With the introduction of Disability Care Australia

We should learn to think of the possibilities . . .  

Sorting fact from fiction

The still seems to be many to be many misconceptions around the introduction of  Disability Care Australia so the best place to go for information is their website.  It is important to remember the scheme is early trial stages to find out what works and what doesn't. From July 1 2014 the scheme will be rolled out across the country and start up dates vary depending on where you live. 

The future for people living with disabilities and their families now looks much brighter, as we prepare to have a greater say in what our lives will look like and how we want to engage in our community. For the 420 000 estimated Australian who will benefit from the Introduction od Disability Care Australia that will look very different on the ground.  It is very difficult to imagine a system of care that is so individualized. In 12 months time we will see examples of how some of the trail participants are using their funding different to prior to July 1 2013 and I find that exciting.

I hope we see some people engaging in their communities in way we've not seen before.  I hope we find new ways of supporting people to achieve their dreams or the dreams the have for their son or daughter. 

I hope we are able to open up a new world of possibilities for all Australians, not just a few.  All Australians have the right to make the same types of decisions regardless or the type of impairment or the level of impairment. The NDIS message continues to be the same Every Australian Counts.

Disability Care Australian is not a restructure of the disability support sector.  It is a revolution in the way we view people living with disabilities, it is a system not based on limitations but possibilities. Especially in it emphasis on early intervention program.  OK so not every child will be able to walk.  As we explore the possibilities we must to learn to recognize our individual limits.

But we must all take responsibility to build an accessible Australia.  

    

relovuation

Introduction to DisabilityCare Australia

Accessibility in an Inclusive Society

Living for a revolution . . . for many the introduction of the NDIS is nothing more than a change is the way the support needs of those living with disability.  However, the ideals of the NDIS campaign extend far beyond providing support for people needs.  The induction of Disability Care Australia signals an end to funding based on which box you tick and what your impairment prevents you from doing.

The driving force behind its introduction is to see a rise in the participation rates of people with disabilities and the family members who provide primary unpaid care. Until now Australian society has played lip service to the social inclusion of people living with disabilities. Having a family member acquire a disability or a child being born with a disability can be just a social isolating for the carers and siblings of the person with impairment.

Often the only social inclusion for a sibling of a child with disabilities is there schooling.  As parents care for the child who has special needs, other siblings are deprivation of attention.  Providing care can also meaning siblings miss out on activities such as music or sporting activities.  Where a sibling has a behavioural or social disability, inclusion in community activities can be impossible with out respite care.

As we focus on the possibilities under Disability Care Australia, The biggest access we much overcome is our disabling attitudes.  For too long in our society we have hidden those with disabilities and their families way in small pockets of our community under the cover of 'speacialness'.   There is nothing inclusive about activities that only 'special people' can participate in. Things like S-trope (the 'S' is 'special) and supported workshops in my own community spring to mind.  Programs that are inclusive driven be participating in what are everyday community activities, but adaptive for those with specific needs.  While many of these activities have played a vital role in building a person's self esteem. The also contribute to social isolation of those living with disability.

By far our biggest challenge to full social inclusion is a society and communities that are largely inaccessible to many people whose lives are impacted by disability.   Accessible society are much more than ramps, parking and toilet amenities for those who struggle with mobility issues.  Australian communities are so far behind the eight ball when it comes to accessibility communities.  This is the number one barrier we need to address if we are to bridge the divide in terms of social  inclusion.

While our public admendities, transport systems, public schools, universities, finical institutions, sporting and recreational facilities and places of cultural interests continue to be inaccessible to any Australian residents, measures to build social inclusion levels in our local communities will be hard fought for.  Whether inaccessibility is physical or attitudinal in nature the barriers still need to be torn down and torn down quickly. 

When it comes to creating accessible communities Australia lags on the lower bottom of the ladder in the Western World in so many areas.  One of the social targets for the NDIS is employment of people with disabilities.  With work places inaccessible to many Australians to ensure reform targets for employment are meet, we must address these issues.  Changing social policy with addressing access issues can not build an inclusive society.

Currently the Australian economy is one of the healthiest in the world and yet we rate 21st out of 28 in the development counties for the employment of people with disability. People whose lives are impacted by disability in Australia are more likely to be living on the poverty line than in other Western countries. We as Australians should feel ashamed of this recorded. I expect in true Aussie style we live happily unaware of these embarrassing figures

For me these statics reflect our failure to value all Australians are equal.  Our attitudes continue to limit the opportunities we offer to those with certain impairments.  Those not expected or encourage to perform and push the boundaries beyond what is possible will continue to under-perform. If you expect people with disabilities to step up to the bar, can I suggest we at least stop lowering the bar so low that all require of these Australians to step over it.

That is indeed what we do every time we create an artificial community in which the is no real competition measure success.  If we want our children to thrive in a competitive community we set a standard and ask the child to me it.  Unless he or she has a disability and then we say, just do your best.  By not encouraging them to search for success in the same way as other children, instead labeling them is 'special', we are leading them into a life of mediocrity, dependency, social isolation and propriety. We unwitting have decide their lives are best that way and 'they don't know any better.

