Connecting kids with their worlds for more than 70 years. - Novita ...

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NATIONAL DISABILITY INSURANCE SCHEME WELCOMED N ovita Chief Executive, Glenn Rappensberg, has welcomed the announcement by the Australian Government that work has started with States and Territories on measures that will build the foundations for a National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). This followed the release of the Productivity Commission’s final 1,000 page report on Disability Care and Support. “The need to establish an NDIS has been advocated for by many thousands of people with disabilities, their families, carers and disability service providers around the nation for some time,” Mr Rappensberg said. “Novita Children’s Services made several submissions to the Productivity Commission during its consultation process on this important matter,” he said. The themes of its submissions included: • that all children and young people with disabilities should be eligible for inclusion within the NDIS • that services must be driven and empowered by people with disabilities • that rights based legislation be established for children and adults with disabilities • that disability services (support and care) for children must be personalised, caring and specialised, and • that funding must be equitable across Making SA ‘NDIS ready’ T he Australian Government has announced it will work with the South Australian Government on measures to help get the state ready for a National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). An NDIS will involve fundamental changes to the way disability care and support is provided in Australia. The scheme will make sure Australians with disability have access to the care and support they need to participate in society, no matter where they live, if they were born with a disability or how they acquired their disability. The South Australian Government has the nation, balanced by the desirability of having local assessments, community support and flexible responses, which are critical for children and adolescents with disability as they deal with changing life needs. “While the Australian Government’s announcement supporting the Productivity Commission’s vision is an important step forward, the Government has yet to endorse the recommendations or commit the additional funding required to implement the NDIS beyond an allocation of $10 million to support a newly established technical advisory group,” Mr Rappensberg said. “The Government has indicated that the implementation of the scheme undoubtedly will be complex and will take significant time to enact. The Productivity Commission sets out in its report that the scheme would be implemented in stages and not fully implemented until 2018-19. “The Productivity Commission concludes that while the cost of this scheme is estimated to be $6.5 billion above the current collective disability funding of the Commonwealth and State Governments, the social and economic returns will outweigh its cost.” Mr Rappensberg said the involvement of State and Territory governments will be critical in this reform. The South Australian made a commitment to move towards a model of individualised funding for people with disability that will lead to improving disability services and getting the State ‘NDIS ready’. As part of the critical design and development work needed to prepare for the launch of an NDIS, the Australian and South Australian governments will work together to: • coordinate the Commonwealth’s Better Start and Helping Children with Autism programs with South Australia’s early childhood intervention services, and • develop tools to help parents of children with disability make informed choices about the early intervention services they receive. This work will help to ensure that early intervention programs provided by various levels of government are coordinated and educate families about the array of service Government has said that “the State Government has given its in-principal support to the National Disability Insurance Scheme, however it will look to participate in further discussions on its delivery and funding. The concept of the NDIS would involve a fundamental change in the way disability services are provided, managed and funded.” The Australian Government has also recognised that for the not-for-profit disability services sector, an NDIS will be transformational change. As highlighted by National Disability Services, “this will require a much larger workforce appropriately skilled; and the gearing up of not-for-profit organisations to work effectively in a competitive, individualised funding environment. Meeting these challenges will require investment in building the capacity of the sector if the value of not-for-profit organisations in creating social capital is to be retained and strengthened.” The Productivity Commission’s final report can be found at http://www.pc.gov. au/projects/inquiry/disability-support/report Novita Children’s Services’ submissions can be found at http://www.novita.org.au/ Article/NewsDetail.aspxp=140&id=1761 Novita will continue to advocate for the needs of the children and young people and their families it serves. options available to them. This joint work will also inform the design of the NDIS by providing a practical example of how to give families the tools and support they need to make choices in the early years of a young person’s life. Research demonstrates that intervention in the early years can help children with disability prepare for school and lifelong learning. Throughout 2012, the Australian Government will work closely with state and territory governments, people with disability, their families and carers, service providers and the disability care and support workforce on the critical design and development work for an NDIS. Novita Children’s Services welcomes the South Australian Government’s commitment to improving the lives and choices of South Australians with a disability, their families and carers. 4
GRADUATES’ BIG DAY OUT T he graduates wore academic gowns and mortar boards, but there was something very different this time. They were all five years old. A unique graduation ceremony marked a special occasion for 34 young children and their families when the inaugural Age 5 Graduation Ceremony of the Home Interaction Program for Parents and Youngsters (HIPPY) took place at Novita’s Regency Park Centre, in December. HIPPY is a two-year home-based parenting and early childhood enrichment program targeting families with young children. Importantly, it operates in the heart of its community, meaning that it can be highly accessible to families, using the experiences and resources of families themselves to learn from one another. Long before children start school, they are constantly learning new things from their very first and most important teachers – their parents. And it’s this idea that is the cornerstone of HIPPY. By supporting parents and carers to create an active learning environment at home, HIPPY aims to give these youngsters the best possible start to their formal education, so they feel more confident and happy about starting school. It is family time well spent, with research clearly showing that not all children start school on an equal footing, and that those who begin school behind their peers will later struggle to catch up. Presenting each child with their Graduation Certificate, Novita Chief Executive, Glenn Rappensberg, said it was wonderful to see so many families and their children for the special celebration of achievement. “Novita Children’s Services has a long-standing reputation extending back more than 70 years of working with children living with disabilities. It was therefore a logical next step for Novita to work in partnership with the Brotherhood of St Laurence to engage a wider range of children and families in the conduct of the HIPPY Program at three sites in South Australia,” Glenn said. “And we are delighted that Novita’s HIPPY programs have been so well accepted within those communities. “By the end of 2012, 225 children and families will have been assisted by Novita’s three HIPPY programs. By the end of 2012, 225 children and families will have been assisted by Novita’s three HIPPY programs In 2009 and 2010 Novita successfully tendered to provide HIPPY in the South Australian suburbs of Mansfield Park, Davoren Park and Salisbury North. “I would like to acknowledge the funding provided by the Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations for HIPPY,” he said. “The Program was initially funded for five years from 2008 to 2012 but, earlier this year, the Federal Minister for Employment Participation and Childcare, Kate Ellis MP (above right), announced an extension to the Program in Mansfield Park and Davoren Park for an additional two years, from January 2012 to December 2013. Novita is very grateful for this recognition of the value of the Program to our clients.” In embracing the HIPPY Program, Novita is fulfilling that part of its Strategic Plan which stipulates that we will: “open our doors to new clients, new challenges and new solutions”. “I congratulate those children who graduated,” Glenn said. “This is a very important step for them. It is also a milestone for their families. I know that they are enormously proud of their children’s achievement. “For its part, Novita is delighted to have been a part of their journey.” 5
Page 1 and 2: THE OFFICIAL NOVITA NEWSLETTER / VO
Page 3: Greater choice for people with a di
Page 7 and 8: A special night FOR SPONSORS AND SU
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Connecting kids with their worlds for more than 70 years. - Novita ...

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