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Family support - what the NDIS will fund
Families can play an important part in the lives of participants — both as a critical relationship and as a source of care and support. Some participants and families may need assistance to sustain these relationships. participants may need additional supports if their family and caring arrangements change.
Participants and their families will discuss their goals with the NDIA as part of their planning conversation. The participant's plan will include the supports the Scheme will fund and any other supports participants and their families may require from the community services system.
Supports funded by the Scheme
The Scheme funds supports that families need as a result of a family member's disability, as well as supports that enable sustainable caring by family members. This includes:
• family support and counselling due to a family member's disability
• building the skills and capacity of other family members to manage the impact of a participant's disability on family life
• supports that increase the participant's independenæ, as well as supports that enable the participant to enjoy social and community activities independent of their informal carers
• supports aimed at increasing the sustainability of family caring arrangement, including personal care and domestic assistance related to the person's disability
• where a child's caring or living arrangement changes due to a child protection order. the Scheme can continue to fund the Child's disability related supports such as aids and equipment, therapies, transport or community access.
• building the skills and capacity of other family members to manage the impact of a participant's disability on family life
• supports that increase the participant's independenæ, as well as supports that enable the participant to enjoy social and community activities independent of their informal carers
• supports aimed at increasing the sustainability of family caring arrangement, including personal care and domestic assistance related to the person's disability
• where a child's caring or living arrangement changes due to a child protection order. the Scheme can continue to fund the Child's disability related supports such as aids and equipment, therapies, transport or community access.
Supports funded by the community services system
The community services system continues to have responsibility for broad, population wide programs and statutory services. This includes:
- family support and counselling. parenting Skills programs and family relationships services
- all aspects of the statutory child protection system, including assessing and responding to suspected child abuse and neglect
- arranging out of home care for children subject to child protection orders, including making these arrangements sustainable for children with disability
- guardianship arrangements for people under the age of 18 years.
How will a child with disability be supported if they move into out of home care?
State governments retain responsibility for protecting the wellbeing of children.
This will include arranging out Of home care for a child where this is required. State governments also need to ensure this care arrangement is appropriate and sustainable, including training of carers. payments to foster carers, supervised contact and so on.
The Scheme will continue to support the child's disability related needs, such as aids and equipment, supports to access the community and transport.
Generally. entering out of home care would be a significant change in a child's circumstances and as a result a child's individual plan would be reviewed. This discussion would include any changes to a child's nominees. as well as considering whether the child's support needs have changed as a result of their change in caring arrangements.
This will include arranging out Of home care for a child where this is required. State governments also need to ensure this care arrangement is appropriate and sustainable, including training of carers. payments to foster carers, supervised contact and so on.
The Scheme will continue to support the child's disability related needs, such as aids and equipment, supports to access the community and transport.
Generally. entering out of home care would be a significant change in a child's circumstances and as a result a child's individual plan would be reviewed. This discussion would include any changes to a child's nominees. as well as considering whether the child's support needs have changed as a result of their change in caring arrangements.
What happens if the community services system doesn't fund the supports I need?
I. What does the NDIS mean for me?The National Disability Insurance Scheme is the biggest social change Australia has seen in more than 30 years. It means people with a disability will have a direct say and input into their support arrangements. The idea is to create a new environment in which people with a disability can receive tailor-made support to achieve their goals and live more inclusive lives in their communities.
It also means a big change to the relationship between people with a disability, or NDIS participants, and the workers who support them. Participants will become more like 'customers', and the support industry will become even more service-oriented, to meet the participant's specific requirements.It will mean a stronger person-to-person approach, where support workers engage more closely with participants to help them meet their goals. This is what you know is a person-centred approach.
It can also mean that support workers will be more directly involved in making the NDIS support package work for each person, and can have more flexibility in the decisions they make in the dayto-day support of people with disabilities.
Frequently Asked Questions by Staff
1. What does the NDIS mean for me?
The National Disability Insurance Scheme is the biggest social change Australia has seen in more than 30 years. It means people with a disability will have a direct say and input into their support arrangements. The idea is to create a new environment in which people with a disability can receive tailor-made support to achieve their goals and live more inclusive lives in their communities.It also means a big change to the relationship between people with a disability, or NDIS participants, and the workers who support them. Participants will become more like 'customers', and the support industry will become even more service-oriented, to meet the participant's specific requirements.It will mean a stronger person-to-person approach, where support workers engage more closely with participants to help them meet their goals. This is what you know is a person-centred approach.It can also mean that support workers will be more directly involved in making the NDIS support package work for each person, and can have more flexibility in the decisions they make in the day-to-day support of people with disabilities.
2. Will this make a difference to the hours I work?
It depends what you do, but in many cases it could make a difference. As each plan is individualised, you may have the opportunity to maximise time with the person you support when they most need you, and not simply allocated a block of time that may not reflect the persons needs. It can mean that you work fewer hours with one person, but you have a greater variety of clients to work with. Because the NDIS packages are aligned to each persons needs, it can be different on a case-by-case basis. There will be a greater need for disability practitioners, you will be working in a growing industry.
