Wednesday, December 14, 2011

WARRINGAH DISABILITY NEWSLETTER No 270 - 8/12/11


The newsletter starts with a Christmas party, an Abba concert, gymnastics and Saturday activities for children, opportunities to sail and canoe.  Young carers can win a competition, attend several school holiday programs or events.  Centacare has a full program for parents in 2012, and there are vacancies in case management for people of Aboriginal or CALD background.  There are some tips on transition to a new class in 2012, and also support groups exist for parents of children / adults with autism.  Referrals are invited to Leisure Links.

Financial matters include Shags (fundraising shoebags for Fighting Chance), grants from Perpetual 2012, the Churchill fellowship, and information on payroll tax rebates for employers, and tips on shopping in the holidays.  The RTA invites trainees, and ADHC has jobs for disability support workers.  Resources include help with community gardens, a post recovery DVD and website, a Transition to Retirement DVD, and an easy guide to Warringah community facilities.  There are also presentations from the ASID conference, the Discrimination Toolkit, updated Disability Support Pension Impairment tables, and the Dementia Behaviour Management Advisory Service hotline.  You are invited to send in your sign-on sheets for the NDIS campaign, read about the Shut-In campaign, participate in research of needs of adults with disability.

The sub-regional HACC meetings occur, and advance notice is given of several conferences in 2012 (regarding Aspergers, developmental disability, ageing well).  There is also a graduate program in Couple and Family Therapy, and a behaviour support liaison group.

Your comments and suggestions are welcome, as always!  The next newsletter will be sent on 21 December.


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

Government Cabinet reshuffle


Jenny Macklin takes on Disability Reform

Jenny Macklin's lead role in developing the National Disability Insurance Scheme is amplified in today's Cabinet re-shuffle.  In addition to her role as Minister for Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, she will take on the title of Minister for Disability Reform.
Bill Shorten has been promoted to Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations. He retains Financial Services and responsibility for the National Injury Insurance Scheme.
The Prime Minister has also announced that the Minister for Social Inclusion, Tanya Plibersek, becomes the new Health Minister and that Mark Butler expands his Mental Health and Ageing portfolio to become the Minister for Social Inclusion. The Minister for Social Inclusion has a key role in developing and implementing the Government's not-for-profit reforms.
Earlier this month the Prime Minister announced the formation of a new agency to lead the Commonwealth's work in designing the NDIS. The agency, which will be based in Jenny Macklin's department, will oversee projects that help prepare the disability sector for the NDIS. $10 million has been allocated to fund such projects. An example might be a project that assists service providers to adapt their business model to individually-attached funding. The new Commonwealth agency will utilise expertise among State and Territory officials.  NDS awaits further information on the structure of the new agency and the guidelines for the new funding.
The ALP National Conference, at which the Prime Minister announced the agency, endorsed a motion to support the NDIS in the ALP's platform. The Liberal Party and the Nationals passed similar motions of support at their national conferences earlier in the year. These are welcome developments.

Central Coast Auxiliary

The Minutes of 29 November 2011 are posted below and the next meeting is planned for 24 January 2012.

Sunday, December 4, 2011

PWC report DISABILITY IN AUSTRALIA

This is a long read but it is worth it.


The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) was put forward by the Productivity Commission in its report Disability Care and Support, which was submitted to government on 31 July 2011 and publicly released by the Prime Minister on 10 August 2011. The NDIS proposes a way forward for Australia.
PwC brought together an expert team with extensive experience in the disability support system. The aim of the group has been to answer the question “What is required to deliver the NDIS?”
This paper provides a brief history of disability in Australia and, as part of its focus, draws on international experience and comparisons. One of the most telling and challenging statistics is that Australia ranks 21st out of 29 OECD countries in employment participation rates for those with a disability. In addition, around 45% of those with a disability in Australia are living either near or below the poverty line. These facts alone show us that we need to change.
The paper explores the NDIS from different perspectives starting with the person with a disability, then the family, then support organisations, and finally the government or National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA).
The biggest challenge for Australia is to provide an environment for change which allows for a cultural shift across all parts of our society. Active participation of those with a disability in society generally can only occur with a change in attitude. This is something that can’t be legislated; people need to see the reason why change is important.
I urge you to think about the four principles we have put forward in this paper: Fairness, Facilitation, Choice and Inclusion and ask whether there is anything you or your organisation can do to help bring about change.
Improving the lives of those with a disability is the responsibility of all Australians.
Chris Bennett
Partner
Government Sector Leader PwC 

Friday, December 2, 2011

"Complete Reform of how it is Now!"


