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“Life Without Barriers lives up to its name – they’ve actually given me back my life. And I appreciate that because I didn’t think I ever would have a life as a person in a wheelchair.” Chris, Newcastle, NSW. |
The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) was launched in NSW in the Hunter area in July 2013, providing people with a disability more choice and control over their supports. In 2013 – 2014 we have supported 101 people across the Hunter and Lake Macquarie to transition to the NDIS, who have chosen us as their provider. Our Hunter team has worked closely with the National Disability Insurance Agency and several of our clients have spoken at conferences and other public events about the benefits of the Scheme. In addition we launched our Person-Centred Approach framework across the state to focus planning and service supports.
NSWs Aboriginal Cultural Support Planning was recognised in the 2014 “Shining a Light on Good Practice in NSW” report by NSW Family and Community Services, which highlighted good practice stories from child protection and Out Of Home Care. The story showcased LWBs Aboriginal Cultural Support Planning practice using an example of our work to reunite a young Aboriginal child in care in the Hunter region with her extended family.
The initial expansion established seven houses for up to 35 unaccompanied minors. In 2014, we transferred nine houses caring for 68 individual clients and at risk families from another provider. In establishing the program, we trained over 30 new staff and secured seven additional properties.
Our Therapeutic Residential Care service is an intensive, time-framed model of care built on a trauma-informed approach supporting the recovery of young people over 12 years of age in statutory care. These young people have life histories of abuse, neglect, family separation and multiple placement breakdowns, and consequently, display behavioural symptoms of complex trauma and attachment difficulties.
We operated 14 residential care homes throughout NSW in metropolitan and regional areas offering care to over 60 young people. Our residential care homes were staffed 24-hours a day by trained support workers, led by a committed House Manager. In Out Of Home Care (OOHC) generally, we continued to struggle to gain a view or collate information about how a child or groups of children fare in the NSW OOHC system.
