Early Intervention Parent Newsletter – August 2017
Early Intervention ParentNewsletter
Issue 9 – August2017
This newsletter provides updates on early intervention services for families accessing the Helping Children with Autism (HCWA) or Better Start for Children with Disability (Better Start) programs. These programs have so far assisted more than 67,000 children and delivered over $524 million in early intervention services and support.
In this issue:
Helpdesk operating hours and contact details
Reminders
National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)
Early Childhood Early Intervention Approach
NDIS roll-out and transition
WA NDIS
Helping Children with Autism (HCWA) and Better Start and NDIS Roll-out
Turning Seven
Medicare items
Prepayment of therapy sessions
Other information
Early Days Workshops
Translating and Interpreting Services (TIS)
AUSLAN
CRC Autism - Transitioning to School Tip Sheet
DSS Early Intervention Helpdesk contact details and operating hours
The DSS Early Intervention Helpdesk is located in Perth and can be contacted on 1800 778 581 (toll free) or by emailing.Please have your child’s Customer Reference Number handy before you call.
Staff are available Monday to Friday between:
AWST (Perth) time – 9:00 am to 12:30 pm and 1:30 pm to 4:30 pm
AEST – 11:00 am to 2:30 pm 3:30 pm to 6:30 pm
Reminders
Updating your contact details
If you have recently moved house and/or changed the email address for your Family Activity Statement (FAS), remember to update your contact details by getting in touch with your local Autism Association or Better Start Registration and Information Service (Carers Australia) Office,as the Helpdesk is unable to do this.
Monitoring your child’s early intervention spending
Parents and/or carers are responsible for monitoring their child’s HCWA or Better Start spending.
Each month DSS generates a Family Activity Statement (FAS) for each child who has had a claim processed during the previous month. Details on the FAS include the balance of remaining funds.
Sometimes there may be a delay in the service provider lodging the claim, which means the balances shown on the FAS may not be accurate. So ensure you keep your own expenditure records.
Issues and complaints
If you have any issues or complaints about your child’s therapy, talk with your service provider.
However, if you are not able to resolve the issue to your satisfaction, send an email outlining your concerns to . In your email, advise whether you will consent to us contacting your service provider and disclosing your child’s details during our investigation of the issue.
Feedback
We would love to hear about your child’s success with early interventions. You can email your story to the Early Intervention Helpdesk and let us know if you are happy for your story to be published.
Perhaps there is a topic you would like to see covered in future issues of this newsletter. We are always happy to receive suggestions to ensure this newsletter provides the information you need.
National Disability Insurance Scheme
The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is rolling out in more places across Australia (except in Western Australia). It continues to provide support for Australians with disability, their families and carers.The full-out of the scheme is expected to be completed by June 2020.
The NDIS does not differentiate between types of disability. People with disability will be able to access assistance under the scheme to meet their needs if their disability is permanent and significantly affects their communication, mobility, self-care or self-management. The supports provided may vary as they will be tailored to each person’s individual needs.
Oncethe NDIS is in place, Australians with significant and permanent disability will be able to access necessary supports based on their functional needs, rather than on a specific diagnosis. The scheme recognises that disability can be for a lifetime, and takes a lifelong approach to providing care and support. This means an individual’s plan looks not only at their immediate needs, but also across the course of their life
Early Childhood Early Intervention Approach
The Early Childhood Early Intervention (ECEI) Approach is how the NDIS is working with Early Childhood Providers to deliver early childhood intervention for children aged 0-6 years.
The aim of ECEI is to ensure that parents or primary caregivers are able to provide young children who have developmental delay or disabilities with experiences and opportunities that help them gain and use the functional skills they need to participate meaningfully in their environment.
The National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) recognises that timely access to best-practice early childhood intervention is vital for children with developmental delay or disability to ensure that they achieve the best possible outcomes throughout their life. The ECEI Approach aims to ensure children are provided with the right level of support at the right time for the right length of time.
Working in collaboration with sector experts, evidence-based research has been used to design ECEI as a family-centred approach. The NDIA will engage Early Childhood Providers around Australia, called Early Childhood Partners, who will use their clinical and specialist expertise in Early Childhood Intervention to understand the child’s developmental delay or disability and the impact on their everyday functioning.