At the National Press Club in Canberra, Dr Rhonda Galbally said: "If it's not complete
reform, as is recommended, then the value of the NDIS won't be nearly as much".
"Current disability support arrangements are inequitable, underfunded, fragmented, and inefficient and give people with a disability little choice.  The current arrangements cannot be called a genuine system". says the Productivity Commission in its extensive report of July 2011, Volume 1, Overview, page 5.

"Some houses operate from an 'institution' mindset, catering for residents' physical needs rather than operating like a home where residents are encouraged to develop an independence limited only by their own capacity.  The reactive nature of DHS's response to accommodation needs, combined with the stringent prioritisation criteria, is likely to continue, and therefore perpetuate a crisis-driven system", says the Victorian Auditor General in his report - Mar 2008.

"The impetus to always keep group homes looking clean detracts from the need to provide support to residents", says the Public Advocate of Victoria, in her report of July 2010.
Dr Galbally reinforced the existence of the current problems and of the need for complete reform - not just more funding to compound the existing problems

At the National Press Club in Canberra, Dr Galbally said:

Two years ago, I came to the National Press Club to deliver a state of union for people with a disability in their families in this nation. Two years ago, I told of another world that few people knew existed; a world where Australians were forgotten, abandoned, ignored. Let me remind you of this world.

In this world, you're entitled to two showers a week. The rest of the time you're forced to lie in your own urine until someone can be found to shower you again. You give up work, you give up going out; you are too ashamed to see your friends. You are isolated and alone.

In this world, if you're a child who needs a wheelchair, you will find the cost is not covered. Your parents hold cake stalls and raffles. They ask the local Rotary for help, but by the time the chair arrives, you've already grown out of it.

In this world, if you have a child with autism or any other disability, you face a bewildering maze of fragmented services. You go to one funding body after another, you have so many appointments, so many assessments, you spend so much time filling out forms, on top of course,  of trying to care for your child alone, that you're exhausted. You give up trying to work.

Australian's with a disability in their families are currently held to ransom, having to accept anything that is offered, even if it is the wrong equipment or the wrong support, that isn't at the right time of day and not doing the things that need to be done. They are beggars, and beggars have to accept anything that's dished out.

This is the world that people with a disability and their families endure all day, every day right now in Australia. In fact, the last great leap forward for people with a disability was 30 years ago, when we fought so hard to close the institutions that gave people life sentences, shutting them away from society from birth to death.

We mostly won that battle for de-institutionalisation, but we lost the fight for social and economic inclusion.

So what has changed in the two years since I was here last? What has changed is hope. Where there was once despair, there is now hope. And this is because a new era has begun; an era that for the first time ever has all parts of the disability world working together for a common vision. The engine room of the new era is a powerful coalescing of people with a disability, carers and disability service providers.

This engine room is called the National Disability and Carers Alliance, and I would like to acknowledge the members of the alliance, from Carers Australia, the Australian Federation of Disability Organisations and National Disability Services.

And from this alliance has come the Every Australian Counts campaign.  Since January this year, the campaign has amassed almost 100,000 supporters from every part of the country and from all walks of life. It's a powerful, grass roots movement of people who've put up their hand to say enough is enough and demand a fair go for people with a disability and their families. And Australia is the only country in the world to build an alliance of all those affected by disability.

All united, all determined to wake Australia up and to ask for major reform. And now for the first time we are all optimistic. We're optimistic because after an exhaustive 18 month inquiry, the Productivity Commission has handed down their final report in just August this year. And by the way, this is the hard-nosed Productivity Commission who aren't known for their bleeding hearts.

And they recommended introducing a national disability insurance scheme for all Australians. Just 10 days after receiving the landmark report, the Federal Government announced that it would introduce the national disability insurance scheme, and nine days after this announcement all premiers and first ministers from around the country met at the Council of Australian Governments and all agreed to work together to implement the national disability insurance scheme.

Given the history of disagreements between federal and state governments, this was indeed an extraordinary commitment. And since that time, the states and territories have agreed to work with the Federal Government to speed up the full nationwide implementation, to reduce the roll-out time from seven years as recommended by the Productivity Commission to six years.

To the people around the country who are in desperate need of support, this speeding up of the roll-out is very welcome indeed. This is the quickest turnaround response of any government to a report of this nature.

All governments in Australia have now decided together that we need to transform how we treat people with a disability and their families.

