Family Update

Update as at 11 July 2023

Welcome to our July newsletter, it is hard to believe that we are already halfway through 2023! It has been another busy month as we finalise service summaries for clients under the NDIS.

Importantly, transitioning to deliver services under the NDIS does not stop us from continuing to work with clients who receive disability support funding through arrangements outside of the NDIS – like My Aged Care, Disability Support for Older Australians (DSOA) and Lifetime Support Scheme (LSS). The transition process means that the service continues to work with the clients we have previously supported, and we look forward to working with clients from a range of funding arrangements in the future.

For clients who receive funding through the NDIS, we have been in contact with many of you to confirm the services you would like DHS Disability Services to provide into the future. Thank you all for your efforts and support during this process.

We understand this process can mean you are provided with a lot of information and we will continue to be in regular contact with you to support you through this process. We invite you to attend one of the in-person forums we are hosting through July where we will be speaking in detail about service summaries and can answer any question you may have. You can find more information and RSVP to a location below in this newsletter. If you’re not able to make a Forum session, you can continue to keep up-to-date with information on the Family Update page of the DHS website, Family Update | DHS and if you have specific questions, you can speak directly to the Service Coordinator or by contacting the service using the contact information in this newsletter.

Although we have been experiencing some chilly weather lately, our clients continue to keep busy and get out and about in the community. Last week during NAIDOC Week, we joined staff and clients at Woodville Gardens for a smoking ceremony and lunch to celebrate the occasion, which was a lot of fun. Read more about this and other activities our clients have been up to, further down in this newsletter.

We hope to see you at one of our up-coming in-person forums in July.

Joe Young
Executive Director, DHS Disability Services

Sarah White
Director, DHS Disability Services

Julie Rogers
Director, Quality and Clinical Services, DHS Disability Services

Update as at 28 April 2023

Thank you to those of you who were able to join us at our recent forums that were held in Adelaide South and Adelaide North. It was great to see so many of you in person, discuss the transition process to receive services under the NDIS and answer your questions about the process. We are hosting another series of forums in a few weeks’ time which will be focused on DHS Disability Services Service Agreements and the services that you can receive from us under the NDIS.

NDIS Plans

Many of you have advised us you have taken part in a planning session with the NDIA and from this received a finalised NDIS plan. The plan will also contain Home and Living information, defining the support ratios, Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) levels and intensity of supports necessary for each client. We only receive a copy of the new NDIS Plan and the Home and Living Support letter if it is provided by you. Once you receive the Home and Living Support letter or the new plan, we ask you to please share these documents with us so we can work with you to define what support and services we can deliver to your family member or friend. 

The below graphic is an indication of the process that clients and decision makers are currently or will go through, transitioning to receiving services under the NDIS. This graphic is a general guide and these steps may be in a different sequence for some clients.

Services DHS Disability Services is registered to deliver 

Over 2023 we have been speaking to you about the different service areas we can now deliver because we are NDIS registered. In an NDIS Plan, funding has been separated into three separate categories – core supports, capacity building supports and capital supports. We want to explain how the services we deliver, can be funded through the NDIS Plan.

Core Supports 

Core Supports help you with everyday activities, your current disability related needs and to work towards your goals.

Where you have appropriate funding you can access the following core supports delivered by DHS Disability Services.

• Supported Independent Living
• Community Participation
• Transportation

Capacity Building Supports 

Capacity Building Supports help build your independence and skills to help you pursue your goals.

Where you have appropriate funding you can access the following capacity building supports, delivered by DHS Disability Services.

• Specialist Support Coordination and Support Coordination
• Positive Behaviour Supports
• Access to nursing supports and allied health professionals

Capital Supports 

Capital Supports include higher-cost pieces of assistive technology and equipment and funding for one-off purchases you may need. 

Where you have appropriate funding you can access the following capital supports, delivered by DHS Disability Services.

