Annual Report 2012 - Lifeline Darling Downs

Lifeline Darling Downs & South West Queensland Ltd 2012 Annual Report
Family Support Program
by Elysia Saunders, Family Support Worker
Family Support Program is a flexible, responsive method of supporting families who have
child/children with a disability (as defined by section 5 of the Disabilities Services Act 1992).
Supports and services are provided to assist families build their capacity to manage as a
family and care for their child/children. The aim of the Family Support Program is to support
the family with the extra costs of caring for a child with a disability and to build the family's
capacity to function more effectively as a family unit around the caring of the child/children
with a disability.
This is achieved by two means:
Planning and Coordinating Supports
The Family Support Worker works with the family to identify their current and future needs
and to make decisions about supports that are most appropriate.
Discretionary Funds
Discretionary funds are used to purchase a range of goods and services to meet the family's
needs around caring for their child/children with a disability. Discretionary funding is based
on a Support Plan, which identifies the family's goals and support needs and provides
detailed costing over and identified period of time e.g. 6 months. Each support plan will
allocate a portion of discretionary funds for that time and period and identify other supports
the family maybe accessing from other sources and supports.
The Team
Family Support Worker - Elysia Saunders (commenced November 2011).
Administration Officer - Betty Jones (commenced January 2012).
The Family Support Program is situated within Cluster 5 with Senior Practitioner, Anne
Lee.
The Family Support Program is State Government funded therefore sits with the State
Funded Program Managers, Kate Greener and Donna Lacey.
Achievements
There are currently 19 families being supported by the Family Support Program and
two registered vacancies with Disability Services.
There have been in excess of 230 client contacts this year.
In the past twelve months, 38 support plans have been developed.
The families currently on the program already have other support services in place
prior to current Family Support Worker commencing. This is a huge advantage for
families and the Family Support Worker in continuity of care and support.
Maintaining relationships and networks that have been previously achieved that
benefits the clients and the program.
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