2.Main Content
Case lengths under NfP contracts
A summary
ASA has published a report "Case Lengths Under NfP Contracts" which provides essential information for all managers, supervisors and caseworkers who are working under NfP contracts.
The report explains why case lengths are important and sets out the key findings of our analysis of average case lengths in the categories of welfare benefits, debt, housing and employment. It highlights the extent to which average case lengths vary
- Between the different LSC regions
- Depending on the type of case within each category of law
- Depending on the type of clients helped, particularly in relation to their ethnicity
- Depending on the point at which the case ended
- Depending on the results achieved for clients
Why case lengths are important
The LSC has recently suggested that NfP agencies should start 220-275 cases per year for each 1100 hours covered by their contract. This suggests that agencies should have average case lengths of 4 to 5 hours. Agencies that have contracted to do additional work under the LSC's PSA6 delivery package have already been set targets for the numbers of clients to be helped.
ASA has already expressed concerns about the LSC's proposals to require fixed numbers of cases. This approach takes no account of the differences in average case times between the different categories of law, or differences linked to other factors, such as the type of case, the type of client, the extent of work carried out, the outcomes achieved for clients, or regional variations.
Nevertheless, it is vital that agencies look at their average case times and
- How their average case times compare with the averages in their region
- The types of cases they are doing
- The types of clients they are helping
- How much they are doing for clients
- The results they are achieving
We hope that the analysis contained in this report will assist agencies in this task.
Attached to the report are annexes setting out findings in relation to the separate categories of welfare benefits, debt, housing and employment. A fifth annexe compares some of the findings across the four categories.
The full report
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