These attitudes, values and standards are not present in many other Western Countries. All children are required to attend school.  A child with special needs given appropriate support can attend a public school. In the united States where the bar for these children are the same height as any other child, they are out performing their Australian counterparts. We have a huge leap to make before see full employment for people with disabilities.

We are unlikely to accept any attempts by employers for tokenism and the underemployment of the past.  With the NDIS revolution rolling out across country, all employers should feel put on noticed.  The federal government has set the wheels in motion, so to speak to give people the support they need to be at work on time.  Employers are now duty bound to make sure their worker places are accessible for any Australian who may or may not have a disability.

As we seen with the CEO of Myers, one of the largest retail chains in Australia the days of make excuses for the inability to employ some living with disability are number.  Australia its time for all of us to raise the bar and expect more of ourselves.

Count us all in!

Mislad information around the NDIS causing unnecessary pain

Errh! The media! Firstly to be fair the media and especially social media has been a real alley in the NDIS now known as Disability Care Australia which was launch, in five states across Australia under trial status. 

Monday provided due celebrations for thousands of Australians who worked and campaigned for many years for one single funding system to provide the support, therapy, and equipment needs for Australians living with Disability.

However Monday was only the beginning . . . in NSW, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and the North Territory and only a few thousand people will be given the opportunity to transition from the current funding arrangements to a federal funded support package under the direction of Disability Care Australia in the first 12 months.

Yes, we have every reason to celebrate that between now and July 2019 around 420 000 Australians living with Disability and their families will be empowered to have a greater choice about how the want there support needs to be meet, who the would like to meet those needs and the times the wish to be supported to  have a shower.

While Disability Care Australia gives hope to hundreds of thousands of Australians either currently affected by impairments or who will acquire a disability before the age of 65, its introduction means different things to different Australians.  For those who have never had support and struggled to purchase equipment an access specialized therapy, the fairness of the system brings renewed hope.  The same eligibility applies for all Australian, well not quite WA is still play hard ball and I can't imagine the hard ache of those who live in WA with disability.

As I talk to people with disability. their families, parents of adult children, support workers and carers and those who simply support a true fair system of funding for everyone affected by disability, I am gob smacked at some of beliefs that are held. But I am angered that non service users particular support workers think things have change.  That with the wave of  a woad, years of miss management by state government can be undone!  

The monument of the commencement of Disability Care Australian  has sadly left many uniformed and sadly incorrect information seems to spread faster than the information people need to know.  My suggestion is for all the up date inform on launch dates, eligibility and employment opportunity you go directly to the Disability Care Australia Website.     

Hence my feeling a little bit aggro with the media.  Psychological studies show the people on retain 10% of the information we receive. So by human nature we will retain the information the competes most for our attention. So this week its been Disability Care Commence on July 1. As I shared early in the week for some Queenslanders this has been confusion been added to be changes in funding at state level. 

Disabilities Services Queensland funding has been at a dysfunctional level for a number of years, due to its faulty foundations and to date on band aide solutions have been found. Currently Queenslanders living with disbility and their families are funded by a number of different types of packages. For example Individual packages, post school packages, family packages, block funding and now self-directed funding under the growing stronger policy. 

Its a very confusing and frustrating time for everyone in the sector:  employees, clients, families, carers and and administrators. Basically for the next 3 years were tread water and try to hold on for the hope for the future that Disability Care Australia holds.

The introduction of Self - Directed funding through the Growing Stronger Policies  - is a recognition be the Queensland government that people living with disability want a greater say in the way they are supported. 

Essentially the commencement and eventually everyone being supported by Disability Care Australia aims to bring giver greater choice and flexibility to those living with disability.  We will see an end to administrators deciding what is appropriate support and a move towards support being given to achieve the goals of people living with disability.  

For the majority this will see a major change in the way people access there support, but for those who a happy with how things are working for their family, nothing needs to change.  Under Disability Care Australia as long as your services continues to maintain Disability Service Standards they will continue to operate. Changes to the way you are support will only occur if you want them to change.

This shift in the way people are funded and support is perhaps the larges reform we have seen in Australia since the introduction of medicare and the regulation of health services and deliver. Such a monuments change in service delivery can not occur over night.  The are many thoughts and ideas out their regarding what families and clients want to achieve.  We need to get this right, to change everyone at once is dangerous and irresponsible.

With a change in service delivery, we need new ways of providing safety measures for clients, families and support workers.  These must be careful thought through.  We may need new laws to protect people unable to protect themselves.  We need specialize advocates, OT's and physios to be trained in the areas people tell us they want to access. 

Some of the people we support experience major communication difficulties to ensure these people are being enable to achieve there goals and living a life style of their choice will take months. Remember we want to undertake this very individual approach for 420 000 Australians and many will receive support for the first time. 

We are giving people the right to make informed choices about their care, where the live and the activities they chose to engange in for the first time many of these people are in their 40's and 50's the right to be empowered to make choices for their lives are foreign and changes need to occur slowly to ensure cohesion and exploitation do not occur.

