Engaging Suppport Workers under the ndis

 Every family and participant has the right to decide . . . 

 who comes into their home and who they 

trust to support them in the community.

So your new to receiving supports for your disability or a family member. You've just recieved your ndis plan and you have x dollars to spend on direct support. Where do you start?

Choose the types of direct supports you want?

• Respite support
• Day respite support
• Day activities support
• Social support in a group
• Social support one-on-one
• Community Access Support
• In-home Support
• Job coaching/Support
• Personal Care
• Transport

If your new to being able to access supports chances are you may not know what all the different types of support are and there are supports not listed here.  In your planning meeting you would of set your goals. This is the first clue to the type of support you might like to access. Let's look at these:-

1. Respite Support: This gives a full-time carer a break from providing care for someone. This support may occur in the home allowing the care givers some time out. In a day activity centre where the person with a disability does a number of activities in a group setting or a period where the person has a home away from home, the family might take a holiday during this time.
2. Respite Care Settings/Day Centre or Group Based Activities: These are where a number of people with disabilities are supported to do things together. Things like shopping, sports, physical activities, drama, arts & crafts, life skills and social activities.
3. In-home Supports: This might include assistance with daily living tasks such as showering and dressing, meal preparation, light house work, gardening or just things you enjoy doing at home. 
4. Community Access Support: This is where an individual support worker supports one individual to do things in their local community.  Things such as getting to and from school and work, attending medical appointments, attending mainstream groups such as guides, art and crafts groups, playing sports, attending a gym, swimming, doing things of interest to you, shopping, going to have a hair cut, going to the pub, attending a wedding, visiting a theme park or national park.  Basically this includes any activity your peers would enjoy.
5. Social Support:  This may occur individually or in a group - the choice is yours.  Some participants may use their social support to improve their socal skills or make new friends.  Some might choose to attend a social activity in a group organised by a disability support agency or they might have one on one support to go on a day trip or to the markets.  A popular type of social support activity is to attend a movie or go to a football game.  Social support includes any type of activity people do for enjoyment.
6. Job Support: This is support to find a job, to get to and from work, do some work experience, or assistance looking for work.

Hopefully this gives you some ideas of the types of activities you might like support to do.  Your choice of activities will come from your ndis plan goals, such as assistance to get your child to and from school. This may involve having assistance with getting your child dressed, feeding your child breakfast and putting them on the school bus or in a taxi.

At the time of your meeting with the planner you are asked how you want your plan to be managed.  Setting up the adminstration of your plan is the first step, as you can not access a service for support until you know what you ndis budget looks like.

The three basic choices were:- 

• ndis plan managed
• Host fund provider
• Self-managed

This choice will influnece how you engage your support workers.  Within these three choices their are a number of variations and each variation will enable you to engage your support workers in different ways. Regardless of how your plan is administrated every participant can engage support workers through a Disability Support Provider. 

However if your plan is ndis managed, then the only way you can access support workers is through an ndis registered plan provider. Traditionally this means that you could not self-direct and engage your own staff. However this is no longer true. There are now ndis disability support providers who assist you to directly engage workers.  See services like Mable and Hire Up. 

If you engage a third party to manage your package you have a choice on whether that provider supplies direct support staff or a different provider.  I have previously shared the pro and cons of accessing one provider to provide all your support needs (Choosing a support service) - You may find you are able to self-direct or partially self-direct your support staff using a host funds provider. 

For those who are able to self-manage their plan there is more flexibility. You are not limited to a ndis provider for your support service, you may like to access a cleaning service to clean the house, a home maintenance service and a food preparation company to cook.  Some people like the simplicity of having workers who can support them to do all tasks, while other engage workers that are skilled in specific areas.  It very much depends on your support needs and lifestyle. 

I personally work best with people who have a creative interest. They do not need to be artists like myself, they might show their creativity in other ways such as gardening. I find workers who do not share a creative interest do not enjoy working with me as much as workers who are creative.

