Service, Support and Success: November 2016 issue

Service, Support and Success is a monthly international journal for direct support professionals, published in Canada. Each issue features a single substantive article focussed on a practical aspect of direct support.

As more staff are recruited to support people with disabilities with funding from the National Disability Insurance Scheme, they will be interested in locating such good quality resources, to establish good practice, and as education and training resources.

The journal is available free via email subscription or through a website (link below). Here is the link to the latest issue:

Deeply Frank: Getting Serious About Person-Centered Thinking 

Celine Parent, Tammy VanderWier, Elizabeth Wedderspoon, Service, Support and Success, Vol 5, Issue 11, November 2016
... What about if things change? What do we do if someone we support decides that they want to take a college class? Or join the local gym? How can we help them turn the unfamiliar into the familiar? How do we help them learn the routines and the social norms of this new place so that they can feel comfortable? ...

Answers to FAQ’s about the journal

1) The journal is intended to be widely distributed; you do not need permission to forward. You do need permission to publish in a newsletter or magazine.

2) You may subscribe by sending an email to dhingsburger@vitacls.org

3) We are accepting submissions. Email article ideas to either the address above or to anethercott@handstfhn.ca

4) We welcome feedback on any of the articles that appear here.

• Link to back issues of Service, Support and Success on the Vita Living Services website, here. Each issue is now available in both English and French. 

Webinar on self-directed support in Australia

Reserve your spot now at the In Charge webinar

Direct your support and live your life!

Wednesday November 5, 1-2pm AEST
Drawing on the personal experiences of people within the disability community who have worked to take control of their destiny, we are hosting an online seminar to help you discover what options are available. Hear firsthand how to make these choices reality.

In this one hour webinar you will hear from 3 people directing their own supports, including with the NDIS.

Our webinars are Live Captioned and have an AUSLAN interpreter.

Register here. 

Turnips and the NDIS ...

The Laughing Turnip
This short, original video was a hit with the audience when it was used as part of a service providers' conference presentation by Jackie Softly and Samantha Connor, this week in Sydney. 'The message, to service providers, is that rebranding and re jigging your agencies isn't enough if you're serving the same old services. People need choice and good information so they can make informed choices regarding their services under the NDIS.'

We can put you in touch with Jackie and Sam if you want to know more about their work (or to contact the actors for a project!).


With the advent of the NDIS and a new direction in self directed services, some service providers are choosing to do new things in a way that their customers want. But what happens when you 'rebrand' and keep the status quo?

Getting Started: My Choice Matters workshops

My Choice Matters is the $5 million consumer development fund set up by the NSW Government to support people with disability (aged 0-65) and their families in NSW to get the most out of the changes towards self-directed supports and individualised budgets.

In a My Choice Matters workshop, people with disability and family members share how they got started, how they learned stuff from what went right and also sometimes what went wrong. 

You will hear from people who have been managing their supports themselves about how they have taken on more control and exercised more choice.

Workshop dates and venues, May and June 2013:

Coffs Harbour Thursday 2 May 2013
Dubbo Wednesday 8 May 2013
Liverpool Friday 10 May 2013
Goulburn Thursday 16 May 2013

Hornsby Thursday 6 June 2013
Newcastle Thursday 27 June 2013

For further information about the workshops and how to register, visit the My Choice Matters website

Supported Living Fund seminars for Arabic speaking workers and families

Family Advocacy is working with Arab Council Australia 

to run free seminars for the Arabic speaking background community

The first seminar is targeted at Arabic speaking background community leaders and community workers to assist them to understand supported living and the Supported Living Fund so that they are well placed to assist  Arabic speaking background to apply on behalf of their son or daughter with disability.

Thursday 8 March

9:30am to 2:30pm (register from 9am)

Canterbury (venue confirmed upon registration)

This will be followed by 2 seminars for families that will be planned in conjunction with Arabic speaking background community workers who attend the first seminar.

For more information and to register, call 9869 0866 or 1800 620 588 or email enquiries@family‐advocacy.com

• Flyer -  registrations close Thursday 1 March

After school - what then? Family Advocacy workshops in Newcastle, Gosford, Blacktown and Burwood

This workshop is about preparation and planning for when a student with disability, who will need ongoing support, leaves school.

It is suitable for families of students who are approaching the end of high school.

Click here to view the flier with registration details for events across NSW in March 2012

Our members who have attended After school - what then workshops with Family Advocacy recommend them to other families.

National Disability Insurance Scheme progress stalled at COAG meeting

Stepehn Lunn and Sue O'Reilly report in today's Australian that last Thursday's Council of Australian Governments' meeting on the NDIS did not go well:

PROGRESS towards a no-fault national disability insurance scheme has stalled amid a standoff between the Gillard government and two state Coalition governments over whether start-up funding will be allocated in the May federal budget.

A meeting of federal and state disability ministers in Canberra last Thursday ended in acrimony and stalemate after federal Disability Reform Minister Jenny Macklin rejected Victorian and NSW ministers' demands for a guarantee in the federal budget, and confidential advice on how much is to be allocated. ... read on

Every Australian Counts campaign
NDIS government website

Self-directed funding - learning from the Canadians

Resourcing Families is a new initiative of Family Advocacy.

Creating Inclusive Lives – the Canadian Experience

This workshop is for families, friends and professionals interested in creating rich inclusive lives for people with developmental disability.

The workshop gives you the opportunity to:

· learn from many years of experience in self directed funding in Canada

· hear about strategies to build inclusive communities

· explore opportunities for post school life

· understand the value and importance of a vision in creating a rich life

This one day workshop includes presentations by family members and professionals who have a long history of supporting inclusion and self directed funding in Canada. It is a wonderful opportunity to learn directly from a large group of people who have experienced many years of self-directed funding in Canada, and will be particularly helpful as the NSW government has committed to making self-directed funding an options for all support by 1 July 2014.

Thursday 18th August 2011
Ryde Eastwood RSL Club, West Ryde

Registrations and payments must be received by 4th August 2011

Further information on the impressive list of speakers and options for concurrent sessions is available from the flyer/registration form, and from the Resourcing Families website.

Independent Support Brokerage - Two day Introduction Course

People with Disability is offering a substantial course on Independent Support Brokerage:

27 April–28 April 2011
9:30am–4:30pm

Cost: $250

Venue: Offices of Gilbert & Tobin, Level 37, 2 Park Street, Sydney

Stronger Together 2 has made a commitment to person-centred approaches, with people with disability given the option to use individualised funding to control the supports they receive. This policy recognises the role that Support Brokers will play in assisting people with disability, and their families and carers, to manage these individualised supports.

Join international experts Alison Short and Steve Dowson for this two-day course, as they provide you with a clear explanation of the international history of individualised funding, its principles and benefits, and the role of the support broker.

Places are limited so you will need to register quickly. For more information, visit the PWD website Alternatively, phone PWD on 02 9370 3100 or Toll Free: 1800 422 015.


For more information/registration: click here to download the flyer and registration form (Word 268kb)

Enquiries: Emmie emmieh@pwd.org.au