2008/2009 Annual Report: click here
What is New
National Respite Conference
Recently held in Adelaide on October 27, 28, 29, 2009
Click here for Conference papers
Modernised Award.
The Australian Industrial Relations Commission has recently put out its Exposure Draft for the Modernised award covering Social, Community, Home Care, and Disability Services Industry. 2 key issues are the increase from 2 to 3 hours minimum engagement for casual staff, and the exclusion of Salary Packaging. In the Members section, under Letters to Governmnet, is our response to the Commission made on Thursday October 15.
Summary table of DADHC's 2009-10 Budget
In members Section under Resources
New DADHC Funding Agreement. Changes & Comments.
See Members Section Under Resources
For a Full List of Up-to-Date Member Queries, click on the link in the Left Hand Column.
DADHC
New Directions for Disability Respite Services in NSW
Discussion Paper.
DADHC has just released a Discussion Paper on its proposed new directions for disability respite services in NSW and is seeking some consulatation and feedback. This stems from the establishment of the new National Disability Agreement (replacing the CSTDA), the recent transfer of a few Federal based disability and respite programs over to the States, and the continued roll-out of Stronger Together
Consultations on this paper will be carried out through our upcomimg round of State regional meetings in May. These are listed in our March Newsletter.
click here to download the full copy of the Paper.
2008 State Respite & Social Support Conference.
The Beach Palace Hotel Coogee, Sydney.
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The Conference papers are now finalised and can be downloaded here in PDF format. This is all contained in 1 large document. If you have any problems in downloading this then please contact us and we shall try emailing it to you. Please click here
Carers Listening Post.
The consolidated report of the 10 Forums held in October, November, & December last year is now completed and accessible in the Members section under Respite Carers Forum
Maximising Client Access to Respite Support.
On Monday December 8 2008 at Port Macquarie, we convened a very successful seminar on Mapping & Networking respite providers. This was targeting providers operating in the Mid North Coast Region.
With an increase in Respite Funding Programs particularly through the Commonwealth Department of Families Housing Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA), there is an increase in respite service providers within all regions across NSW and hence additional respite support resources for clients to access. There is a plethora of different programs across the federal and state jurisdictions which makes it difficult for service providers (and of course clients) to understand the scope of the sector and the different boundaries for service provision.
The aim of this seminar was to bring together all the relevant respite providers and appropriate other stakeholders to map the specific service provision programs in this area and address issues of equitable client access, network & collaboration, and workforce service provision.
This seminar in Port Macquarie was attended by 20 service workers representing 15 different service providers. This included workers from mental health agencies and Aboriginal services.
Providers were both established ones who had been operating for many years with funding from old and established programs, and new providers who recently successful in acquiring Mental Health Respite funds, or funding from FaHCSIA’s Respite for Older Carers of Children with a Disability Program.
The seminar went for 4 hours and covered the following:
- Identifying Respite Funding Sources & Programs
- Identifying Key Program Guidelines
- Identifying respite services operating in the region
- How services network with each other
- Referral Pathways
- Workforce Issues.
The seminar was extremely valuable for mapping most local providers, the types of respite programs they operate, and who falls into their target group.
I have just completed the Session Notes (17 pages) which comprise of:
- The latest Respite Funding Landscape Map
- A table of all Respite Funding Programs and their key Program Guidelines
- A table of local services under their relevant Funding Program with their key LGA coverage, Target Group, Models they use, and current capacity
- Discussion notes of the day
- Latest list of Industry Models of Respite
All participants reported this as being a highly valuable exercise.
I now intend to take and run this in every region in the state as it also assists us in developing a more comprehensive map of service provision at a micro level.
State Conference 2008: Respite and Social Support.
Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday November 18, 19, & 20.
CONFERENCE CD-ROM to be ready in early January 2009
The Conference was held at the Beach Palace Hotel down on Coogee beach, Sydney.
The content was well received by the majority of those evaluating. In our evaluation rating form we asked for a 1 to 5 rating of four areas, these being:
Interest and Relevance - how would you rate the Information presented
Delivery - how would you rate the delivery method of the Presenter
Expectation - did it meet your expectations.
These are how each of the sessions and workshops rated:
Tuesday.
Mental Health Respite Skills:
Interest: 4.03. Relevance - 3.78. Delivery - 3.53 Expectation - 3.48.
Funding Model:
Interest: 3.14. Relevance - 3.35. Delivery - 3.04 Expectation - 2.72.
62% of respondents rated this in the 3 & 4 category, but on reflection it probably had minimal relevance to many workers who were not in organisational management positions.
Service Access System:
Interest: 3.98. Relevance - 3.92. Delivery - 3.83 Expectation - 3.74.
76% of respondents rated this in the 4 & 5 category, with sound being a bit of a problem.