So now you need to start thinking about the type of person who you would enjoy working with.  If you are wanting a support worker to support you to go swimming, you don't want a coach potato or someone who can't swim.  The coach poato might be great to go to the movies or the pub or even to do arts and craft. This is where deciding if you want a support worker for a specfic task or you want general workers to support you in a numbers of ways.

Regardless of how you access support from a support worker or a carer you will find that some support workers are selective with the type of supports they provide. (This occurs both with disability support organisations and workers you may seek to directly engage or employ). For example some support staff will not assist with personal care or transport you in their car. So you need to be very specific about the type of support you're seeking and the tasks required.  Some people will agree to anything, hoping to persuade you to do what they want to do later.

If you are self-directing your own supports you will need to develop job description(s). Some people like their workers to do all the roles or tasks they require, while other participants seek support workers to support with a particular part of their plan.

I also partially self-manage my own plan.  I engage support workers through an online platform that links participants and support workers, then they negotiate an arrangement between themselves. The workers are officially employed by this ndis registered organisation, so no matter how your plan is managed you change choose your own support team and effectively be self-directing or directing for a family member.

I have one key worker who assist me with self managing a team and looks after the roster, another member of the team looks after all the team training and updating my support plan and induction guide.  My key worker also assists me in recruiting new team members and management of all my ndis supports.  Although I can do this phone calls are diffcult due to my speech impairment.  It is quicker and easier to have her negotiate all my service agreements for me to approve and sign.

Other participants have support workers who just assist them in the home and then a team of workers who assist them to do different activities in the community.  You need to consider your lifestyle and your needs when you select how to structure your support team.  You can also ask for assistance to organise your supports in your plan.

At this stage you need to begin to develop a detailed support plan that spells out all your support needs, your expectations of support workers, an explanation of all tasks required, including descriptions and any specialised plans the support workers are required to follow, such as your personal care routine, medical emergency response plans and behaviour management plans.  If you have a supports coordinator or a coordinator through the disability support agency you have a service agreement with they will either write your support plan or work with you to write the plan.

For those who are self-directing through an agency, you will be able to access their templates to write your support plan.   These support plans form part of the service agreement or employment agreement you and the other party sign.  These are legally binding documents that all workers must follow.  They are not negotiable by individual workers, they are not guidelines and they certainly are not suggestions of how a worker provides supports.  If the unfortunate happens and an incident arises, if plans have not been followed workers may find the cannot claim work cover or sue in event of injury.

On that note if you are directly employing your own support team as an employer you are responsible to insure your own staff and ensure all entitlements are paid.  You can check these with employers services and the award.  The other way to directly engage workers is to pay or contract support workers who are self-employed and are responsible for their own insurances and taxation requirements.

Just an overview of how support workers can be engaged or employed:-

• Employed by a disability support organsiation that is ndis registered. A list of these are on the ndis website or you can ask your Local Area Coordinator to assist. 
• Work for an agency that supplies support staff to participants who are self-directing. 
• Work with a self-directing service to set up your own model for self-directing and engaging support staff.
• Employ support workers who are self-employed (have an ABN)
• Set-up your own service to employ your staff.  (apply for an ABN)

Another option that I have used is to engaged a number of different staff through different providers. This gives you more options and a wider pool to select your workers from.  Remember you have the right to withdraw from a service agreement, as long as you follow the terms for withdrawal in the service agreement. 

I have previously written blog posts explaining the purpose of service agreements, what they should contain and your rights. see Planning your ndis pathways.

So to find the right worker for you, you need:

1. A list of required supports.
2. How you will engage your support workers
3. Service agreement(s) or prepared employment agreements
4. A support plan
5. Job description(s)
6. Induction plan and/or staff training manuals 
7. A list of skills and qualities you are looking for in a support worker. (If you are advertising for a support worker or using a recuriment agency, include these in the advertisement)

The journey begins . . . 

