is working with DADHC and Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) participating in this project to provide training on how to accept electronic referrals via the Human Services Network (HSNet) web site.

For information and/or assistance please contact Access Point Help on 1300 731 556 Monday to Friday 9am - 5pm.

If you locate organisation information in ServiceLink that you believe requires amendment please contact the HSNet Service Desk on (02) 9228 4200 or email hsnet@hsnet.nsw.gov.au

Requests for non-government organisation information to be updated on ServiceLink - these requests are forwarded to our contracted content provider who will then contact the agency to verify their data and make appropriate amendments if required.  You will also be advised of amendments made.  This process takes approximately ten working days.

Requests for government organisation information to be updated on ServiceLink - these requests are forwarded to key contacts within the government organisation for amendment if required.  You will be advised of amendments made.

HSNet provides regular free half-day training sessions in Sydney which include an overview of all HSNet services and tools.

If you are a new member or would like to 'brush up' your knowledge of HSNet, the workshop gives you a 'hands on' opportunity to discover resources available through HSNet and its tools.

The training sessions are held at Bligh Street, Sydney (5min walk from Wynyard train station) on a regular basis.

Please refer to the Sydney Training Calendar 2008 on the HSNet web site for more information.

At the completion of the pilot project:

·        GPs (or their staff) in CSGPN will be able to use ServiceLink to identify suitable human services providers for their clients

·        arrangements will be in place to allow practising GPs to apply for, and be granted access to ServiceLink. Participation will be voluntary

·        GPs or their staff with access to HSNet will be able to participate in the HSNet forums if they wish

·        a training package and delivery arrangements will be available to help GPs use ServiceLink effectively.

Human Services Network
Level 3, Bligh House
4-6 Bligh Street
SYDNEY NSW 2000

Telephone: 02 9228 4200
Fax: 02 9228 3024
Email: hsnet@hsnet.nsw.gov.au 
Website: www.hsnet.nsw.gov.au