We can not predict what people with chose, we do not know fully what all the risk this new system will bring. Remember giving people the power to make real choices about there live means, they for the first time will feel the consequences, so safe grands need to be build into the Disability Care Australia system.  We do not want to do that without careful monitoring, case studies and time to make adjustments.  

To ensure this is a first class method of delivering support to those who need it we need every part of the next 6 years. So please the best place to correct you have the correct information is Disability Care Australia Website.

By all means share in the celebrates of this historical time in our Australian history, but at the same time don't get caught in the confusion and media hype. Be checking with the links I've added to my tool bar and join their relevant twitter and facebook pages. 

Access Funding For Disability Support Needs

The journey up the mountain as we build a fairer system to support people with disabilities, their families and those who provide care will be fought with difficulties as I set out to highlight yesterday. The concepts of Disability Care Australia, remain unclear for many.

Some people in the community are still unsure about their personal eligibility for the scheme. You can nor check your eligibility on the Disability Care Australia website by answering a few simple questions. 

It is important to remember the commencement of Disability Care Australia will be different in each state, to find out information about your area you should check the website of check with a local disability service provider.

On all area of Australia have joined the scheme we will have A National Standard of Disability Care. It is important that we understand from this point forward we are all responsible to ensure these standards are meet.  If we want to maintain these national standards and ensure everyone remains protected under this knew system we, clients, families, caregivers, support workers, staff at organisational level, management  governance level and government departments must demand best practices in the workplace.

To be well supported we much give excellence in supporting our support workers, through protecting their rights, maintaining work, health and safety standards at all times, pay award wages and follow award pay structures. Sure we all want value for money to stretch our funding dollar, but their are times when spending our funding on staff training and ensuring the well being of our staff will be a wise investment.  Just as staff are known by the reputation so are we clients.  In a market driven industry, based on supply and demand to attract quality support workers you want a A+ rating as a client, family and/or employer. 

The launch my seem like a long way off in Queensland, but the time to prepare for a future is now. The scheme will see clients, families and carers being empowered to make choices for themselves on how they wish to be support.  The family may choose to do the personal care for there family member so they may spending more time in the community.  Remember one of the main goals of Disability Care is to increase peoples involvement in the community.

People will also have a greater say in who will support them.  No matter where the live they can chose which services they want to access.  If a service is not providing the types of supports they want to access the are able to approach other services, use a generic or use a brokerage to employ staff directly.  Disability Care will see clients accessing different services, doing different activities to what the have previously done, trying some new things, learning knew skills, and exploring new pathways of being supported. It will be an exciting time of learning and exploring together.

Change even when it is positive can be frightening, so if you frighten and feeling unsure about your future, you are not alone. A good sense of fear can be helpful and make us more cautious. When we are cautious we often check things out better and explore all the risks and that's what we need to do as we prepare for a future being funded and supported by Disability Care Australia.

Now is the time to ask lots of questions and go exploring.  Talk to other people, find out how the do things.  Try to do some different things to see if you or your family member likes it then you can decide if it something you want to build into your support package.  If you like what you do now and just need more help to achieve you goals, that's ok too! 

This is your life and Disability Care is about enabling you to make the right choices for your life.  You might want to think about where you live.  You might like where you live But will you want to live then in 5 . . . 10 years time? Do you always want to live where you libe now or might you want to more  at some stage? It's ok not to know the answers but its good to explore and dream a little too.

Moving and where we live has been something many people with disability because of lack of funding, or opportunity or low incomes or other family commitments or the wrong type of accommodation to suit you particular needs, has not made choosing where and with whom you live possible. That's the other thing about Disability Care Australia you make discover new possibilities open up for you. 

So get round and talk with your friends see what types of things their thinking of doing in the future.  Ask your support provider if the think the will offer anything different when Disability Care starts.  Jump on the internet and see what are services are doing.  The more questions you ask, the more people you talk with and share ideas with you more ready you be when Disability Care Australian commences in your area.

If you live in Queensland and your discussing funding, self-directed funding or Disability Care Australia that you understand,(a) how you are funded on July 1 2013; (b) which level of goverment you are funded by; (c) all state and HACC funding will change once Disability Care commences in 2016 in Queensland.

At present any funding being assigned before July 2016 is not under the banner of Disability Care Australia and paid for by the agreements  made by state and federal goverments to be funded by the medicare level recently.  When you feel confused find a support person who knows you and your family well and ask for help.  You may like to find an advocate or  mentor to assist you in your journey.  

They journey towards changing to Disability Care Australia is best take with people you know and who know you well.  Whether your a client, a family member, a carer, a guardian  a support worker, paid carer, work for an organisation, an agency manager, or in a governance position this is one journey I don't advise you take alone.   

I  am not an expert on Disability Care Australia, much of what I write is base on the changes I expect to occur in my home state of Queensland.  It is important you understand the changes that will occur in you area and the key dates.  Always refer to the Disability Care Website and talk to people in you network.  I started to up links up on my tool bar to the right.  If you want to recommend a link or need assistance to find something email me. Together we can make this journey.