And not only all governments but all parties. In this often fractious political environment, the national disability insurance scheme has received strong bipartisan support.

Why this unprecedented level of support from all political parties, and the rare state and federal cooperation? Because they all know that the system is broken and must be fixed. They know that people with disabilities and their families will not give up.

They know that it is just plain wrong to allow this area of gross neglect to continue. And they also know that a national disability insurance scheme will add significantly to the productivity of Australia.

The transformative potential of the national disability insurance scheme is enormous but it is at heart a simple idea.

Number one; create a consistent and secure national pool of funds and from these funds draw-down the necessary support for people with a disability and their families.

Number two; allow people with a disability and their families control to choose the services and supports that best suit them and their needs, allow them the dignity that comes from control and choice.

Three; create a system that is not only effective and efficient but is flexible and responsive to individual needs.

Four; build a system with the incentive to get people what they need when they need it so that they can maximise their opportunities to participate fully in every aspect of Australian society.

For example, home modifications and personal support and domestic help will be available straightaway. This will mean that people will no longer be left to languish in hospital or sent to nursing homes or abandoned in respite care beds because their families can no longer cope. Wheelchairs and other equipment will be supplied as soon as they are needed.

People with a disability will then be able to get an education, return to work, or get a job or keep a job.

Early intervention will be just that, early and enough for every child with a disability who can benefit from it. Then all young children with a disability will be able to reach their potential and have every opportunity to participate in a full education, so necessary for their future.

Young people with disabilities will be like all other young people, able to make decisions about who they live with, where they live, how they live. They will be able to leave home and move to as independent an adult life as is possible.

And so the fears of aged parents who are haunted by what will happen to their older adult child will finally be put to rest.

The national disability insurance scheme will allow families to return to being families. Mums and dads, brothers and sisters, partners, husbands and wives, who will of course still care that the caring role will no longer dominate their lives.

It will mean that mothers and fathers will no longer find their relationships fractured by the stress. People with disability will never again be seen as burdens on families. I know what a hurtful and divisive issue this has been.

People with a disability hate that characterisation as burdens. It strikes at the very core of our being. And yet the reality is that this is the experience of carers when they are left to do everything with no help and no hope. Without support the relentlessness is hard to bear.

But the piece of mind which will come from the national disability insurance scheme is not just for those who already have a disability, like Medicare it is for every Australian. Every Australian will be able to rest easy knowing that they are certain of reasonable care and support for them or their family member who may become disabled.

This is important because disability can occur at any stage of life, from many causes, from birth, from sport, from cars, from falling off a ladder, from stroke, Parkinson's,
MS and many other illnesses.

This transformation of the landscape does of course come with a price tag. The Productivity Commission estimates that the system is underfunded by approximately half. That means an additional $6.5 billion will - by the final roll-out year of 2017. This is for an effective and sustainable system to meet the social and economic needs of the nation.

The national disability insurance scheme is an investment in the potential of people with a disability. By providing them with targeted and timely supports, many will be enabled to enter the workforce and so help meet the significant productivity challenges which face Australia.

And by providing people with appropriate support, the national disability insurance scheme will also allow families to participate fully in the economy and the community. Many new jobs will be created, new aids and equipment will be manufactured, new services will be developed.

So it is for all of these reasons that the Productivity Commission concluded that the economic benefits of the national disability insurance scheme far exceeds the costs.

But in the end this may not be the greatest benefit. The national disability insurance scheme will mean that people with a disability will become fully citizens of Australia rather than objects of charity. They will be able to participate in the community; becoming neighbours, colleagues and friends.

In the process they will become people seen as worthy of investment; as Australians with potential; as valuable contributing citizens of this country.

The national disability insurance scheme means that Australians with disabilities in their families will move from begging to dignity. They will move from charity to human rights. Australia will leapfrog from being one  of the worst OECD performers on disability into a leadership position.

The national disability insurance scheme is this generation's greatest reform, benefiting every Australian. Every Australian is a stakeholder in  the development of the national disability insurance scheme.
Canberra, Tuesday night, 22 November 2011:
At the National Disability Awards, the Prime Minister said:

"The decision I announced in August is a not just a preliminary hint or an aspiration.  It is the green light for a National Disability Insurance Scheme in this country.  The time for words is over. The time for action has come. We will get this thing done.  We are working to deliver change to disability care and support that means:
  • People with disability will be supported to participate in and contribute to social and economic life to the extent of their abilities.
  • People with disability and their carers will have certainty and receive the individualised care and support they need over their lifetime.
  • The care and support needs of people with disability are met over their lifetime through an insurance approach, not the crisis-driven approach of the past, and
  • People with disability will be able to exercise more choice and control in their lives.
Too many generations of parents have gone to their graves not knowing what the future held for their children with disability as they grew to middle age.

