The Intensive Family Support Fundingprovides a wide range of flexible assistance to families/carers who provide support to ahousehold member with a disability. The primary aim of the Intensive Family Support is to build and enhance family well-being and strengthen family, carer and community relationships.
As a result of these flexible measures, individuals and their families/carers should be enabled to achieve the following outcomes:
- Existing and new relationships, community connections and support networks are supported, developed and enhanced.
- Individual and family/carer capacity are strengthened to promote and maintain a positive home environment.
- Independence of a person with a disability is facilitated, maintained and enhanced.
- Individuals, families and/or carers engage in community activities that are appropriate for the life course of the person with a disability, reflecting their cultural identity.
- Access to and inclusion in the community is increased.
TheIntensive Family SupportFramework is underpinned by the following principles:
- Intensive Family Support upholds the principles and objectives as outlined in the Western Australian Disability Services Act (1993) and the National Disability Services Standards.
- Intensive Family Support aims to supplement and complement the natural supports and other available resources provided by the individual, their family and/or carer.
- Intensive Family Support recognises the additional costs of living with a disability, whilst not subsuming the ordinary daily living costs borne by all families.
- Intensive Family Support provides a diverse range of flexible household supportsthat are individually tailored to meet the needs of a person with a disability and their family/carer.
- Intensive Family Support supports household members to provide support to the individual with a disability through recurrent funding strategies, which may incorporate initial one-off strategies as part of an integrated support strategy where the initiative:
- is integral to the overall support and funding plan;
- is a targeted, time-limited strategy and, therefore, will not be funded in an ongoing manner;
- builds the parent/carer/family member(s) care capabilities and capacities and will reduce their reliance upon formal supports; and
- is unable to be provided through alternative funding sources (with regard to equipment items), such as through the Community Aids and Equipment Program, or due to the care arrangements funded, the option requires a duplicate set of equipment to implement and sustain the option.
- Intensive Family Support provides supports that are reflective of a typical life course and recognise the strengths, aspirations, needs, preferences, values and cultural identity of the person with a disability.
- Intensive Family Support provides support that involves individuals and their significant others in the planning, determining and designing of their support needs.
- Intensive Family Support provides support to enable a person with a disability to participate in community life in ways that are valued by the person, their family/carer and the community.
- Intensive Family Support should not displace the resources of other agencies that would reasonably be accessible to people with disabilities.
Intensive Family Support Funding
Program Eligibility / Families living with a household member with a disability may be able to access Intensive Family Support in the following situations:
- the disability impacts upon the functioning of the household; and
- the household member with a disability meets the Commission’s eligibility criteria (Appendix 1).
Access Criteria / Access to the Intensive Family Support is through the Combined Application Process.
Families who have needs that cannot be met through other informal or formal supports may be able to access the Intensive Family Support.
Each applicant has access to funding on the basis of relative need and available resources (see Standard 1 – Service Access, Disability Services Standards and Principles, from the Disability Services Act 1993).
Applications for funding will be assessed:
- against the specific criteria established as part of the Combined Application Process method of funding allocation (see the separate policy on the Combined Application Process); and
- according to the principle of relative need.
Note: Where the person with a disability has received sufficient financial compensation from other sources to support their needs, a determination may be made by the Commission that they are not eligible for funding.
Exit Criteria / Intensive Family Support is discontinued in the following situations:
- The household member with a disability receives Accommodation Support Funding.
- The household member with a disability receives funding through the Community Living Support Funding strategy.*
- The household member with a disability relocates to a nursing home or a hospice.
- Funding is no longer required due to changes in the families’/household circumstances.
- The family no longer chooses to use Intensive Family Support.
- The family member with a disability has died.
*As per the Community Living Support Funding strategy policy, people who receive funding through both Intensive Family Support and Community Living Support Funding can combine funding to a maximum total value of $20,000.
What is Funded? / Family Support Packageswill include a range of diverse and flexible supports, in order to achieve the outcomes of the program and may include, but are not limited to:- assistance to develop and maintain new relationships, community connections and support networks;
- assistance to strengthen family/carer capacity to promote a positive home environment;
- assistance to enhance the well-being of the person with a disability living within the home environment;
- supports to engage and build positive relations between all household members, including primary carers, family members, siblings and other household members (for example home help, holiday supports, care, family support);
- assistance with personal care; and
- sibling support.
Requests One-Off Non-Recurrent Allocations as Part of an Integrated Support Package:
/ Requests for one-off, non-recurrent initiatives as part of an integrated support strategy need to demonstrate how the initiatives meet the Program outcomes.Requests for one-off non-recurrent funding within Intensive Family Support need to demonstrate that:
- the initiative is integral to the overall support and funding plan;
- the initiative is a targeted, time-limited strategy and, therefore, will not be funded in an ongoing manner;
- the initiative builds the parent/carer/family member(s) care capabilities and capacities and will reduce their reliance upon formal supports; and
- (with regard to equipment items), the item is unable to be provided through alternative funding sources, such as through the Community Aids and Equipment Program, or due to the care arrangements funded, the option requires a duplicate set of equipment to implement and sustain the option.
- an itemised list of equipment already prescribed and issued, along with a written statement outlining the need for a duplicate set; and/or
- a statement within the application detailing the need for a one-off allocation and its proposed benefits to the overall funding package.
What is not funded? / Intensive Family Support recognises the additional costs of living with a disability, whilst not subsuming the ordinary daily living costs borne by all families.