Here are some tools

Things to include in your support plan

• Information about you (or the participants)- what daily life looks like, the activities you engage in, and your hobbies and interests including family members and emergency contacts.
• Information on your (or participants) disability and health conditions that will assist workers to deliver quality support.
• A skills audit - Something that clearly states where you (or the participant) can do or can't do and how support is needed. Some things I include are mobility, communication, medical summary, epilepsy support plan, emergency response plans, tasks list for in-home support, personal care plan and procedures, guidelines for community access.)
• Staff team culture
• Induction plan
• Training requirements.  

The clearer this can be, the less room for applicants to misunderstand the requirements and responsibilities of their role.  Signing and employment agreement means agreeing to follow the support plan.  My experience is staff interpret this document to suit themselves so the person responsible for coordinating supports needs to be firm.

Writing a Job Description

This will be needed if you are recruiting your own team members or placing a job on an online platform. When I began self-directing my own team I used a recruitment agency. I find there are loads of people looking for support work, particually students needing causal work. However, you want to ensure this person is a good fit for you or the participants needs and lifestyle!

Include a job title.  I intitally advertised for two postitions a Key Support Worker and a casual worker.  I found in being flexible in my recuriting I altered the job descriptions I offered to the successfully candidates.  Posting a 'job' on an online platform is a bit different as some of the screening is done for you.  Such as police and reference checks.  (Oh I never give out my address until I am sure I want this person in my home. It's find it good to meet the person in a park or library.)

I like to do my meet and greets in the community at The Retro Diner.  As I provide artwork for the diners walls.  It enbles the interested party to see the level of my artwork and veiw me in a working enviroment.

So you need to include:

• Job title
• Summary of duties
• Something about the type of person your looking for
• Any requirements such as a blue and yellow card, qualifications, 2 referees and a willingness to drive your own car. 
• I include I have a cat at work so workers with an allergy to cats are not suited to working with me.

 Something I might put on a online platform, or I even used successfully on Facebook is:

Crazy art loving cat women seeks casual support workers to complete her current support team.  To be suitable you need to be flexible with your work hours and have great availablity.  This postition will include work after 5 pm and on the weekends. 

I require assistance with housework, personal care, meal preparation, my physio program, shopping and growing my visual arts practise.  If you a crazy and love to laugh while your working; and can prove to me your loyal and reliable then message me to discuss my needs futher.  

Someone with a sense of homour or witty in important to me as I am a true larkin'. If this was a job add I be a lot more descriptived in the personal qualities I looking for.  I looking for someone who wants to get the job done and empower me to achieve my ndis goals, not take me out for coffee.  Although occasionally I like to do that to.   I have plenty of friends and I don't pay them buy the hour get me out the house. 

What is a service agreement?

Put simply it is an agreement or contract between you and the organisation or person you are engaging to provide your support. It states the specfic supports that will be provided and the costs of those supports (quote).  It outlines their responsibilites to you and your responsibilites to them for an agreed period of time.  It should also spell out the terms for seazing the agreement before the due date.

Although the agreement can be reviewed at anytime at the request of either party or termeniated imediately if either party acts concere to the terms and conditions. You do not need to have a 12 month agreement, it can be for any period of time and if you are new to recieving support I would recommend a short period between 8 to 12 weeks.

The Role the NDIS Plays

One of the roles of the NDIS is to assist individuals and families living with disabilities to access and participate in community life. I am an author, visual artist and disability advocate.  My current NDIS goals are to extend my visual art practise and build in roads for inclusion in the local art community.

In addition to navigating the NDIS 'red tape, traps and pot holes', I face many physical and attitudinal barriers in presenting my artwork to my intended audience.  

A specific goal for 2018/19 was to host a solo art exhibition in Brisbane this is a huge undertaking.  Art galleries tend to be older buildings with poor access, but I never let a few steps get in the way and my recent exhibition at Greaser Gallery was no exception. However I am not confined to my wheelchair and can manage with assistance to climb a few stairs. 