So I say this as your Prime Minister tonight: Not another generation will face that agonising choice.

The nation has opened it heart and it will not be closed again.
 
A system that looks like this is a fundamental change from the system we have today. It is not just another spending program to be raised and cut as budgets come and go".
LISA Comment:
  In Victoria, almost all services for people with a disability are directly or indirectly controlled by the state government, through their 'Department of Human Services (DHS)'.  Community Service Organisations (CSOs), funded by the DHS, are ham-strung by this out-of-control state government department - using much of their resources battling DHS bureaucracy.    

The Office of the Public Advocate, the Auditor General and the Productivity Commission, clearly have service level and quality concerns.  Yet  these pseudo government departments do little to ensure complete reform, leaving service users  with little more than ISPs to SDA where they have concerns with traditional services. 

Traditional and entrenched services in Victoria are mainly those of the state
government - the DHS.  DHS 'reactive' not 'proactive' management being a large percentage of the reason for all the service problems for which they, DHS, are in total denial.  The remaining percentage being the reactive nature of their captive market and entrenched public service culture.  A culture of, "No one 'owns the company, no one is responsible and no employee need do anything they don't want to do".

With such state government entrenchment, we question the NDIA will do little more than leave people with a disability and their families to totally rely on a relatively limited ISP market-place to drive service level and quality.  They, NDIA, doing little more than provide more money for the same old 'minder care'.  Those suffering this now, have little hope for the foreseeable future, but to pin their hopes on Dr Galbally's and Prime Minister Gillard's predictions being really meaningful at some point in the distant future.    
  
Extra 1:  Mother offered $220,000 in Gag/Hush Money by DHS Victoria
Extra 2: The Gillard Government cracks-down on DSP eligibility
Extra 3:  New DSP Impairment Tables

Extra 4:  Resources by Field (furthering inclusive learning and development)

Extra 5: Best Practice in CRUs - OPA Report
Extra 6: Check-out some interesting aspects of questionable service provision on the "LISA Forum".  Feel free to post to the forum page by registering, under a covert user name, on the left side of the forum page, under "Create an account".  There will then be a short delay whilst we approve your registration (Please contact us if you don't have access within two days).
LATENEWS:  See LISA Website News or Forum for PricewaterhouseCoopers Report on NDIS
Christmas & New Year Greetings from the LISA Team 
We will be back in February 2012
LIFESTYLE IN SUPPORTED ACCOMMODATION (LISA) INC.
Tel:  03-9434-3810:  Email: 
info@lisainc.com.au or vk3qq@optusnet.com.au 
Web:  www.lisainc.com.au :  www.lisa-aus.blogspot.comNOTE:  We are always interested in feedback and information; general, specific, good or bad. If you
 wish anonymously: Our mail address is, 73 Nepean Street, Watsonia, 3087 

Friday, November 25, 2011

WARRINGAH DISABILITY NEWSLETTER No 269 - 24/11/11


The newsletter starts with a pilot program of gymnastics, drama, free family fun day in Narrabeen, access programs at the Art Gallery of NSW, free Muppets tickets, drama and a mass / party to celebrate the International Day of People with Disability (3 December each year), art workshops in Lane Cove.  Young carers can attend activities at Bradfield Park and Clontarf (with their family), and parents can gather over lunch, or request to support / or be supported by a parent who also has a child with autism.  There are art sessions for carers and the person with mental health issues, a workshop on sexuality for youth with intellectual / learning disability, a bereavement support workshop, meditation for those having cancer treatment and their carers, a grandparenting workshop, and community talks on health.  The Red Shield Easter camp will be held at Collaroy for disadvantaged children.

Financial matters include the launch of Bill Moss’ book to fundraise for the FSHD Foundation and Fighting Chance Australia, JET child care fee assistance, Project Local voting, vacancy for advocacy manager at BIA NSW, extended deadline for the SAIF.  Resources deal with resilient siblings, drug info, websites regarding bipolar disorder and children with disability at school, the final report on Young Carers, an anxiety program for all ages, legal advice for people with fines debt, guidelines on selecting a wheelchair / scooter, the Lifeline Toolkit, and regulations for not-for-profits regarding tax.  You are invited to continue to garnering support for the NDIS, participate in studies on transition to adulthood or use of IT in employment, build the artist register in Ryde, nominate someone for Australia Day awards, contribute to collection on ‘disabled mothers’, participate in the community garden planned for Seaforth.

