Siblings Australia Urgent Campaign

Hello
Please send this through your networks and apologies for cross postings.

I am writing to ask for your support, leading up to this year's Federal election. Once again, Siblings Australia is at risk of being unable to continue its important work in supporting siblings of people living with disability or chronic illness. I am asking that you write letters to your local and/or national parliamentarians telling them why sibling support is important.

In the twelve years since the establishment of Siblings Australia, the organisation has gained a national and international reputation. However, we have faced many hurdles, none more devastating than the loss of funding when the new ALP government came into power in 2007. Since then we have continued to carry out a number of valuable projects to support siblings, families and providers despite severe resource restrictions. However, Siblings Australia is not able to continue this work without proper resources. It would be shameful if this experience and expertise were to be lost.

We are very fortunate to have recently had Families Australia support our efforts by including Siblings Australia in their election proposals. You can read the National Action Plan for Siblings, and a Briefing Paper about the work of Siblings Australia, here. You can see the details of all the Families Australia's 2010 election proposals, including those relating to siblings on their website. We now need your support in this campaign.

Please feel free to write your own letter but, in order to make it easier, a pro forma document to guide this letter writing campaign in support of Siblings Australia is included below, which you can adapt as you wish to suit your own situation/experience.

We suggest you email any or all of the below parliamentarians, and any others that you wish (you can cc them into one email):
1. Chair, Senate Community Affairs References Committee, Senator Rachel Siewert (AG, WA) senator.siewert@aph.gov.au
2. Chair, House of Representatives Standing Committee on Health and Ageing, Mr Steve Georganas MP (ALP, Hindmarsh, SA) Steve.Georganas.MP@aph.gov.au
3. Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FAHCSIA) The Hon Jenny Macklin MP (ALP, Jagajaga, VIC) JMacklin.MP@aph.gov.au
4. Minister of Health and Ageing, The Hon Nicola Roxon MP (ALP, Gellibrand, VIC) Nicola.Roxon.MP@aph.gov.au
5. You may also like to cc your local Member (see list here) and also Siblings Australia.

We appreciate any advocacy efforts you are able to give in order to ensure our ongoing commitment to siblings. If you would prefer to not receive correspondence from Siblings Australia in the future please click here

Kind regards
Kate Strohm Executive Director
admin@juliafarr.org.au

web site links are in this site...
http://www.familiesaustralia.org.au/publications/pubs/siblingselection2010.pdf

Families with a Child with a Disability: NSW Ombudsman consultation

The NSW Ombudsman wants to hear from families who have a child with a disability living at home about the services and support they receive and how well services work together to support families.  The team wants to hear about:

• specialist disability services, such as: information and referral services, intensive family support and other family support, respite, early intervention, therapy, case management, support for carers, physical aids and equipment, and the way services work together
• how well children with a disability are supported in services for families in the community, such as: child care, out-of-school hours care and vacation care, pre-school and education, health services, public transport, sport and recreation.

A brochure is attached.
The NSW Ombudsman is independent of government and other services, and its role includes monitoring the delivery of community services in NSW.  The consultation report will let the NSW Government know what families say about the support and services they need.  Details of individuals will be kept confidential, and specific services will not be named.
Families can share their views individually (by phone or in person) or through email, or join other parents in a small group. The consultation continues until 6 August 2010.
For more information or to have a 1-hour interview, contact Christine Flynn, ph 9265 0410 or tollfree 1800 451 524 or email cflynn@ombo.nsw.gov.au This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it   or Linda Blue, ph 9286 0950 or tollfree 1800 451 524 or email lblue@ombo.nsw.gov.au

Why We Do What We Do

You will all love this, if you have not already seen it, it is one of the best short films I have seen, really heartwarming.

Be My Brother by Genevieve Clay http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8d-7IFN4DKA

Compliments from Nell Brown

Supported living - Creating a home of one's own with self directed support

If your family does not yet have a satisfactory solution for long term accommodation for your disabled family member then this is worth a read and some serious consideration.