The Drum Café:
Basically a big hit. Too many 5 ratings to add up and calculate
Wednesday:
ADHD & Dementia:
Interest: 4.00. Relevance - 3.65. Delivery - 2.98 Expectation - 3.64.
Although 75% of respondents rated it in the 4 & 5 category, there was a collection of people who were confronted by Phil’s forthrightness and challenge to the medical system. The reason I chose to present this perspective was that we are locked into a medical system and it is always healthy to hear different perspectives & approaches.
Carers Panel:
Interest: 4.58. Relevance - 4.55. Delivery - 4.44 Expectation - 4.51. The most popular plenary session.
Thursday:
Unmet Need:
Interest: 3.98. Relevance - 4.00. Delivery - 3.84 Expectation - 3.86.
Again sound and hearing was a problem for some in this session, but already we have had a few members following up with Terry to run workshops in their regions.
Workshops.
Homeothapy:
Interest: 4.52. Relevance - 4.31. Delivery - 4.12 Expectation - 4.35.
A good left field Choice.
Reminiscence:
Interest: 4.61. Relevance - 4.22. Delivery - 4.35 Expectation - 4.37.
Although only a small group in attendance at each session, this rated very well for those interested.
Disability & Sexuality:
Interest: 4.35. Relevance - 4.15. Delivery - 4.15 Expectation - 3.75.
The smell of the Disco room attracted a few comments here. It seemed o.k. the week prior.
Respite Co-ordination Groups:
Interest: 4.12. Relevance - 3.93. Delivery - 3.55 Expectation - 3.55.
Key comment here was that it was difficult to hear at times.
Coaching & Mentoring:
Interest: 4.14 Relevance - 4.19 Delivery - 3.92 Expectation - 3.95.
A lot of positive informal feedback from this as well and it is now intention, in conjunction with Claire Bishop, to try and pilot this across the state.
Younger Onset Dementia:
Interest: 4.14. Relevance - 4.21. Delivery - 4.07 Expectation - 4.07.
Very well rated with 85% of respondents rating it in the 4 & 5 category.
So overall, when you read the statistics and some of the unsolicitored comments received on my email, most people enjoyed it and took something useful away from it.
Carers Listening Post
We have now held 11 of these up to December 4, 2008.
By mid January 2009 the Consolidated report from all of these forums will be available for distribution, with copies being sent to the relevant State and Commonwealth Ministers & Departments.
Agenda and Content for these Forums was:
Who is Interchange Respite Care NSW
The Respite Forums of 2006: what we collected and where it was sent
The Service System landscape
Types of Respite support.
Your Reference Point: The Service System; Your Service Provider.
- Facilities & Resources
- Hours of Support
- Quality of Staff
- Information
- Costs
Carers Health & Wellbeing & Capacity to Care
Carers Respite Solutions & Suggestions
Carers Satisfaction Survey.
DADHC: Maintaining Respite Capacity Policy. Our Response.
The policy overall seems to be attempting and articulating a procedural response to a long term systemic problem that goes beyond just respite support. It does not address the real issue as to why respite beds are being blocked, and the lack of support options across a variety of areas in life which places increasing pressures and stress on some families and carers. The lack of respite, supported accommodation, and other supports are the key reasons as to why parents / carers relinquish care.
It is acknowledged that the Department has a problem within its facilities in that beds are blocked, but the response to this problem should not be with a focus on blaming carers or families for leaving their care recipients in care. Our full response is in the Members Section under Position Papers.
The new Minister Paul Lynch has recently announced that he will be taking a critical look at this policy, and the one on Accommodation, and has said that based on feedback so far, it is clear that some elements must be withdrawn or substantially altered.
Research Project: The Capacities of the Respite & Social Support Sector to Support people with a Mental Illness and their Carers:
The Mental Health Council of Australia Capacity Building Grants.
Grant Success – e-Learning comes to Sector
We would like to announce the success of a grant to increase the capacity of Respite and Social Support services to access e-learning opportunities through Interchange Respite Care (NSW) Incorporated. The application had three parts under the Mental Health Council of Australia Capacity Building Grants funded from FACSIA.
We have been funded for 3 particular projects. These being:
1: Title: e-Learning Carer Skills Recognition of Prior Learning and Training Program
Description: To modify the current Toolbox under Flexible Learning for Aged Care Guide for Recognition of Prior Learning and convert it Mental Health Carer Skills Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) and Recognition of Prior Experience (RPE) and identify extra units for completion of Competency based Units for completion of a qualification.
2: Title: Respite Mental Health Orientation Program for Induction of Staff and Carers
Description: The modification of a current package as produced by Interchange Respite Care (NSW) inc. Orientation or Induction is still a need for both carers and staff with specific concentration on Mental Health. It would also allow the program in Carer Participation and for staff training to be run online.