Additionally Intensive Family Support will not fund the following areas:
- pharmaceuticals and care provided by medical professionals;
- housing, land and vehicle purchases;
- incontinence products; and
- illegal activities.
Contact Information
The Commission is committed to the continuous improvement of its services. Evaluation of the program is ongoing to ensure that families receive the appropriate supports. For further information on this policy, please contact Ms Tracy Barron, Manager, Community Support Program: Telephone: (08) 9426 9217; toll free: 1800 998 214; TTY (08)94269315; or email: .
If you would like to lodge a formal complaint, you can contact the Commission’s Consumer Liaison Officer directly on: Telephone: (08) 9426 9244; toll free 1800 998 214; or TTY: (08) 9426 9315.
22 May 2009
Attachment 1: Case Study Examples
One-off non-recurrent initiatives
within the Intensive Family Support
All requests for a one-off non-recurrent initiative as part of an integral Intensive Family Support package need to demonstrate how theinitiative meets the program’s outcomes in addition to the following program principles:
- the initiative is integral to the overall support and funding plan;
- the initiative is a targeted, time-limited strategy and, therefore, will not be funded in an ongoing manner;
- the initiative builds the parent/carer/family member(s) care capabilities and capacities and will reduce their reliance upon formal supports; and
- (with regard to equipment items), the item is unable to be provided through alternative funding sources, such as through the Community Aids and Equipment Program, or due to the care arrangements funded, the option requires a duplicate set of equipment to implement and sustain the option.
The following case studies provide an overview of some possible examples of one-off initiatives that may be considered as part of an integrated Intensive Family Support package.
Example One:
Amanda has cerebral palsy and is eligible for Level 2 support from the Commission. She left school last year and has part-time Post School Options funding, along with working in a sheltered workshop two half days per week. Her mother just died and her father has a bad back and is unable to lift her in and out of bed and to and from her electric chair, so she now spends a couple of days per week with her sister, who is ten years older. As Amanda has already received her ‘registered’ Community Aids and Equipment Program requirements for her home, she is required to purchase the equipment for her part time living arrangements at her sister’s house. Her sister is going to apply for Intensive Family Support, as she also has three young children. They would like to include one-off funding for the required lifting equipment, in addition to ongoing supports.
Supported:
Within these circumstances, the request for one-off funds in addition to the ongoing supports her sister requires through Intensive Family Support will sustain the joint living arrangements. The purpose here is to deter out-of-home care, as her sister and father are now both unable to provide her with full-time living arrangements. In this situation, the equipment is funded within the first year, and is integral to the sustainability of the ongoing supports. The duplicate equipment required is not available through the Community Aids and Equipment Program. One-off funding will not be available for subsequent years.
Example Two:
Melissa is a 34-year-old woman who recently had a car accident and, as a result, has had to return back home after leading a full and independent life as a young professional. She has acquired multiple disabilities, including a head injury. The parents have applied for Intensive Family Support funding for a range of home supports, including domestic household help.
However, as they have never experienced ‘disability’ previously, they are seeking additional one-off funding as they would like to attend a number of courses on ‘providing appropriate care’, but require someone to come in and look after Melissa while they attend. They are not seeking funding to attend the courses.
Supported:
The parents’ request for one-off additional care funding is provided through a one-off provision as a form of ‘set up costs’. This acknowledges that the skills and resources that the parents develop through the training course should build their capacity to care and in turn, diminish their reliance on formal services.
Example Three:
Henrietta has recently developed Multiple Sclerosis. She is a mother of a young child who has a number of sleep difficulties. The child does not have a disability however, her poor sleeping patterns are affecting Henrietta’s health and her ability to care for her young daughter. Henrietta has little family support as she is from the eastern states. The husband works on the mines in a fly in/fly out position and therefore, is unable to deal with their child’s erratic sleep patterns. Henrietta has applied for some supports through Intensive Family Support, but feels that she could better manage her situation if her daughter slept through the night. If she could get funding for a sleep intervention for her daughter (which is estimated at $1250.00 on the private market), she would only need three hours of support per day, rather than the requested six hours per day.
Supported:
Even though it is the daughter that requires the sleep intervention and not Henrietta, as the proposal clearly outlines the benefits to Henrietta, including lowering the need for in-home supports if Henrietta was awarded funding by the panel, the sleep intervention for the child would be funded as part of this package as it is integral to the sustainability of the ongoing supports.
Example Four:
Ronald recently had a major bike trauma and is now living with his parents. His parents are finding the situation highly frustrating and difficult, as this means they have had to put their holiday retirement plans on hold. Additionally, they have had little experience of providing care for someone with a disability. Nearing their 70s, they would like to keep their son at home with them; however, due to his sleep patterns, they do not feel they can cope. As a result, they have applied for both Intensive Family Support and Accommodation Support Funding.Their preference is for Intensive Family Support. They feel that if someone can help them sort out Ronald’s sleep situation they would be able to keep him at home, with a little help from the Commission’s Intensive Family Support strategy.
Supported:
In this scenario, there are clear benefits to all involved, for funding a one-off funding strategy in addition to a range of recurrent home supports. Whilst this may just prolong an inevitable transfer to out-of-home care, keeping Ronald at home with his parents is what is preferred by all parties and therefore, if the panel awarded funding to the family then the request for a one-off non-recurrent intervention would be supported as part of the set up costs to sustain the long term viability of the option.
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