In Control Australia and Family Advocacy have scheduled  two valuable meetings on this very important subject - full details are contained in the attached brochure along with booking forms.   

The first event, on 9 August, is hosted by In Control Australia and showcases Homes West, Brisbane and My Place, Perth, two services that support people with disability in homes of their own with a combination of formal and informal support. 

http://www.family-advocacy.com/in-control-forum.html

The second event on 10 August is hosted by Family Advocacy and is a unique opportunity to participate in a conversation around some key considerations when thinking about supported living possibilities. 

http://www.family-advocacy.com/events.php

 Both events will be of interest to families, services and government representatives and will focus on what it takes to achieve similar outcomes for people with disability in NSW.

Registration details are included on the fliers.

Looking forward to seeing you there.

Belinda Epstein-Frisch, AM, Family Advocacy

Both Family Advocacy and Ability Options have publicised these events, for which our thanks.  

Supported living:- Creating a home of one’s own with self directed support.

Supported Living Fund for NSW. A Supported Living Fund is a stream of government funding that would enable men and women with disability to move into a home of their own in a planned and timely way.

A new seminar will showcase Homes West, Brisbane and My Place, Perth, two services that support people with disability in homes of their own with a combination of formal and informal support.
Date: Monday 9 August 2010
Time: 9.30am - 3.00pm (Registration at 9.00am)
Venue: Parliament House Theatrette, Macquarie St, Sydney
RSVP: by 1 August 2010—see attached for details

There is also a follow up workshop:- Tuesday 10 August 2010, 9.30am—2.30pm, West Ryde.

See full details of the Supported Living Fund proposals are contained in the March  Posting below What do Sunnyfield Members think about this?

Inquiry into services provided or funded by the Department of Ageing, Disability and Home Care

Nell Brown has emailed Members re this enquiry (see attached) and she is keen for us to think about what "other matters" we believe should be presented to the Standing Committee.

TERMS OF REFERENCE1.
That the Standing Committee on Social Issues inquire into and report on the
quality, effectiveness and delivery of services provided or funded by the
Department of Ageing, Disability and Home Care (ADHC), and in particular:
(a) the historical and current level of funding and extent of unmet need,
(b) variations in service delivery, waiting lists and program quality between:
(i) services provided, or funded, by ADHC,
(ii) ADHC Regional Areas,
(c) flexibility in client funding arrangements and client focused service delivery,
(d) compliance with Disability Service Standards,
(e) adequacy of complaint handling, grievance mechanisms and ADHC funded
advocacy services,
(f) internal and external program evaluation including program auditing and
achievement of program performance indicators review, and
(g) any other matters.

Add a Comment or email if you believe we should make a submission.

WARRINGAH DISABILITY NEWSLETTER No 232 - 25/06/10

Hello!

The newsletter starts with another discobility, disability rocks concert, two art prizes, work at Sailability, microwave cooking, Auslan and audio described tours and Bounce School.  Young carers are invited to the Endeavour and school holiday programs;  fathers to an evening session, families to consultations on services, support groups as well as an expo at Bradfield Park.  There are three events and some resources regarding education and employment for young people with disabilities.

Grants are on offer from the Commonwealth bank, ANZ Staff Foundation, The Myer Foundation and Optus, and specials on safety and mobility equipment.  Resources include a self-study toolkit on brain injury, the Schizophrenia research Library, the TechStyle magazine, a website of audio described movies, Shopmobility and reminders regarding the CAPScheme and MLAK keys.  Your participation is invited regarding two registers (childhood vision impairment, organ donor), a CALD project, disability services, employment policies, the arts and disability strategy, and three competitions for young people.

Workshops and meetings involve schizophrenia, person-centred thinking, supported living, allegations against employees, intellectual disability, the Association for Children with a Disability NSW, Cert IV in Community Services Work, financial services, and professional development.  Conferences focus on caring, children’s welfare, NCOSS, digital services for CALD clients, employment services, developmental psychology.  The Big Event – Disability expo is also planned.

