Practice Guide – Children at risk of
requiring accommodation outside the family home
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Contents
Practice Guide – Children at risk of requiring accommodation outside the family home ………. 1
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Purpose ………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 4
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To be used by ………………………………………………………………………………………………. 4
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Scope ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 4
3.1 Out of scope ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 4
3.2 Guiding overarching statements …………………………………………………………………… 5
- Identifying if the child’s living arrangements are at risk ……………………………………….. 5
4.1 Child characteristics……………………………………………………………………………………. 5
4.2 Family characteristics …………………………………………………………………………………. 6
4.3 Indicators ………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 6
4.4 Joint decision making between the Agency and states and territories ………………… 7
- Early intervention supports …………………………………………………………………………….. 7
5.1 Early childhood participants (under 7 years of age) …………………………………………. 8
5.2 Crisis response ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 8
- Child representatives and guardians ………………………………………………………………… 9
6.1 Parental child representatives ……………………………………………………………………… 9
6.2 Other child representatives ………………………………………………………………………….. 9
6.3 Self-representation …………………………………………………………………………………….. 9
- Pre-planning ………………………………………………………………………………………………… 9
7.1 Verifying identity and recording consent ………………………………………………………… 9
7.2 Pre-planning checklist ……………………………………………………………………………….. 10
7.3 The planning conversation …………………………………………………………………………. 10
7.4 Participant goals ………………………………………………………………………………………. 12
7.5 Streaming ……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 12
7.6 Family Outcomes Questionnaire ………………………………………………………………… 13
- Planning …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 13
8.1 Core supports ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 13
8.2 Capacity Building supports ………………………………………………………………………… 15
8.3 Safeguards ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 17
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8. Capital supports
8.5 Transition planning for children aged 16-17 requiring early interventions supports.
9. Case examples
9.1 John
9.2 Outcome
9.3 Michael
10. Plan management
11. Plan implementation
11.1 Handover to support coordinator
11.2 Plan monitoring
12. Supporting material
13. Feedback
14. Version change control
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Purpose
The purpose of this Practice Guide is to support you to identify and plan (first plan and review) for the child participant (child) who is at risk of requiring accommodation outside the family home due to their high disability support needs.
This is not a standalone document and should be used in conjunction with the following planning resources:
- Practice Guide – Participants Streamed as Intensive or Super Intensive
- Practice Guide – Complex Support Needs Pathway
- Practice Guide – Children Living in a Formal Voluntary Arrangement Outside Their Family Home
- Practice Guide – Determine Reasonable and Necessary Supports
- Standard Operating Procedure – Determine Reasonable and Necessary Supports
- Practice Guide - Positive Behaviour Support and Behaviours of Concern.
To be used by
- Plan Developers
- NDIS Planners
- NDIS Partners in the Community (Early Childhood Partners and Local Area Coordinators [LACs])
- NDIA Plan Delegates.
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Children at risk of requiring accommodation outside the family home
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8.2 Capacity Building supports
Include reasonable and necessary disability-related capacity building funded supports in the child’s plan as guided in the Practice Guide - Determine Reasonable and Necessary Supports.
The below will guide you through the additional considerations for capacity building supports when the child is living outside the family home or is at risk of requiring accommodation outside of the family home.
8.2.1 Support Coordination
8.2.1.1 Coordination of supports
The role of the support coordinator is to assist with and strengthen the child’s (families) ability to implement and coordinate the supports they require in their everyday life relating to their disability. These supports include informal, mainstream and community supports as well as NDIS funded supports. It aims to support a participant to participate more fully in the community. Support coordinators should work alongside any mainstream supports in the participant’s life (e.g. child protection case worker) to maximise outcomes.
8.2.1.2 Specialist support coordination
In cases where an early intervention approach is required, the appointment of a specialist support coordinator may be required to assist the family to access and engage with the supports and providers required to maintain care of their child.
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The role of a specialist support coordinator is to assist the child to manage challenges in their own support environment and ensure consistent delivery of service. This support is time limited, focusing on specific outcomes such as:
- Identifying housing solutions to support a young person to transition to adulthood including planning for the transition to independent living (if the child’s goal).
- Identifying strategies and solutions for managing risks such as school expulsion or non-attendance over extended periods. This includes the coordination of family, education and stakeholders to develop and implement programs and practices to build relationships that link the child to learning/education.
- Identifying and sourcing relevant assessment and associated service design for participants with risk behaviours and behaviours of concern (inclusive of restrictive practice reporting to the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission).
- Participation in any case conferencing arranged by state and territory services if there is a need to coordinate the participants disability supports with mainstream services.
- Capturing and presentation of required data for the Agency.
Specialist support coordination should be included in the plan as a stated support unless there are identified risks such as limited availability of specialist support coordinators in the area. If it is likely that when the child may require accommodation outside their family home in the near future and is receiving additional NDIS funding for supports on that basis, they will need specialist support coordination to help utilise that funding to access the disability supports identified.
Refer to Standard Operating Procedure – Include Support Coordination in a Plan for further information.
8.2.2 Behavioural intervention support
Some children may require supports to address behaviours of concern (risk to self or others and/or 1:1 (or higher) funded supports that are greater than 30% of the day). Behaviour intervention and support is a vital inclusion if there are behaviours of concern that are impacting on the family dynamic to a point that the child is at risk of requiring accommodation outside the family home.