3: Title: Purchase of a Server Licence to allow independence from Recurrent Cost of leasing Adobe Connect Enterprise Server Licence
Description: Purchase of Adobe Connect Enterprise Server. This would increase autonomous development of Respite Training and Service provision across NSW and Australia in line with a strategic plan for respite across Australia. Meetings online and conferences could also be placed into this media with competency based assessment to assist services in their move to become a more learning organisation.
National HACC Forum.
‘Promoting Independence’.
This was convened by the Victorian Department of Human Services and attracted over 340 delegates (invitation only), to Melbourne for the 2 day Conference on Thursday / Friday February 21 & 22.
The focus of the National Forum was to examine the Well-Being and Re-enablement models of service support to frail older clients within the HACC program which have been developed and currently being utilized in Western Australia and Victoria. Similar models in existence in the UK and New Zealand were also showcased.
The thrust of the Key-note sessions was to highlight the growing demand for HACC services amongst the frail older demographic group, particularly for the service type needs of Personal Care and Domestic Assistance, and the need to engage and empower clients to develop or retain skills that will enable them to maintain a level of independence, and hence be less reliant on these two types of support.
It is clear that the relevant State government departments responsible for the HACC program in those states take a more flexible approach to the interpretation of the HACC Guidelines and negotiated Outcomes for local providers. These innovative approaches are driven not only by cost demands and levels of unmet need, but also by a shift to a more client-centred service approach.
Although promoting an innovative and new approach to service delivery, the National Forum was narrow in focusing on 1 part of the target group and the impact on 2/3 service types (Personal Care / Domestic Assistance / Social Support).
The following is the website address to the pre-conference information, along with the Speaker Presentations. http://www.haccforum08.com.au
Research Projects.
1. The Capacities of the Respite and Social Support sector to support people with a Mental Illness and their Carers.
Stage 1: We have collected data from Centrelink and now collated that into HACC planning regions, on population figures of who is in receipt of the Carers pension, Carers Allowance and Disability Support Pension. We sourced this data from Centrelink as information for members to gauge an estimation of the potential population group in their region, and perhaps a rough measurement on levels of unmet need.
We have undertaken research on the eligibility definition of population target groups across relevant funding programs. This has also encompassed disability eligibility definitions from Centrelink and the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Across HACC, CSTDA, and the NRCP programs, people with a psychiatric disability are part of our target group.
We are now looking at the core competencies required to support people with a mental illness and comparing these across the required core competencies in Disability and Aged care Certificate IV courses. In comparison to the Certificate IV in Mental Health (non clinical), there are at least 5 common competencies with a few others having similarities.
We have developed a Workforce Skills and Knowledge Needs survey which we are initially distributing and trialling at the Regional Briefing Sessions.
Studenst and Interested Researchers.
We are seeking a list of interested staff, managers, and management committee that are interested in the research above as outlined.
Some of your staff will as part of their employment been granted study leave and might do assignments on their respite workplaces. If staff are doing this type of work we would appreciate if they could email their assignments to us for collection and collating into a body of work. They might also send the assignment explanation worksheet as well.
Should staff wish to participate in specific research in respite we have a number of interrelated research topics that they could do some of their assignments on to assist us in this development phase. Please give them my email and telephone number above.
If you have connections to the various student placement supervisors or lecturers interested in this field could you also forward our contact details to them such that we might make contact and enhance our sector wide capability.
Working with Children Check - Criminal Record Check. The Queensland Blue Card System.
The Working with Children Check has been an issue for a number of members here in NSW for some time. Our problem is of course that the NSW Commission for Children & Young People will only undertake this for paid employees. Additionally, organizations have to undertake separate checks, and processes, for Criminal Record Checks on prospective staff or volunteers.
We have now undertaken some research on the Queensland system and will be endeavouring to have this adopted nationally.
Service Description Schedules.
December 2007. Kevin Marron.
Very shortly we will be releasing a position paper for memebrs to use in their current negotiations over their Service Dwescription Schedules. DADHC is considering block bulking a variety of program monies services currently receive under sigle program service types, rather than itemising this by program funding models as has been done historically. This maybe advantageous so long as there is more fredom to deliver the type of support your clients need and the agreed outputs are acceptable.
More information shortly.
HACC Respite Guidelines
September 2007 by Kevin Marron
The HACC Respite service type Guidelines have recently been released by DADHC following the protracted review which commenced in 2004. This is just an 11 page document which has been greatly contracted from the 64 page drafts circulating this time last year.
Read more »
HACC Social Support Guidelines
September 2007 by Kevin Marron
The HACC Social Support service type Guidelines have recently been released by DADHC following the protracted review which commenced in 2004. This is just an 11 page document which has been greatly contracted from the 64 page drafts circulating this time last year. Read more »
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