Your comments and suggestions are welcome, as always!

Regards, Marjorie Janz, Disability Information Officer, Warringah Council.

Phone 9942 2686, fax 9942 2371.  Also janzm@warringah.nsw.gov.au.  

Message to the Auxiliary from the Chair

It was a great pleasure to meet many of the Auxiliary members at the meeting last week.  A couple of suggestions were made during the meeting, which I followed up with Frank Francis for some positive outcomes:

1. There was a suggestion that families might like to have regular scheduled meetings with house managers.  At the moment, meetings are held on an "as needs" basis, but Frank has invited any family wishing to do so to schedule a regular meeting if they feel this would better meet their needs.

2. There was a suggestion that families might like to meet with Frank at the afternoon teas held at our group homes without the staff present.  Frank is very happy to do this, and invitations in the future will offer this option for families.

3. There was a report that staff members had stated that there were not allowed to attend birthday parties.  Frank has confirmed that there is no policy in Sunnyfield preventing staff members from attending birthday parties for the people we support.  Please feel free to invite any staff member you wish to attend.

As I mentioned, Mark Clayton will attend the next meeting of the Auxiliary to present on the issues arising out of the ageing of the people we support, and Frank Francis will also attend. 

Field of Dreams, our regular newsletter, will be posted to families soon, and the text of my Personal Perspective on the Sunnyfield Strategy which I discussed with you, will be included.  I hope you find all the information in Field of Dreams useful, and I look forward to seeing you all again at future meetings.

Regards

Patricia McKenzie

Chair, Sunnyfield

Disability Rocks - tickets on sale now

Tickets are now on sale for Disability Rocks, the fantastic, high-energy concert and political rally to be held in Sydney on Sunday 1 August at the Seymour Centre (near Sydney University), starting at 3pm, in support of the introduction of a National Disability Insurance Scheme.

Speakers will include the federal parliamentary secretary for disabilities, Bill Shorten, his Opposition counterpart Senator Mitch Fifield, NSW Greens MLC Ian Cohen, recently elected SA MLC Kelly Vincent, leading businessman and disability campaigner Bill Moss AM and Carers' Alliance founder Marylou Carter, with music and/or dance to be provided by Jim Conway and his Big Wheel band, the James Valentine quartet, and Studio Artes. 

The attached poster has details on ticket prices and how to go about buying them direct from the Seymour Centre box office. Concession prices are available for students and pensioners.

Please spread the word as widely as possible to help ensure this concert is a sell-out, and advise people who want to be there to get in early, as tickets are already selling fast and the theatre only holds 600.

If you'd like copies of the attached poster to display around the place, please contact Katrina Clark, at khenty@optusnet.com.au
Best wishes,

Sue O'Reilly & Fiona Porter
www.australiansmadashell.com.au

Details of the Mad-As-Hell campaign are listed at the bottom of this Blog.

WARRINGAH DISABILITY NEWSLETTER No 231 - 11/06/10

Hello!
This Newsletter starts with a choir, the film festival and Biennale, AM2S performance, Youth Reach activities, three holiday events, SOCS for young adults with Aspergers.  Carers are invited to attend several parenting seminars, and vacancies exist for supported employees.  Sporting clubs and bodies can apply for DSR grants until 6 July.

Resources include subsidised lawn mowing, free MLAKs, a supported playgroup, counselling and creative art therapy, a mindfulness course, paediatric OT, the first diversity health magazine, guidelines for engaging interpreters.  Also a speech by Bill Shorten, ADHC papers on disability respite, the national CAPS program and height adjustable examination tables.  Your participation is invited regarding a radio show, the Shoe Campaign, nominations for National Disability Awards, social policy research.

Workshops and meetings involve SIDS, carers, dementia care, transition from school, energy costs, mediation and conflict resolution, engaging men in programs, latest CP research, supporting young carers, violence prevention, implementing person centred approaches, assessment and behavioural intervention, including people with disability in churches, premises standards, using the skills of men, the Madashell rally.  Courses are offered by IGL, PWD and Northside Community Forum.  Conferences occur about strokes, having fun, schizophrenia.  There are also the CAREX and an Education Expo.  We have a new minister for ageing and disability, and psychologist jobs exist at DSA.