Greaser Gallery website assures interested parties it is accessible - this was not my experience.  Although the space has some access plus' if you experience a sensory disability or behavioural disability. 

Low lighting and the freedom to use the sound system to play music would make it a 'safe' environment for someone on the autism spectrum.  However even using the back entrance meant I needed to negotiate one step.  This is easily overcome by the use of a small portable ramp.  When we discuss access we are usually referring to 'physical features' of venues.  i.e. Do they have a toilet I can access. In Greaser's case 'no'.

As I work with other artists the major access issues they encounter are:-

1. Affordable accessible transport
2. Affordable venue space
3. Attitudinal barriers

Greaser hits the mark on all three of these issues, assuming the artist is able to access the train.  The location of venues can often prove more of an access issue then the physical appearance of a building. Many people with disabilities are reliant on taxis which often make accessing the community unaffordable or totally exhausting. Added to this is their work is often undervalued by those who represent them or their audience meaning their profit margins are lower than their peers. 

The space at Greaser Gallery current fees and their commissions are very low making their Gallery affordable to emerging artists.  Pricing on Brisbane Galleries revealed they are on average four times the cost of Ipswich and almost always, their commissions were higher.  

I found the Greaser staff lovely to work with, respectable and very encouraging.  As a visual artist I have the advantage of letting my work speak for itself.  My disability is only discovered after my artwork is accepted.  . . . Unless I need to make contact by phone.

This is where my ndis plan comes into play by addressing my individual access needs.  My key support worker acts as my PA and makes most of my work calls on my behalf and does a lot of my leg work so I can focus on producing artwork. 

Difficulties accessing the arts can occur way before the artist submits a proposal.  Even in the production process and accessing resources artists with disabilities are at significant disadvantage. Few have the ability or technology to research the art gallery market and many who are dependent on others - such as support staff are limited.  Few workers are serious about empowering participants to be part of the art community and they often play a significant role in artwork being under valued.  Some artists who are part of a studio run by support studios are not paid and do not own their own work. 

The creative work in producing an art piece has no value attached if it is produced as part of a day respite program.  I suggest these artists seek out supported art studios, which are staffed by quality art support workers who assist in promoting both the artists and their work.  Artists living with disabilities should seek the advice of their state peak body.  In Queensland that is Access Arts. 

Was honoured to have Pat Swell support my 

recent exhibition.  Pat is the CEO of Access Arts

here in Queensland and a fellow champion

for inclusion in the arts.

So many businesses and organisations only scratch the surface in addressing access issues for people with disability.  If the business community were to get serious about disability access then they would develop a Disability Action Plan.  This identifies the access issues their services present for those living with disability and outlines a plan to address each barrier over a period of time. The plan must also include a commitment to disability awareness training for all members of staff.  Due to costs that could be a 10 year plan or even a living document, this at least demonstrates a willingness to participate in building an inclusive community.

In the absence of disability action plans, there is no commitment to partnering with the NDIS to increase the social and economic participation of people living with disabilities. Many working in the disability sector itself have much to learn about empowering people to make their own choices and not letting their own prejudices and fears limit those they work with. 

My NDIS plan has played a major role to achieve my ambitions, art goals and contributing to social inclusion in roads in the Ipswich Art community. 

Arts Connect Ipswich

recipient of 

2019 Event of the Year

Australia Day Award 

Having YOUR Voice

art exhibition by artists with disabilities.

Reaching my ndis goals

Opening Night at Greaser Art Gallery

My name is Deb Chilton and I am a published author and poet and visual artist. On Sunday the 24th February I hosted my first Brisbane solo art exhibition.

With Pat Swell, the CEO of Access Arts

Every participants plan under the ndis is based on their personal or their family's goals.  Funding should not be about a person's disability nor directly related to their disability. Rather it is a plan to enable an individual or family to develop the life they want to live. So the participants goals should reflect, where they want to live and whom they want to live with, in most cases that will be the participants family, however there are some individuals who choose to live on their own or with friends. 