• Assistive technology and equipment

We have been delivering many of these services to our clients under our current “in-kind” funding arrangements for many years. To continue delivering these services under the NDIS, we have had to undertake an accreditation process through the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commissions. This process in now complete and we are fully registered to deliver these services.

Service Agreements 

For NDIS Participants we support, who have a new NDIS Plan and there is agreement that it includes appropriate supports and funding – you will soon receive a proposed DHS Disability Services, Service Agreement. Your service agreement with DHS Disability Services will explain the services that will be provided by us and how they will be delivered. It includes details such as the start and end dates of the service, the frequency of the services, cost, payment arrangements, and responsibilities of the participant and us, as the service provider. Service Agreements help to ensure that participants receive high-quality, safe, and effective support services and there is a clear understanding about the support that will be delivered, by both parties.

Once we have shared the Service Agreement with you, you will have time to consider it and we will organise a time to meet with you to discuss it in greater detail. During this conversation you can discuss the services you would like DHS Disability Services to deliver. This meeting is an opportunity for you to ask questions, seek clarification and make changes. If you are happy with the proposed Service Agreement, it is also an opportunity to provide consent to the agreement.

We will be speaking about service agreements in more detail at our upcoming May forums, you can RSVP your attendance to your preferred location further down in this newsletter.

Joe Young
Executive Director, DHS Disability Services

Sarah White
Director, DHS Disability Services

Julie Rogers
Director, Quality and Clinical Services, DHS Disability Services

Update as at 6 April 2023

Thank you to everyone who joined our online Family Forum last week. It was great to have so many of you join in and hear about the next steps to support your loved one or friend to receive services delivered under the NDIS. We acknowledge this is a very busy time and thank you for taking the time to attend these forums.

We understand that a number of you have now had a planning meeting with the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA), as many of you informed us of this and we have now received some new NDIS Plans from you. We are not provided with the new NDIS Plan unless it is provided by you. These are important for us to continue to provide services to your friend or family member in line with their goals. So if you have not yet shared these NDIA documents with us, please email a copy to DHSDisabilityServices@sa.gov.au. If you have any questions, please call 1800 952 962 (and press 3).

Importantly, if you feel your friend or family member‘s NDIS Plan or Home and Living Support letter does not represent their support needs, please speak with your DHS Disability Services Service Coordinator, so that we can support further discussions with the NDIA.

Developing a Service Agreement

After an NDIS Plan is prepared by the NDIA, DHS Disability Services will develop a new Service Agreement for your consideration. This will define the supports funded by your new NDIS Plan, and who will deliver these services.

As an NDIS provider, we now have a number of services that NDIS Participants can access through DHS Disability Services: These include:

• Home and living supports – referred to as Supported Independent Living or SIL – provided by qualified disability support workers
• Community participation – personalised regular outings and activities in the community
• Positive behaviour supports – addressing behaviours of concern
• Access to nursing supports and allied health professionals – including nurses, occupational therapists, speech pathologists, psychologists and dieticians
• Specialist Support Coordination and Support Coordination – ensuring access and coordination of supports
• Transportation – access to vehicles for client appointments and activities
• Assistive technology and equipment  - we have previously provided in the past and will offer maintenance and new assistive technology and equipment.

In our upcoming forums we will be speaking in more detail about client’s Service Agreements and the services DHS Disability Services are registered to deliver to clients under the NDIS. You can register your attendance to a suitable forum location further down in this newsletter.  We look forward to seeing you at one of these events.

Joe Young
Executive Director, DHS Disability Services

Sarah White
Director, DHS Disability Services

Julie Rogers
Director, Quality and Clinical Services, DHS Disability Services

Update as at 30 March 2023

On Thursday, 30 March, a DHS Disability Services Family Forum was held, about the process that clients and decision-makers will experience when tranisitioning to recieving services under the NDIS (see . Information will be shared mainly on the first 3 steps of this process - Functional Capacity Assessment, NDIA making a decision for a Home and Living Outcome and NDIA planning meeting.

Future forums held in April and May will look at the final steps of this process, Service Agreement and Funding based on NDIS Plan.