Information for families and friends of the people we support Wednesday 15 February 2023

Information for families and friends of the people we support

Update as at 15 February 2023

We hope that 2023 has started well for you. This newsletter will provide you with an update on NDIS Plan reviews and reassessments, our next forum dates, Functional Capacity Assessments and updating your contact details with us.

NDIS Plan Reviews are underway

The National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) is now progressing through NDIS Plan reviews and reassessments. This is a process between the NDIA, client and their family and decision-makers. DHS Disability Services will only be included in the review process when we are invited by you to participate. We welcome the opportunity to support you in this process — please let your DHS Disability Services Service Coordinator know when your NDIS Plan Review is happening and if you would like us to attend.

If you don't know the contact details of your Service Coordinator, please phone 1800 952 962 (and then press 3).

If updated information is needed to inform the NDIS Plan reassessment, a Functional Capacity Assessment may be required. Where this is the case, we are well underway with supporting our clients to participate in these assessments. Following the planning meeting you have with the NDIA Planner you will receive an email or written summary of the Home and Living decision. The NDIA will also be provided a copy of your new NDIS Plan. Please share this information with us to ensure we know what supports you have been funded to receive so we can continue to provide you the services you need.

We would like to continue providing you with support, so if you would like to continue receiving services from DHS we will arrange a time to discuss your goals and needs and then set up a new service agreement to have a clear record of what services you can expect to receive from us.

You are invited to DHS Disability Services Forums!

The next DHS Disability Services Forums will be in-person events and you are invited to join us. We will be talking through some important information at these events, so we encourage you to attend if possible. The list of dates and venues is shown below. If you are unable to attend, a recording of the event will be made available online.

Please RSVP to your relevant location below, so that we can confirm numbers. Light refreshments will be provided.

Recording of first forum

The first of these Forums for 2023 was held on Thursday, 19 January, and was an opportunity for you to hear more about the changes the service is going through as we work to be a fully operational NDIS provider.

If you weren’t able to participate in this session, a recording is available.

We look forward to catching-up with you in February and March.

Joe Young
Executive Director, Disability Services

Sarah White
Director, DHS Disability Services

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

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Working towards the NDIS

In November 2022, we provided you with some information about the changes happening in the service as we work towards being an NDIS service provider. You can review that video here.

Work on this journey has included:

• supporting NDIS Participants with their NDIS Plan review or reassessment with the NDIA
• implementing a service wide workforce management and rostering system, and
• we will shortly begin implementing a new service wide client information system.

These new systems support us being a fully operational NDIS service provider and continue to deliver modern, high-quality services to South Australians living with disability, long into the future.

We are in the final stages of being registered as an NDIS provider for a variety of services. From 1 July 2023, we will a NDIS registered provider of:

• Home and living supports – also called Supported Independent Living or SIL
• Community participation
• Positive behaviour supports
• Specialist Support Coordination and Support Coordination
• Access to nursing supports and allied health professionals
• Transportation.

Some of these supports will only be able to be delivered by NDIS registered providers, so it is great that we will be able to continue to offer these services into the future.

We will continue to keep you updated as this work continues, including at our monthly DHS Disability Services Forums.

The people we support

We were very pleased to join clients and staff in the western suburbs on Monday 9 January 2023, to celebrate a new Indigenous artwork that was created by Aboriginal artist, and DHS DS staff member, Michelle McAdams.

Michelle explained briefly how the artwork represents Aboriginal culture, and explained that the painting is called “Harmony”. She went on to explain “we all come together, we sit, we eat, we tell stories, and Harmony as one — the name of the painting. Kangaroo tails and witchetty grubs are symbolised, that people are sitting around and coming together.”

The fantastic piece will shortly be displayed at the Riverside Centre. The artwork has also been turned into t-shirts which were gifted to our Aboriginal clients and team at the celebration. It has been great to see clients wearing them proudly in the community. It was a wonderful celebration for all involved.

Updating your contact details with us

With many changes happening this year, we have lots of reasons to be in regular contact with you.

We regularly update the DHS Disability Services Family Update page on the DHS website and we are also sending newsletters by email. If it has been a while since you updated your contact details with the service, you can do this by speaking with your Service Coordinator or calling 1800 952 962 (and then press 3).

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How to contact us

If you have any queries you can:

• Contact your Service Coordinator or Team Leader
• Email us at AccomFeedback@sa.gov.au
• Phone us on 1800 952 962 (and then press 3)

If you know another family member or friend who would like to receive this e-newsletter, please encourage them to sign up via the DHS website or phone 1800 952 962.

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