My home doubles as my art studio

My ndis goals are around extending my visual arts practise and building my audience. I am also invested in community inclusion and building a diverse arts community in Ipswich.  I achieve this through working with the local art community and some of my artwork explores my own thoughts on what that community should look like.

I also have goals around being independent and remaining safe and confident in the lifestyle I live.  Choice and choosing how you as a participant want to be supported is a key reform in the ndis.  My support needs are unique to my disabilities and I only require individual one on one support, some equipment and supports around enhancing my daily living to participate in the community. 

One of my physio hit outs

For me I achieve this through a range of therapies to keep me fit and active. Prior to the ndis I found being supported by traditional support services limiting and I wasn't able to utilise my support hours in the way I wanted. This has been the most significant change for me under the ndis and I now direct my own support team.  For me this means sourcing the people who I feel are best able to support me, choosing how my staff will be engaged,  organising my own roster.

With my support team meeting guess at my art exhibition

The ndis allows family and participants to choose how and who administrates their ndis package on their behalf. As I am self-employed and run a small business I was able to choose to partly self-manage my own plan and funding.  I have my key support worker assist me in this role.  My speech is a major communication barrier so my key worker makes most of my phone calls either with me or on my behalf.

The ndis should provide all participants and their families with more choices and flexibility, however my experience is you need to voice what you want constantly and sadly many traditional providers just want to work with every participant in the same way. This is not how the ndis was designed to function and you shouldn't be bullied into doing things the way services want. However my experience is it's a lot less energy to just go with the flow and my ideals are wavering. 

Engaging my own support workers, though platforms like Hire Up and individual contracts has given me the flexibility I needed to take my art practise to the next level. Most services operate during the week, however the majority of art activities I engage in are after hours. Transport has always been and still is a major access issue for myself and others with disabilities. With limited means of transport and the costs, people with disabilities still have limits placed on the activities they choose,  I am very blessed to have support staff who are flexible to make my work schedules work.

Spider Web Block Print

My major ndis goal to have my first solo exhibition in Brisbane was only possible because I stepped away from the traditional support services and the generosity of support staff who were willing to work outside the box. 

I am passionate about making this a reality for others in the years ahead.  The ndis may be new but there are many things about the ndis that need to be fixed and better funded.  I hope this post gives you and your family the courage to build the life you want to live.

Self directing, personal boundaries and the ndis

One of the many choices participants can now make under the National Disability Insurance Scheme is to self-direct their own supports team.  This can occur under a number of different models.

1. Some support services offer self-directive services.  This is where support workers are employed by the service to work with a specific participant.  The service I use offers several different ways to self-direct.  Having strong professional boundaries is important to me so I wanted policies and procedures to protect both my workers and myself.
2. There are new types of support services emerging as participants are encouraged and empowered to direct more of their supports.  Participants can completely self-direct through becoming a sole-trader with an ABN  (Australian Business Number) or they may contract workers who have an ABN. 
3. In addition to the staff I engage through the support service provider, I have been engaging staff through online platforms like Mable and Hire Up.  These companies offer the legal protections under their policies and procedures.  Participants agree to follow these when they sign their service agreements.  
4. If you are engaging your own support workers through their ABN or your own then I would recommend there be a written agreement of what happens if either party is injured, hurt or abused in anyway.  As an employer I want to ensure my staff feel valued and protected at work or they waver their right to compensation if they are injured.  These are some of the issues participants are not considering when they engage support staff.

When you're thinking about engaging your own worker, you need to be clear on:

1. The personal qualities of the worker.
2. The types of activities you will be doing together.
3. Will the worker be required to drive.
4. What hours are available and what is the pay rate.

Traditional providers have a screening process to ensure workers are trustworthy and will treat clients well.  As an individual you too can request your workers have police checks and road worthy certificates if you are traveling in their cars. It's all well and good to say your working partnership is based on trust and honesty, however when things go wrong, people become bitter and self protective. Sometimes things end up in court.  Policies and procedures of services are there to protect participants and support workers. 