Together they will identify goals and, using their expertise, the Early Childhood Partner will discuss evidence-based supports that can help meet the goals of the child and the family. The Early Childhood Partners enable the NDIS to be implemented at a community level.
What is happening with the NDIS roll-out and transition?
Roll-out of the full scheme started progressively from July 2016. People will enter the NDIS at different times through the next few years. In some states and the Northern Territory, the NDIS will be rolled out by area, while in others people will enter by age groups.
- Australian Capital Territory
- New South Wales
- Northern Territory
- Queensland
- South Australia
- Tasmania
- Victoria
- Western Australia
What is happening to the NDIS in Western Australia?
TheWestern Australian Governmentis currentlyconsideringhow the NDIS will be implemented in WA. Interim arrangements are in place to guide the operations of both NDIS and WA NDIS trial sites.. For information from the Western Australian Government about the WA NDIS please click on the link:WA NDIS.
For information on the roll-out of the national NDIS in WA, please click on the Western Australian link above.
If you live in either a WA NDIS, or a national NDIS site and are not receiving services through the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA), you should test your eligibility with the WA NDIS and transition into the WA scheme as soon as possible.
Once the Western Australian Government announces its decision, the arrangements may change.
What happens to HCWA and Better Start clients as the NDIS rolls out?
Funding for the HCWA and Better Start programs is transitioning to the NDIS. This will happen gradually. Some areas have already been closed to new registrations for HCWA and Better Start, and others will close as the NDIS is rolled out. Registrations for the programs in NDIS sites close one month after an Early Childhood Partner becomes operational in the site.
If you live in an area that has not transitioned to the NDIS, you are still able to register for HCWA and Better Start.
If you live in an area that has transitioned to the NDIS and your child is currently receiving funding through HCWA or Better Start, you will be contacted by the Early Childhood Partner or the NDIA so they can begin to gather information anddiscuss the next steps. These meetings will be scheduled over time through a transition period.
The Early Childhood Partner will support you to determine the most appropriate pathway for your child and family. Your funding will not cease until the date your child’s NDIS support plan is approved, or until your child has exited the program, whichever happens first. If your child is deemed not to be eligible for the NDIS, then they will receive continuity of support from the Commonwealth, which in the medium terms means they will stay in their current program.
If you have questions or concerns, you can make contact with the Early Childhood Partner in your area.
It is very important that the Department of Social Services (DSS) has your up to date contact details, so that an Early Childhood Partner can get in contact with you. To update your details, contact your Autism Advisor (for HCWA) or Registration and Information Service Office (for Better Start).
Please note: Early Childhood Partners are not being established in remote and very remotelocations. If you live in one of these locations, contact the NDIA through the call centre on 1800 800 110 as you will be supported by the Regional Hub when the NDIS rolls out in your area.
If you live in an area that has transitioned to the NDIS and registrations to HCWA and Better Start have closed, or your child is about to exit HCWA or Better Start, you are able to self-refer to your local Early Childhood Partner. A list of Partners is available on the NDIS website at www.ndis.gov.au/ecei. You can also make contact with the NDIA through the call centre on 1800800110 and you will be directed to an Early Childhood Partner in your local area.
The Partner will discuss with you the most appropriate supports that would benefit your child. This includes providing information and referral to other support services or organisations. Understanding that every child is different, the Early Childhood Partner will tailor the supports to your child and family’s individual needs and circumstances.
They will also identify children who require urgent assistance. For children who require more long-term Early Childhood Intervention supports, they will provide assistance to access the NDIS and, if eligible, support the development of an NDIS plan.
Planning conversations will be managed in line with the agreed phasing schedule in each region. While a family is waiting for a planning conversation, the Early Childhood Partner can provide initial supports, including linkages to mainstream and community services.
Information about withdrawing or declining NDIS Plans
We have been informed that some parents maybe declining to meet with an Early Childhood Early Intervention (ECEI) partner or declining to transition to the NDIS when deemed eligible. Instead these parents are intending to remain on HCWA or Better Start until they have spent their funding. If you are one of these parents, it is important that you note the following information:
1)Families who are deemed ineligible for the NDIS and are being supported by the ECEI do not lose their access to HCWA or Better Start funding. They can continue to access HCWA or Better Start until they have expended all funds or until their child turns 7, even though they are also being supported by the ECEI partner.