3. Will I have increased admin responsibilities?
Probably much the same as now. Just as the NDIS gives ownership of individual support plans to customers, the onus will also be on support workers to account for their time spent with each person they support. You will have to use your time-management skills, and the relationship with the people you support will be on a more business-like footing. This can also mean greater efficiency in the service you deliver, and better outcomes for people with a disability.
4. Will I be able to keep supporting the clients I currently work with?
That is up to the people you support. They may wish the choice as to who they work with, so if you have a good relationship with them, it is likely you will continue to work together. Consistency is an important part of the support relationship, so where it is in the persons interest to keep working with you, it is likely they will.
5. What about staff working now for government agencies. Will they have to leave and start working for a not-for-profit or a for-profit organisation?
We know that even before the NDIS, 73% of the disability workforce was already employed by not-for-profit service providers, with 22% employed by government and 5% by privately owned forprofit organisations. There are already about 960 not-for-profit service providers in Australia, so these are by far the biggest employers.
6. Is the NDIS going to cost more than the current disability systems to operate?
A report by the Productivity Commission in 2010 showed that Australia's disability services were inefficient, fragmented and unfair. The NDIS is being phased in at an estimated cost of $22 billion, but research says it will still be more cost-efficient in the long run.
7. Will all people with disability qualify for the NDIS?
No, there are specific criteria that applicants must meet, and this will be assessed by the planners as potential participants apply for the scheme. The scheme aims to support people who have a permanent and significant disability.
8. Is it true that the NDIS support package is $35,000?
No, that is not true as packages vary significantly. During the planning period participants and planners work out what is reasonable and necessary for individual participants' support, they work out what the support clusters will be, and how much money they will get. No two plans will ever have the exact same budget.
9. How do providers receive payments for services provided?
There are three main ways. If the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) or a Plan Management Provider is managing the funds, the provider can make a claim online, using the claim payment system (payment should be within 2 working days) or send a paper invoice to the NDIA (payment made within 30 days). If the participant is self-managing the funds, the provider will invoice them directly. Providers will need to make sure the participant understands their terms (e.g. 7, 14 or 30 days) and their preferred method of payment (e.g. credit card or EFT).
10. Will most of the disability service providers be NGOs?
The face of disability service in Australia is changing significantly. Government will no longer play the same role in service provision, rather they will fund the scheme and the new community created by the NDIS will provide the services. More for-profits are likely to enter the market, and there is likely to be more competition between them, NGOs and not-for-profits to provide better services as the market becomes more customer focused.
11. Will the workforce become more casualised?
Currently, there is no definitive answer. As the outcomes of the person-centred approach become clearer, the effect on the workforce will become clearer. However, initial indications are that experience and skills are valuable to a sector that is having to become more competitive, and is predicted to double its workforce. Many participants prefer consistency in support.
12. What are my prospects for career advancement?
As practitioners engage with the NDIS their skill sets are likely to increase. They are likely to acquire other skills, such as additional IT skills, time management and people management skills. Their communication skills will also be vital to their role. As the disability sector becomes more competitive, their workforce will become even more important to their success. It is likely that prospects for career advancement will be good for anyone working in this sector who has a strong customer focus.
13. What qualifications will be needed into the future ?
For most disability support work, a Certificate Ill in Disability Services or similar will still be desirable, although good communication skills and good skills in working with people with a disability will also be essential. Some people with disability are happy with staff having no formal qualifcations provided the worker is a good fit for them. As an organisation we would need to be sure that we can keep each client safe through the actions of our staff, whilst giving the client as much choice as possible.
14. Will there be opportunities for people from other cultures or people who speak other languages?
Yes, it is anticipated that there will be more opportunities than ever for culturally and linguistically diverse workers. Disability does not discriminate, and more people can choose the kind of support workers they want. This might include cultural, religious and language affiliations, and even the gender of the person they choose to work with.
15. As the ND'S is implemented, will we be required to still implement person centred approaches and person centred plans? Also, will we be required to continue to develop Complex Health Care Plans?
The implementation of the NDIS will see no change in our application of person centred approaches. The extent of our in depth person centred planning however will need to be led by the amount of involvement we have in someone's life. For example in shared supported accommodation, we would expect each person to have a person centred plan. Where we are delivering two hours to someone to assist them accessing the community, whilst we would use person centred tools as an important approach in our delivery of our service, the NDIA individualised plan would suffice.
To support someone with complex health care we need firstly to be clear where our responsibilities as a provider start and end. We most certainly need to keep people safe but we need to ensure that we are being adequately funded to manage complex health care issues under the NDIS. Work is currently working on a suite of documents (that will go the National Disability Business User Group) about the information we need to gather on our customers pre service to ensure we keep them and our staff safe.
To support someone with complex health care we need firstly to be clear where our responsibilities as a provider start and end. We most certainly need to keep people safe but we need to ensure that we are being adequately funded to manage complex health care issues under the NDIS. Work is currently working on a suite of documents (that will go the National Disability Business User Group) about the information we need to gather on our customers pre service to ensure we keep them and our staff safe.
16. Where and when is the NDIS rolling out in my area?
The NDIS is rolling out to all jurisdictions between July 2016 and June 2019. The details of when this is occurring varies across each state and territory according to the agreements that are reached between each state and territory government and the commonwealth government. For current dates and details of when the rollout will be occurring, please keep visting the disability services intranet page or visit www.ndis.gov.au
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