Your comments and suggestions are welcome, as always!

Regards, Marjorie Janz, Disability Information Officer, Warringah Council..

Phone 9942 2686, fax 9942 2371.  Also janzm@warringah.nsw.gov.au.  

NSW 2010 State Budget reactions

..and this is what Andrew Constance thinks about the 2010 State budget.  What do you think?  Post a comment if you wish!!!

How can a Commonwealth Respite and Carelink Centre help me?

One Sunnyfield Member recently was recently granted financial respite support to enable the parents to go on holiday while their disabled family member was helped at home while they were away.

There are a wide range of services to support independent living in the community, but finding out about them or accessing them can be time consuming, difficult and confusing. Commonwealth Respite and Carelink Centres provide a single point of contact for the general public, service providers, general practitioners and other health professionals for information on community, aged and disability services and carer support. The Centres can also assist with information about costs for services, assessment processes and eligibility criteria.

Each Commonwealth Respite and Carelink Centre has extensive regional networks and maintains a comprehensive database containing community aged care, disability and other support services. Shopfronts are operated by organisations that already provide established services within their region. Their extensive local knowledge ensures they provide a quality service. This regional focus enables each Centre to develop an awareness of the entire range of services available, to establish networks with local providers and ensure information is up to date.

The Centres can also help arrange respite, when carers need to take a break from caring. They do this by acting as a single contact point for information need by carers and by organising, purchasing, or managing respite care assistance packages for carers. Examples of respite care assistance include in-home respite care; support workers to assist you when you are taking a break away from home; and residential respite care.

The website is listed as Comonwealth Carelink Centres and can be found in this Blog's sidebar list of ...places you might wish to visit...

Disability Rocks for Mad-As-Hell

Sue O'Reilly, who is one of the movers in MAD-AS-HELL (see their web site and pledge here), is organising a "Special Concert and Political Rally" at Everest Theatre, Seymour Centre, Chippendale, Sydney on 3pm, Sunday 1 August, 2010.

Special guest speakers:-
 The Hon Bill Shorten MP, Federal Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities
 Senator Mitch Fifield, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities & Carers
 Ian Cohen MLC, Greens Party, NSW State Parliament
 Kelly Vincent MLC, Dignity For Disability Party, SA State Parliament
 Marylou Carter, Carers’ Alliance Party
 Bill Moss AM, Chairman & Founder, FSHD Global Research Foundation; and member, Disability Investment Group
MC: James Valentine

There is a poster here and you can buy tickets (soon) here.
Come along and see if we can get disability policy onto the agenda for the next State and Federal elections.

Details of the Mad-As-Hell campaign are listed at the bottom of this Blog.

Estelle Shield's RANT

This is a tricky Posting.  The original offer of "Wellness" (have a look at this invitation) was well meant by good people who work in Disability and is intended to be a help.  But, as Estelle points out, it does not sit that well with families who are trying to solve the central problem, not the bits around the edges.
Having read the brochure, this is what Estelle said...
"Yes, isn't this just what we need!
We're all going to die on the job, that is, die caring. We will never see our sons and daughters settled in supported accommodation. We will never have any experience of retirement as our peers are now taking for granted. We are setting up our middle-aged adult children who have intellectual disability for the tsunami moment in their lives when in the same breath they will lose primary carer, only home ever known and local community. And this is for a group of people who, by definition, are less able to accommodate change and cope with the unknown. We cannot supervise their gradual transition from home to supported care, we cannot pass on the wealth of knowledge that we have gleaned over a lifetime of caring for our person and we are sick with worry at the cruelness and injustice of it all.
But hey, let's go along and do "Wellness" - have a free lunch on the disability agency that funds these diversions and let's all forget that Australia's ageing parent carers are exploited and abandoned and that its people with intellectual disability are second class citizens, unworthy of essential services.
Let's all have an ayurvedic massage and pretend all's well with the world.
The funding for all this wellness and so many other charades masquerading as "services" should have gone where it is urgently needed: into making supported accommodation for Australian citizens who have intellectual disability. Anything else is just using a bandaid when we need the major surgery.
Estelle Shields"
I would love to see LOTS of families add Comments to this Posting so we can guage what Sunnyfield Members think - do you want Wellness, long-term solutions to our central disability problems, or both?
Let's see those cards and letters folks...