What does a support worker do?

Under the ndis the support workers role is to empower participants to achieve their ndis goals. Historically Lifestyle Support Workers were carers or personal care attendants, depending on what the needs of the person with a disability were.  These workers had a 'care roll' and a sense of responsibility for their clients.  Today a 'carer' refers to an unpaid person who plays a caring role in the participants life. In most cases this is a parent or family member. A common community misconception is that all people with disabilities have carers. 

Carers are often legal guardians of adults over the age of 18 that need protection in some aspects of their life.  Usually in matters regarding money and the law.  Some people with disabilities for whatever reason prefer to use the public trust.  It doesn't matter who I am out and about with: a family member, friend or worker the general public assume it is a carer.  Over the years I have had all sorts of questions, including Do I need to call someone to check it's OK to spend $20?

Umm! They could try my cat!  However even if I did have a guardian I would not need to check for such a small amount. This poses a good question on what are the responsibilities of a support worker.

Every worker engaged to support a person with a disability has a responsibility and duty of care at all times. However, this is not a decision making role. Most support services are moving towards a participant centered approach, where the participant directs how a support shift is structured, not the worker.  In some cases this will be guided by a parent or carer. And a support plan will direct the areas in which the participant needs more guidance such as handling money, behavioural support or medication.  In these cases workers must follow the support plan or they are legally responsible.  

Support plans are not guidelines or suggestions the are legal documents that are part of service agreements.  If workers do not follow plans and things go wrong, they will be held legally responsible.  As representatives of an organisation they must carry out directives in the support plan.  Platforms such as Hire Up and Mable do have support plans for all participants, part of their agreement in using the platform is agreeing to activate the participants support plan. 

Even if you are directly employing your own workers you can attach a support plan to a contract or working agreement. Support always works best when expectations are clear. No matter who is the employer, the participant is paying them under the ndis. They are directing. 

Boundaries are the things in our lives that protect us and those we are with from harm. A fence is a good example of a boundary, if a fence is locked then people can not enter a property. If it is a pool fence this keeps children from drowning.  So all boundaries whether they are seen or unseen provide protection.  However, not all people have good boundaries, people still try to break into houses. If we are working with people who have poor boundaries we need to ensure out personal boundaries are strong .  I do not allow people to smoke on my property, not even my family.  That is a personal boundary I have that I may not share with others.

If a worker is employed through an organisation there will be a policy around this and in Queensland there is generally a no smoking in the work place rule. As a participants house is a work place you can not legally smoke in their home.  There is also a professional code of practice a support worker must follow, these are referred to as professional boundaries. When support staff work in a community setting organisations and individual employers rely on staff to do the right thing. 

For me boundaries all come down to one thing, respect.  I like to remind people that respect is a two way street.  If you want to be respected and trusted you need to be respectful.  'Trust of a participant is not a given, it must be earned.' Under self-direction agreements where trust is broken a participant is entitled to end the agreement. Ultimately this may be the protection they need to take. 

In my home I have three very simple rules:

1. Respect for self (Worker) - own your own values and beliefs, know what they are and do not use them to influence others. (participants or team members).
2. Respect for participants, their family and their homes - Think how you would feel having to let people into your home, your personal space and bedroom.  People with disabilities who need support have no choice. You need to respect their space. You do not need to interact every part of the shift, that is an invasion of privacy.  Participants don't want to hear your suggestions all the time, they want to be supported to live their own lives. 
3. Respect for other support workers or professionals in the participants lives, this may include family members. Your way of doing things is not the only way.  There is only really one right way,  the way you are directed.

To break any of my simple three rules means you will be asked to leave my house.  Likewise if you feel disrespected I would expect you to terminate a work agreement. In a ndis environment more and more we need to insist on good personal boundaries. 

In self-directing there should be not be an increased threat of harm to participants. My workers role is to empower me to achieve my ndis goals.