Meetings and workshops address Lyme disease treatment, emotional health of babies, the AGM and Get Together of BIA NSW, relaxation before the holidays, the HACC industry briefing, and several disability-related courses.  The NSW NDS state conference occurs in February 2012.

Your comments and suggestions are welcome, as always!  The next newsletter will be sent on 8 December.

Regards, Marjorie Janz, Disability Information Officer, Warringah Council.
Located at Dee Why Library, Pittwater Road and St Davids Avenue, Dee Why NSW 2099.
Phone 9942 2686, fax 9942 2371.  Also janzm@warringah.nsw.gov.au.

Monday, November 14, 2011

McKinsey & Co - questions for Sunnyfield

Dear Members
As discussed at the last Auxiliary meeting (12 Nov at Allambie) the two key questions asked by McKinsey of Sunnyfield (when they reviewed Sunnyfield's strategy) and hence what Sunnyfield needs to know from every family are:-


1. What client groups should we aim to serve?
All people with disabilities?
Adults with an intellectual disability?
Children with a intellectual disability disability?
Aging people with a disability?
People with physical disabilities?
People with ABI?
Disability and mental illness?
Multi-cultural?

2. What services should we offer?
Community Support, Housing, Supported Employment + Other programs?
Add Brokerage, e.g. Information and referral service?
Fee for service, e.g. Employment agency?
Alternative models of housing?
Corporate volunteering?

These are part of a wider set of seven questions which FYI are attached here.  



However in order for Sunnyfield to properly prepare for Stronger Together 2 (with Self Managed & Directed Funding) and NDIS Sunnyfield needs to know what you believe your particular family needs are and will be.


Can you carefully consider these two questions from your familiy's perspective - Sunnyfield will shortly be asking by mail for your suggestions as to where you will direct your future spending on disability.

Friday, November 11, 2011

WARRINGAH DISABILITY NEWSLETTER No 268 - 10/11/11


The newsletter starts with dance classes and a concert, First Flight Crew, three wheelchair events (including the Wheelchair Tennis Open), two film festivals, the Sculpture by the Sea tactile tours, free colouring-in at the Art Gallery of NSW, Riverside Theatre’s program and a Northern Beaches youth event.  Parents and carers can attend male cooking class, morning tea, IT workshops.  Carers of people with mental illness (especially those who hear voices) have several activities.  There is a new chat forum for siblings, and volunteer gardeners are needed.

Financial matters include fundraising for Fighting Chance, grants for individuals and organisations that support adults with high needs, and the Telstra connected program.  Resources include a practical and comprehensive Artist Resource, information on supported accommodation and OHS changes, and Spinal Injuries Week.  You are invited to participate in an online forum with Peter Garrett, register your events for IDPWD, take action for the NDIS Week of Action, and complete four surveys (older adults, adults with MS, NCOSS’ MSU, children transitioning to adult facilities).

There are two AGMs, the annual state meeting for day services and post school programs, an industry breakfast, the quarterly NDS regional meetings.  Workshops address walking, depression, creative ageing, hearing voices, writing social stories, community safety, supporting students with intellectual disability in school.  There is a reminder about the Accessing the Future conference, and a call for papers for the Roundtable on Print Disability.

Your comments and suggestions are welcome, as always!  The next newsletter will be sent on 24 November.


Regards, Marjorie Janz, Disability Information Officer, Warringah Council.
Located at Dee Why Library, Pittwater Road and St Davids Avenue, Dee Why NSW 2099.
Phone 9942 2686, fax 9942 2371.  Also janzm@warringah.nsw.gov.au.

Monday, October 31, 2011

Payroll tax rebates for businesses who hire employees with a disability


NDS tells us that...

The NSW Government has introduced legislation to Parliament that will give businesses a payroll tax rebate for hiring a person with a disability.

NSW Minister for Disability Services, Andrew Constance, said the Payroll Tax Rebate Scheme (Disability Employment) Bill 2011 will provide employers with a payroll tax rebate of up to $4,000 per employee.

"The O'Farrell Government is delivering on its commitment to improve the employment prospects of people with a disability," Mr Constance said.

The rebate will apply to businesses who hire a new employee out of the Transition to Work program and will be paid in two equal parts, after three months and after six months from the hiring of a new employee.