You should include strategies to support behaviour intervention to build capacity within the family and encourage family engagement for children at risk. In some cases, the behaviours of concern are significant and have resulted in the child not being able to spend time with family without high levels of support. Consider if behavioural supports can be included so the child can remain living safely in the family home.
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Supports Recommended
These supports are recommended to:
- support the child’s safety and wellbeing
- promote options for increasing the child’s capacity, community and mainstream connections to achieve plan goals
- ensure long term sustainability of the child’s plan and informal support systems.
As the child’s capacity increases over time, you would expect to see a reduction in the intensity and level of 1:1 (or higher e.g. 2:1) supports (greater than 30%) however, this will depend on the individual circumstances.
It may be reasonable and necessary to include behaviour supports in conjunction with other supports, such as STA for a temporary period, to allow a family/carer to continue to provide care for the child. Concurrent supports may be a successful early intervention strategy for highly complex situations where the child’s care placement is at risk of breakdown.
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11.1 Handover to support coordinator
When sending your Request for Service to the support coordinator (coordination of supports or specialist support coordinator) chosen by the parents/child representative/s, make sure you include your contact details and request the support coordinator contacts you to arrange a handover.
The process for referral will depend on whether the provider is registered or unregistered. Some support coordinators will be unregistered, however all specialist support coordinators will be registered.
For registered providers, refer to Standard Operating Procedure – Request for Service and for unregistered providers refer to Request for Service – Non-Registered Support Coordination Providers.
Arrange a face to face (where possible) handover to the support coordinator/s, with the parents/child representative present. You should discuss:
- How the plan was developed.
- Who they need to liaise with to implement the plan and the responsibilities of all parties.
- How the plan can be used flexibly to meet the child’s goals and how to monitor plan utilisation and make sure the plan can be fully utilised for the period of the plan.
- The roles of the specialist support coordinator and the coordinator of supports.
- Arrange regular checkpoints, in advance, to track progress and to make sure the plan is being implemented in line with the child’s goals. This will provide opportunity to address any concerns the family or coordinators may have but will also promote effective plan utilisation.
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11.2 Plan monitoring
The support coordinator will work with the child representative to monitor the plan usage, resolve any issues that arise and liaise with providers, other government services and the NDIS as required. Increased monitoring may be required to review the supports provided and ensure they are meeting the needs of the participant.
At the 12 week check-in meeting you will be able to monitor the plan usage and talk through any concerns with the child representative/s and the support coordinator.
If you identify an over utilisation of funding which may put the child at risk of running out of funding in one or more areas of their plan, work with the child representative/s and support coordinator to identify why there is an over utilisation. Arrange regular check-ins as required.
11.2.1 Critical incidents and safeguarding
If you are advised or have evidence of risks or abuse/neglect related to the child, this is considered to be a participant critical incident and you must take action consistent with the NDIS Act (which limits the circumstances in which the NDIA can disclose information) and with working arrangements with states and territories.
Refer to the Participant Critical Incident Framework for further information on this process and discuss your concerns with your manager to agree on and take appropriate action. Record an interaction detailing the crisis circumstances and actions taken in the System and an alert added if required. If you are unsure whether an incident should be notified, contact National Participant Incident Team. Ensure the specialist support coordinator and/or support coordinator is aware of the situation and is also responding to support the child.
Registered providers deliver NDIS supports and the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission regulates and monitors provider performance.
11.2.2 Change of circumstances
Where there is a significant change in circumstances which means the child may require additional funding based on their disability-related support needs, the specialist support coordinator and/or support coordinator is expected to support the child representative to request a plan review.
For example, a change of residential setting or accommodation provider, an extended hospital stay or significant or repeated school suspension.
Where there is risk to the child or their family and an early intervention approach is required, an Agency initiated unscheduled review may be necessary so a new plan can be expedited and any additional support needs included as soon as possible.
This may include where the safety and wellbeing of the child or their family is significantly at risk and immediate and additional supports are required. Refer to Standard Operating Procedure - Create a Plan Review Request and follow the guidance in this practice guide.
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12. Supporting material
- National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013
- National Disability Insurance Scheme (Restrictive Practices and Behaviour Support) Rules 2018
- Planning Operational Guideline
- Specialist Disability Accommodation Operational Guideline
- Child Representatives Operational Guideline
- Including Specific Types of Supports in Plans Operational Guideline
- NDIS Quality and Safeguard Commission
- National Principles for Child Safe Organisations
13. Feedback
If you have any feedback about this Practice Guide please email Service Guidance and Practice. In your email, remember to include the title of the resource you are referring to and to describe your suggestion or issue concisely.
14. Version change control
| Version No | Amende d by | Brief Description of Change | Status | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.0 | CRG656 | Class 1 approval | APPROVED | 2020-06-26 |
| Complex Support Needs Branch endorsed updates to referral process using new interaction template. | ||||
| 5.0 | CRG656 | Class 1 approval | APPROVED | 2020-07-09 |
| Guidance strengthened to ensure children at risk of requiring accommodation outside the family home are referred to the CSN Branch. |
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