2)Families who are deemed eligible for the NDIS will continue to receive HCWA or Better Start funding until they have an approved NDIS plan in place. Once an approved plan is in place, families can start accessing their NDIS funding.This is the point when their access to HCWA or Better Start funding ceases.
3)Families who are deemed eligible for the NDIS do not have a choice to remain on HCWA or Better Start. They are required to transition to the NDIS.
4)Families who deliberately delay their child’s transition to the NDIS run the risk of creating a gap in services for their child and further delaying their child’s access to support and services through the NDIS.
Are you getting the right advice?
The Department hasbeen madeaware that some service providersmaybeproviding misinformation to parents, suggesting they should spend all their funding available under HCWA and Better Start before requesting access to the NDIS. We do not encourage families to do this.
It can take up to a few months with an Early Childhood Partner to receive an approved NDIS support plan for your child. If you delay access to the NDIS until after you have exhausted all your child’s HCWA and Better Start funding, there may be a gap between services for your child.
What if my child is found to be ineligible for funding through the NDIS?
If your child cannot access the NDIS (or NDIS WA in relevant areas of Western Australia) they will remain on HCWA or Better Start under their current arrangements.
Process for newly diagnosed children
The HCWA and Better Start programs will be closing to new applicantsone month after the NDIS ECEI Approach is available in an area. Families with newly diagnosed children should contact their local Early Childhood Partner for support and appropriate referrals. This information is available on the NDIS website or by contacting the NDIA on 1800 800 110.
More information
The DSS Early Intervention Helpdesk can assist with more information on transitioning from the HCWA and Better Start programs to the NDIS and WA NDIS. The Helpdesk can be contacted on1800 778 581 or by email at .
You can also view frequently asked questions about the transition to the NDIS by visiting our website at DSS Early Intervention and the NDIS.
If you need help with translating or interpreting when contacting the NDIS, call the Translating and Interpreting Service on 131 450.
We are encouraging service providers to register with the NDIS and WA NDIS to ensure continuous care for children transitioning to the NDIS.
Turning seven
If your child is about to turn seven, or you think you have accessed the full amount of early intervention funding, contact your local Autism Association or Registration and Information Service Office. A link to these services can be found here. They can offer advice on other services and support within your area such as Medicare options, state and territory government services, and the NDIS.
If your child has exited the HCWA or Better Start programs after turning seven, you need to contact the NDIA on 1800 800 110 to request access to the NDIS.
Medicare items
Children under the age of 13 can access HCWA and Better Start Medicare items available for assessment, diagnosis and the creation of a treatment and management plan. Once a treatment and management plan is in place, items are available for sessions with a range of allied health professionals including psychologists, speech pathologists and occupational therapists.
The services include:
- up to four diagnostic / assessment services to assist the referring practitioner with diagnosis or to contribute to a child’s treatment and management plan (for a child under 13)
- up to 20 treatment sessions (for a child under 15, providing they have a treatment and management plan in place by 13).
You do not need to be registered with HCWA or Better Start to use these Medicare items.
More information, including specific Medicare item numbers, can be found via the links below:
Medicare items – Helping Children with Autism
Medicare items – Better Start for Children with Disability
For enquiries about eligibility, claiming, fees and rebates, call the Department of Human Services (Medicare) on 132 011.
No prepayment of therapy sessions
A reminder that service providers are not permitted to arrange for pre-payment of services or to charge in advance. Please note that this is against the programs’ operational guidelines. Service providers should only arrange for payments for services already delivered and approved for claiming by the parent or carer.
Other information
Early Day Workshops
Early Days Workshops provide information about flexible and tailored support for parents and carers of children with disability, including those from diverse cultural and Indigenous backgrounds, and those living in rural and remote areas.
For more information about HCWA workshops, contact the Autism Association in your state or territory.
For more information about Better Start workshops, contact Carers Australia on 1800242636 or First Steps Alliance via the Better Start Early Days website.
Translating and Interpreting Services (TIS)
Contact the TIS on 131450 if you require a translating or interpreting service to communicate with your Autism Advisor, Better Start RIS Officer and/or Early Intervention Service Providers.
AUSLAN training for parents
If your child is eligible for Better Start, you may wish to use some of their early intervention resource funding to pay for attendance at an Auslan course. These can be run by a Registered Training Organisation (RTO) or DSS approved Auslan Training Provider.