To qualify for the rebate, the employee must have commenced employment on or after 1 January 2012 and before 1 July 2016 and the employee should work an average of at least 12 hours a week. The employer must be liable for payroll tax, either during the period of emp! loyment or in a financial year during which an eligible employee is employed.

The NSW Government has committed $2 million per annum over the next five years for the scheme to apply from 1 January 2012.

A representative from Minister Constance's Office attended the NDS NSW Sub-Committee on Open Employment on 21 October to consult on the new legislation regarding pay roll tax relief for employers of people with disability.  This consultation was an important element and one NDS will continue to support and promote in terms of gauging the members views of the initiative.

Glenn Jones, NDS NSW Acting State Manager, said, "NDS NSW commends the NSW Government on this initiative. This initiative following on from other work in this area, such as the NDS NSW Ready Willing and Able (Procurement) Project, will ensure that NSW continues to lead the way in regard to employment for people with disability".

WARRINGAH DISABILITY NEWSLETTER No 267 - 28/10/11


The newsletter starts with two discobilities, a Christmas party, free Hip Hop workshops, sport expo at Homebush, Sailability and Camp Willing and Able.  Parents and carers can attend activities at Bradfield Park, a workshop on sexuality for youth with intellectual / learning disability, and a new carers group in Waitara.  There are vacancies for adults at a day program in Belrose.

Financial matters include fundraising for the Cerebral Palsy Challenge, Northcott and Adaptive Cricket, as well as a scholarship and funding to support carers.  Details of two positions are given.  Resources deal with Grandparents Day, transition care from child to adult health services, reading training.  There are booklets or report on community care workforce, employer attitude toward workers with a disability, post school options, disability reform (South Australian report on Strong Voices), support for siblings, and some training DVDs from Catholic Community Services.  You are invited to continue to receive updates on the NDIS, participate in the Leaders for Tomorrow Program or the Police’s Disability Advisory Committee.  ADHC requests online feedback on the Supported Living Fund.

Workshops address a child safe community, young people and the law, anti bullying strategies, writing for the internet, law for non-lawyers, writing social stories.  The Northern Region Disability Network meets next week, and government departments hold industry briefing sessions for HACC providers.  Spectronics offers free online training in several software packages.  The conference on Inclusive Technologies and Learning Disability in Education and Employment occurs in December.

Your comments and suggestions are welcome, as always!  The next newsletter will be sent on 10 November.


Regards, Marjorie Janz, Disability Information Officer, Warringah Council.
Located at Dee Why Library, Pittwater Road and St Davids Avenue, Dee Why NSW 2099.
Phone 9942 2686, fax 9942 2371.  Also janzm@warringah.nsw.gov.au.

Every Australian Counts

One goal. Three things you can do.
We can't thank you enough for your support so far for the National Disability Insurance Scheme.


But there are a lot of people out there who haven't heard about the NDIS and the potential it has to dramatically improve the lives of people with disabilities.

We need more people to hear about the campaign. If support grows and momentum builds, the NDIS will be secured for all Australians.

There are three things you can do from November 27 - December 3 to spread the word. What can you do?

It's easy - you can sign up your friends, neighbours, colleagues or family members, pepper letterboxes with campaign information sheets or hold a community stall.

We need your help to make sure more people with disabilities and their families have a voice in our community.

Take a few minutes, a couple of hours or a whole day - the choice is yours.

Register today to spread the word in your backyard, workplace, street or the local shopping centre. We will send you all you need to get the NDIS out into the community.

Whatever you do it will make a difference to people living with a disability and their families.

Yours,

John Della Bosca
and the Every Australian Counts team 
www.everyaustraliancounts.com.au

P.S. Don't forget to pass this email on to your friends and family members - every supporter counts.

Sunday, October 23, 2011

NDIS - "Right Now, in Victoria!"


NDIS freedom of choice - rights/entitlement-based services - can occur for some people right now!  Why is it not, then?  Because the DHS is playing its usual power-over-people games and protecting its bureaucratic empire!
Most parents/families are concerned at the thought of having to place their vulnerable adult family member in a group home, many of which are little more than a staff work-place-hostel, providing little more than minder care, with few transparent outcomes in accordance with defined care policies, standards and values.

With parents unable, at present, to live forever, the need was/is seen to seek an alternative to that which could not/can not be trusted to ensure real,  meaningful and consistent quality of life care, and where residents, parents, families are often intimidated for daring to question service level and quality.  The answer - "Do it yourself!"

