Fantastic Opportunity to meet with John O'Brien for individuals and families

Michaela Kennedy brings this to our attention:

We excited to be able to provide an amazing opportunity to meet with two of the world's original innovators in supporting people with disabilities to lead fully inclusive lives.  John O'Brien and his partner Connie Lyle-O'Brien.  This opportunity is specifically designed for individuals and families.

John and Connie are coming to Australia for a number of engagements and have offered us in Sydney this exclusive opportunity. 

During this time of change towards personalisation and new opportunities for individualised funding John and Connie will discuss their experiences from around the world during their practice of over 30 years.

Please share the attached flier with your members, friends and families and all those who have an interest in supporting the lives of people with disabilities and their families to be in their control.

Many thanks

Michaela

How People with Intellectual Disabilities and Their Families Are Building Better Communities

Thursday -­‐ 19 April 2012

Parliament House, Macquarie St, Sydney Theaterette 10am – 3pm. Morning Tea and Lunch Included Only -­‐ $15

Facilitated by John O’Brien and Connie Lyle-O’Brien (US)

People with intellectual disabilities and their families make contributions to community life that most experts never predicted. Their achievements have led to changes in policies and laws. But most still face a hard road to take their rightful place as respected, well-supported participants in schools, places of work and leisure, and civic and political life.

In this time together, we’ll explore some lessons from the stories of people and families who are making a positive difference in their communities.

John O’Brien learns about building more just and inclusive communities from people with disabilities, their families and their allies. He uses what he learns to advise people with disabilities and their families, advocacy groups, service providers, and governments and to spread the news among people interested in change by writing and through workshops. He is affiliated with the Center on Human Policy (USA). The National Development Team for Services to People with Learning Difficulties (UK), and the Marsha Forest Centre: Inclusion. Family. Community (Canada).

Connie Lyle O’Brien has spent the last 25 years learning about what it takes for people with disabilities, their families, friends and allies to better support people with disabilities to live, work, learn, worship and have fun as full participants in community life. In collaboration with her partner, John O’Brien, and other members of the Responsive Systems Associates network, Connie has developed methods for helping people learn about the principle of normalization through PASS, assisted people in implementing and evaluating citizen advocacy programs,
 developed Person Centred methods for planning and co-authored a variety of articles and manuscripts to assist people who are learning to develop effective service programs and build more competent communities.

WARRINGAH DISABILITY NEWSLETTER No 277- 23 March 2012

Hello!

 Today’s newsletter starts with the reminder that Daylight Saving Time ends on 1 April so change your smoke alarm battery and clocks!

Fun can be had at a disco, the Paralympic talent search, Boonah art classes, Lane Cove’s Walk around the World, CAN’s workshops on veggies and floral arrangements, powerchair soccer, boccia on regular or casual basis, sailing.  There is also a camp for anyone with neuromuscular disorders, a Facebook group for vision impaired adults, Easter events at Chatswood Social Club and advance notice of the popular Magic Mania in December.  Parents of younger children with special needs can attend Transition to School, and Stepping Stones/  There are also a grandparenting workshop, meetings for carers of people with depression or mental illness or dementia or hearing voices, men’s cooking courses and Open Day at the Men’s Shed.  There is also a Young Carers School Holiday program, events in Seniors Week, and the Circles of Support meeting.

Financial matters include a family fun day, Warringah Council’s grants program, grants for people with disability to attend conferences, the No Interest Loan Service, and several items of equipment.  Resources include another speech pathologist, a large Telelink program for vision impaired people, two booklets and a DVD.  The 2RPH radio station and talking newspapers assist vision impaired or print handicapped people.  Your participation is invited at NDIS rallies in Australian capital cities, nominating for the Arts Access award, research for younger onset dementia, and CPBusiness.

Information sessions and workshops focus on brain function, handling people and teams, sex education, suicide intervention skills, younger onset dementia, autism and Aspergers, exploring grief, mental health and intellectual disability, sensory integratin, caring for people with a spinal cord injury.  Several conferences focus on homelessness, mental health, creating opportunities for full lives, as well as the regional HACC forum.

And Sunday 25 March is the 10^th annual NEIGHBOUR DAY.

Your comments and suggestions are welcome, as always!  The next newsletter will be sent on 5 April 2012.