Productivity Commission review of NDIS matters

Mark Clayton has asked for input from families about the NDIS proposals.

He said this: "I don’t know if you or the members and families have seen this material but I would like to encourage families to have their say on this critical work being reviewed by the Productivity Commission.  I am preparing a response for Sunnyfield which will go to the Board for its endorsement but I also think that families should have their own say.  The closing date for these submissions has been extended to Monday 16 August.  I am getting the documents loaded onto Sunnyfield's web page for public review." Mark Clayton. Manager, Strategy and Development, Tel: (02) 8977 8803, Mob: 0403 078 450, Email: m.clayton@sunnyfield.org.au

The documents are available here. First, second, third.

From the Board May 2010

Welcome to the May edition of “From the Board”.  At the May meeting the Board considered and acted on the following matters:

Members

·           Approved 47 new members, removed 4 members from the register at their request or due to incorrect admission, and one member who unfortunately has passed away.

·           Discussed and agreed on the need for a review of the voting rights of members. This item has now been referred to the Board’s Constitutional Reform Committee.

Fundraising

·           Acknowledged with gratitude the receipt of $80,000 from Ricoh Australia at the Beaches Breakfast on the 26 March, and a $50,000 grant from Newcastle Permanent Building Society Foundation that will help Sunnyfield establish a community nursery at our Charmhaven DOP site.

·           The Chair informed the Board that Sunnyfield had won second prize in the ASX Thomson Reuters Charity Foundation Art Union.  The prize was a beautiful string of pearls worth $15,000.  This item would be used for fundraising purposes in due course.

Divisional Updates

Each Division’s Business Report was considered, and the Board particularly noted the significant improvement in staff vacancies and turnover. Annual staff turnover has reduced from 35% two years ago to a current rate of 10%.  

Enterprises

·           During April, Enterprises has had a record month for Ablite sales with $500,000 invoiced as a result of the $1 million Hunter TAFE project. Despite Ablite’s success, Enterprises is facing a significant downturn of business due to the Global Financial Crisis. The Sales & Marketing department is very focussed on sourcing new business to replace this and to ensure the people we support remain in meaningful employment.

·           There was considerable discussion regarding the operating outcomes and balance sheet.  Sunnyfield remains in a relatively strong position; however Brand and Fundraising must remain a key factor to support the goal of financial independence.

·           The Modern Award continues to impact workload and employee conditions.  Continued communication with staff to explain the impact of the changes is currently being undertaken.

Community Services

·           Cathy Commins, General Manager Community Services, gave a presentation of the operational processes of this Division to the Board.  The presentation covered the scope of operations including numbers and diversity of staff, programme variety, funding and geographical spread. The achievements of the Division against the business plan for the year to date and achievements of individuals was of great interest to the Board members.  The Board congratulated Cathy and Frank Francis, Chief Executive Officer, on the comprehensive nature of the services offered.  A description of those services is available on the Sunnyfield website.

Policy Development

·           The Board reviewed the proposed new procedures for “How to Respond to Alleged Assault or Abuse Situations (for Adults)” and “How to Protect Children and Young People at Sunnyfield”.  The Board approved the revised proactive approach including the establishment of a trained Response Team.

The next meeting of the Board will be held in July 2010 and, as always, the Board welcomes submissions and receipt of any items the members would like the Board to discuss and consider. These can be forwarded through to the CEO’s Office.

Patricia McKenzie Sunnyfield Chair