The Federal Government had set an individualised funding benchmark with the ISP - "Futures for Young Adults".  This was an attempt to capture market-place driven quality.  Although this ISP failed to achieve this, through lack of service providers to give effective competition, it set a new ball rolling.

If funding could be individualised - paid to the service user (the customer),   rather than bulk funding paid to the day service provider - "Why not apply similar principles to accommodation support?"

The primary intention of the NDIS process is, naturally, to initially provide relief  for those families, on very long waiting lists, still providing 24/7 care for their family member at home - with no hope of some freedom before they depart this world.  We feel no one would deny them being first cab off the rank for NDIS funding.

There is a strong second place for those families who, currently, have independent accommodation for their family member, especially those in government, direct care, group homes.  Many of these families are burnt-out fighting the bureaucratic system, year after year, for a reasonable quality of life care for their family member - in contrast to basic minder-care.

Some of the concerns parents have.........
   A lady who has recently placed her daughter in a CRU, asks, "When a resident is sick, do the staff have to take that person to the doctor or do they have to call the parent in to do this?" "When a resident has to go to the dental hospital is the parent expected to try and find a family member to assist?"  This parent is nervous of a man handling her daughters personal care, yet is in fear of making waves to question staff allocations.
So many parents/families are in fear of many forms of intimidation if they dare to speak-out about the care level and quality concerns they have.  The ODSC rate the number-one reason why people do not complain, as being fear of intimidation. 

Yet the DHS, Disability Services, Victoria, is totally unable, as a direct result of its 'reactive' management above house supervisor, to solve the direct care staff lore problems which create and perpetuate the fear and concerns most parents have regarding group homes.

Service level and quality is directly proportional with direct care staff integrity, rather than consistently proportional with proactive management above house supervisor to set, monitor and maintain direct-care staff work-value expectations.  Where there is almost total reliance on staff integrity, houses swing dramatically.

Achieving consistent and meaningful proactive management requires a market place culture of the type intended through NDIS ISPs (individualised funding), rather than captive market bulk funding - A rights-based service, in contrast to a charity-based service.

Most of the supported accommodation services (group homes) in Victoria are bulk-funded by the DHS.  It's a sort of pseudo-bulk-funding, as each resident has a 'unit-cost', considered to be the dollars needed for staff support and administration overheads. Residents pay living expenses - rent, housekeeping and personal expenditure from their DSP.

At no additional cost to government, each resident's 'unit-cost' could be redefined from bulk-funding to"individualised funding".  This means they would be free to move, as the NDIS principle intends - but, "RIGHT NOW!"

With a further DHS restrictive practice removed - that residents are denied residential tenancy rights.  With residential tenancy rights, as their reasonable human right, the resident group could chose their service provider and write their own care contract.

This early taste of NDIS style freedom of choice, would help to smooth the way for future NDIS ISPs, when federal funding is finally made available.
Extra 1:  Crimes against People with a Disability - UK

Extra 2:  
Poor Support in South Australia
Extra 3:  NDIS Appointments
Extra 4:  In the Driver's Seat - Yes or No?
Extra 5:
  No Penalties! No Dobbing! No Worries!
Extra 6: Australians with a Disability - Low Legal & Media Profile
Extra 7: Communications Dispute - Victoria
Extra 8: Check-out some interesting aspects of questionable service provision on the "LISA Forum".  Feel free to post to the forum page by registering, under a covert user name, on the left side of the forum page, under "Create an account".  There will then be a short delay whilst we approve your registration (Please contact us if you don't have access within two days)
LIFESTYLE IN SUPPORTED ACCOMMODATION (LISA) INC.
Tel:  03-9434-3810:  Email: 
info@lisainc.com.au or vk3qq@optusnet.com.au 
Web:  www.lisainc.com.au :  www.lisa-aus.blogspot.comNOTE:  We are always interested in feedback and information; general, specific, good or bad. If you
              wish anonymously: Our mail address is, 73 Nepean Street, Watsonia, 308 

Breaking news: New timetable for NDIS

Yesterday we had some fantastic news. State and Territory governments agreed to deliver the foundational work for the National Disability Insurance Scheme by mid 2013 - a year earlier than the Productivity Commission recommended.

It is all your hard work and support that has made this happen. Your voices have been heard and all your campaigning has made a difference. Take a moment to reflect on how far we have all come together.

Our politicians are listening. But we still need to get out in the community and make sure everyone understands why we need an NDIS.

Will you spread the word from November 27 - December 3?

The Federal Government said at yesterday's inaugural COAG Select Council meeting that it "wants to see improvements to disability care and support as quickly as possible".

