1 Introduction

This is the procedure manual for people who use Gambler’s Help Connect (GHC). It contains process descriptions and step by step procedures for managing clients, organisations and cases in Gambler’s Help Connect.

Gambler’s Help Connect has three principal functions:

To be a simple, effective and user-friendly case management system for Gambler’s Help agency workers that enables and guides a common standard of service provision to clients of Gambler's Help agencies.

To enable the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation (VRGF) to monitor Gambler’s Help agency performance against agreed service targets specified in their Funding and Service Agreements (FASA).

To provide a reliable source of data about the characteristics of the help-seeking population that will:

Inform our common understanding of the incidence, prevalence and treatment of problem gambling

Inform decision-making about the provision of Gambler’s Help services.

The procedures that you carry out in Gambler’s Help Connect give effect to the program objectives and rules defined in the Gambler’s Help Program Guidelines.

You can obtain a copy of the Program Guidelines from the VRGF extranet at responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/for-professionals/extranet. (You will need to apply for a login if you don’t already have one).

The system design is the outcome of an extensive process of consultation and workshops involving business and system experts and representatives of Gambler’s Help local services.

Certain key design principles informed system development:

The system should be web-based and accessible in any modern web browser.

System workflows should be flexible in recognition of the different pathways clients follow to service and the different ways they have of ‘telling their story’.

The system should be highly configurable on the client side – meaning that changes to lists of values, agency or user setup can be done easily and quickly by the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation.

There should be a single client record (and UR number) across all services – meaning that client consent is provided for the entire Gambler’s Help program, not just for a single local service.

The client should only need to tell their story once, not have to repeat it at each stage of service delivery.

Any record of Recovery Assistance Program (RAP) funding should be visible across all local services.

Referrals from the Gambler’s Helpline should be made within the system directly to the client’s preferred agency.

Venue support workers should be able to record the activities they carry out with respect to the venues they support.

Community educators should be able to record the activities they carry out with respect to the sporting clubs, schools and service promotions.

Agency workers should be able to record integrated service (IS) activities carried out in support of agency service plans.