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

Sunnyfield Auxiliary Central Coast NOTICE of MEETING

The next meeting of the auxiliary will be held on Tuesday 27 March 2012

Note DAY   TUESDAY

Note commencement time     11.00am

Note Venue CLUB TUGGERAH

Bryant Avenue

TUGGERAH    (opposite Bunnings)

AGENDA

1. Welcome
2. Receipt of minutes of meeting 28 February 2012
3. Treasurer’s report

      4. Correspondence

1. Report by the Chairman:  Happenings since February
2. Presentation Anita has been, as an invited guest, to a press release announcing major changes to Government residences in Western Sydney. This information will be of significant interest to us given the influence of Stockton and Morisset on the provision of funding on the Hunter region (which is US). Anita will tell all.

7 General Business  

WE ARE TO HAVE OUR Annual general meeting in conjunction with this monthly meeting.  Now is the time for bright ideas, criticism, lofty visions and so on. PLEASE come along and be heard!

LOOKING FORWARD TO YOUR COMPANY

Coffee and tea  and biscuits as usual

A Story to warm the Heart

from Estelle Shields...

"Here's a story that combines both my passions - music and disability (and one hell of a father!)"


http://www.wimp.com/fatherdecade

WARRINGAH DISABILITY NEWSLETTER No 276 - 8 March 2012

Hello!

Today’s newsletter starts with two discos, special needs soccer, Northcott Senior swimming carnival, Paralympic Talent Search.  People can purchase early bird Easter Show tickets, and attend the SCIA independence expo.  Parents of children with special needs can attend the pampering and information sessions, the Dads are Great day, or dpen day at St Joseph’s in Narrabeen.  The Young Carer Leadership Program deadline has been extended, and siblings can attend school holiday programs with Centacare (VOLUME) or Northern Beaches Interchange.  There are also meetings about local services (in Italian, Spanish, Mandarin, Serbian) and about mental health services in the Northern Beaches.  A workshop on dealing with teen backchat, the Bradfield Park program for carers of people with mental illness, and counselling for carers of people with dementia complete this section.

Financial matters include grants from the NRMA and the IOOF Foundation, two fundraisers (Fighting Chance cricket, Angelman dinner and auction), a tender for OOHC placement services, low vision products on sale, and a manager position at Flintwood.  Proposals / applications for the Supported Living Fund must be received by 23 March.  Resources include the gadgability website, a counselling service for youth and families, orientation and mobility for children, and Level 4 social work students needing placements.  The first global World Down Syndrome Day will be held on 12 March.  Three useful guides address preparing for study and work, Microsoft accessibility features, and changes in Work Health and Safety Laws regarding volunteers.  Your participation is invited in voting for Project Local, nominations for Volunteer awards, participating in studies on transition for youth and for adults, a survey on inclusive technologies, health services in Hornsby Ku-ring-gai, and a change in the NSW Housing Register.

Information sessions address anxiety and depression, macular degeneration, learning difficulties, planning for later years, equal pay and SACS, adults with ADHD and addictions, mental health and disability.  Workshops focus on writing for the web, dual disability, sexuality and disability, mental health, focusing on boys’ and girls’ development, behaviour management.  Several conferences focus on Younger Onset Parkinson’s, Sport in building community, advocating for inclusion, turning research into action, non-profit organisations.  The Northern Beaches have the Mental Health Community Forum / Expo and the Northern Hub information day.  The MATE program enables family and carers to support people with disability in the water. Groups are being run on life after abuse, and family relationships. Training is offered by the IFP, HACC Development program, UnitingCare Mental Health.

And Sunday 25 March is the 10^th annual NEIGHBOUR DAY.

Your comments and suggestions are welcome, as always!  The next newsletter will be sent on 22 March 2012.