The State and Territory Disability Ministers and Treasurers all agreed on a timetable for delivering the foundation reforms necessary for the introduction of an NDIS. These reforms include common assessment tools to determine eligibility and strategies to boost the disability workforce.

The Select Council also considered the draft principles to be agreed on by COAG. These principles will guide the work of the Select Council in pursuing reform of disability services.

And earlier this week the advisory body established by the government to provide advice to the Select Council also met for the first time.

So it is clear that all your hard work is making a difference. But we cannot give up - we need to keep the pressure on.

There are three easy things you can do to help during Spread the Word Week - which one will you choose?

Tell your friends, neighbours, work colleagues and family members. The campaign is continuing and we are showing everyone that Every Australian does indeed Count.

John Della Bosca
and the Every Australian Counts team 
www.everyaustraliancounts.com.au

P.S. Can you watch our latest campaign update video and share it with your friends? Building support for the NDIS is the most important thing you can do right now.

FW: NDS News Update - NDIS timetable brought forward


21 October 2011

NDIS timetable brought forward

The first meeting of the COAG Select Council on Disability Reform, chaired by Federal Ministers Wayne Swan and Jenny Macklin, has agreed to bring forward by a year the implementation timetable for the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). This means that the 'launch sites', envisaged by the Productivity Commission as commencing in mid-2014, are now planned to commence in mid-2013. The launch sites have yet to be identified.
The Select Council, which consists of State, Territory and Commonwealth Treasurers and Disability Ministers, also agreed on the foundation reforms necessary to establish the NDIS. These include increased disability sector capacity; a significantly enlarged workforce with appropriate skills; national quality standards; and a suite of common assessment tools.
Earlier this week, the newly-formed NDIS Advisory Group met to develop advice for the COAG Select Council on a work plan in relation to the proposed foundation reforms. The Advisory Group will consider forming expert groups on issues relating to the foundation reforms - some of which, such as assessment tools, will require considerable technical knowledge.
A Senior Officials Working Group, chaired by high-level officials from Federal Treasury and FaHCSIA, has also formed to support the COAG Select Council. 
The more ambitious implementation timetable is a welcome development, given the urgent need for disability services. But a concerted and coordinated effort will be required on many fronts to meet the timetable. The reform program commenced under the National Disability Agreement means that preparatory work is already under way, but it will have to accelerate and expand very significantly.
NDS is developing a paper on equipping disability service providers for the NDIS. It will outline the implications of the NDIS (and associated reforms) for disability service providers, identify pressure points, document current resources and projects available to assist service providers and recommend actions to bridge the gap between what is available and what is needed. 

Monday, October 17, 2011

WARRINGAH DISABILITY NEWSLETTER No 266 - 13/10/11


The newsletter starts with social tennis, wheelchair basketball, boccia, cricket match, dance, art exhibition.  It also has details on the Paralympic talent search, sport expo, mentoring for young artists, a youth leadership conference and Careflight’s movie sessions.  Parents and carers can attend several parenting forums (surviving Year 12, transitioning to high school, healthy relationships, Teen Triple P, after separation), introductions to CCP and TTW programs, statewide consultations for CALD carers, men’s cooking class.  There are also events for Carers Week (16-22 Oct) and Mental Health Week, as well as an invitation to register events for International Day for People with a Disability. 

Resources include books (autism, fathering), Social Work students for placements, Information and Privacy Commission brochures, Synergy Youth Centre, International White Cane Day.  Financial matters include fundraising from the Bob Waterer book , the Print Disability Scholarship and Seniors Grant, Vision Australia Further Education Bursary, and jobs for people with physical disability and a personal carer at Fighting Chance.  You are invited to support the NDIS, volunteer at the Junior Wheelies camp, provide feedback about the Caring for Older Australians report and on social inclusion for older people.

Workshops address support brokerage, play-based intervention for children with ADHD, supporting teens with disabilities in high school, improving life of people with disabilities, mediation and conflict resolution, relationships.  Short courses occur at IFP and CCWT, as well as at TAFE in Child Care.  There are also an AGM, and two conferences – on OHS and on supporting people with developmental disabilities.

Your comments and suggestions are welcome, as always!  The next newsletter will be sent on 27 October.

Regards, Marjorie Janz, Disability Information Officer, Warringah Council.
Located at Dee Why Library, Pittwater Road and St Davids Avenue, Dee Why NSW 2099.
Phone 9942 2686, fax 9942 2371.  Also janzm@warringah.nsw.gov.au.