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

A disturbing summary about funding from the NDS

Need accelerates, while funding growth slows Funding growth of disability services by State and Territory governments has slowed and funding per disability employment service user is falling. At a time when the need for disability services is rising and the cost of providing services is increasing, these are concerning trends. According to the Productivity Commission's 'Report on Government Services 2012', State and Territory governments around Australia increased their funding of disability services, on average, by only 1.3% (in real terms) in 2010-11. This contrasts with the previous year in which expenditure grew by 8%. The growth rate varies among States, with Queensland experiencing the largest fall. Australian Government expenditure on the services it funds directly increased by 2.5%. Overall, governments increased their total real expenditure on disability services from $6.1 billion in 2009-10 to $6.2 billion in 2010-11. Tight fiscal circumstances go some way towards explaining the significant slow-down of expenditure growth. But some governments may also be taking their foot off the accelerator because they see a National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) approaching. If so, they are being short-sighted. The Australian Government announced the inquiry into long-term disability care and support in late 2009 and the Productivity Commission delivered its Final Report to the Government in July 2011. The Final Report recognises that funding needs to grow significantly during the development of the NDIS to avoid escalating the cost of the new system.  The Productivity Commission's Final Report recommends that the Australian Government fund the entire cost of the NDIS through a legislated formula which draws from consolidated revenue. It recommends that the Australian Government ceases making special purpose payments to the States and Territories through the National Disability Agreement and that it negotiates an arrangement with the States and Territories which requires them to reduce their taxes or (more likely) to transfer their existing spending commitment to the Australian Government (for allocation to the National Disability Insurance Premium Fund). Funding negotiations between levels of government are notoriously difficult and governments will haggle over where to set a benchmark for their 'existing spending commitment', particularly given the marked disparity across States and Territories in relative per capita funding levels. Lower spending States and Territories are looking to the Commonwealth to relieve them of the need to spend more and higher spending jurisdictions are concerned that an arrangement which locks in 'existing spending commitments' won't be equitable. Against the disturbing slow-down in funding growth, there is evidence that unmet need for support services is increasing. The 2009 ABS Survey of Disability Ageing and Carers shows a decline in the proportion of people with severe or profound disability who received help compared to the previous Survey in 2003. The fall is apparent across the full range of supports, from self-care, mobility and communication to transport and cognitive or emotional support. For example, in 2003, 91% of people 0-64 years who needed help with self-care reported receiving help; in 2009 this had dropped to 85%. In 2003, 95% received help with mobility; in 2009 this had fallen to 89%. There are other signs that growth in the service system is failing to keep pace with need. For every 100 Australians aged under 65 years with a severe or profound disability, fewer than 5 have access to any form of specialist disability accommodation support. In the two most recent reported years (2009 and 2010), this figure rose hardly at all, from 4.7 persons to 4.8.  While this slight growth represents an additional 1,072 accommodation service users across Australia, the potential service user population of people with severe and profound disability swelled by more than 12,400 in the same year. The growth rate in community access (day) services is similarly lethargic. Between 2009 and 2010, service users as a proportion of the potential population grew from 7.2% to 7.3% Australia-wide. Access to respite services rose slightly more, from 8.8% to 9.0%.  In this tight funding environment, service providers are being expected to do more with less. Real funding per disability employment service user is falling. Government funding per open employment service user was $4,545 in 2009-10; $4,593 the year before; and $4,759 in 2007-08. This decline in real funding would matter less if the compliance burden were light; but not even the Government would claim that this is so. It has recently established a review to reduce "unnecessary administration" of employment services. The RFT Exposure Draft for Employment Support Services released for comment in February indicates, unfortunately, that the Government has no intention of increasing fee levels before 2015.  This will ensure that real funding per service user continues to fall. Lifting Disability Employment Service fee levels to keep pace with the rising cost of service delivery was a key recommendation in NDS's 2012 Federal Budget submission (PDF 622KB, RTF 311KB). The new figures published in the Productivity Commission's 'Report on Government Services 2012' strengthen the case for this recommendation. Australian Disability Enterprises are also being squeezed. Real funding per supported employee fell from $10,147 in 2007-08 to $9,352 in 2009-10.  NDS's Federal Budget submission also sets out a strong case for realistic indexation of ADE funding. The ADE sector will be consulted shortly on the recommendations of last year's funding review (which KPMG undertook for FaHCSIA). Feedback from ADEs is essential before any decisions about a new funding model are made; and any new model needs to be built on a larger funding base.

Minutes of Meeting 18 Feb 2012

The minutes are attached below but can also be read here.

Thanks to Mark Clayton for additional docmentation on the Westwood Spice audit and recommendations not actioned plus the Family Focus Group questionnaire.  Please direct any questions on these to Mark Clayton at Sunnyfield.