NDIS Capacity Building Project Update 1 - September 2013

This is the first major update since the MHCA Capacity Building Workshop held on the 27 August 2013 and there is much to advise.  As well as providing an update on activity and a link to a survey to inform the project, we are also seeking nominations for the Capacity Building Project Advisory Group and various working groups to assist in progressing the priority issues for the sector.  

A note on this distribution list

If you have received this email, you are on our mailing list because you either attended the MHCA DisabilityCare Australia Capacity Building workshop on the 27th August, are an MHCA member delegate or have expressed interest in receiving information about the National Disability Insurance Scheme.  

If you DO NOT wish to keep receiving these emails could you please contact dca@mhca.org.au and let us know that you want to be taken off this distribution list.

Alternatively, feel free to nominate someone in your organisation who we should send information to instead of you or in addition to you.

Project Advisory Group

Nominations are now being sought from MHCA members and stakeholders to participate in a Project Advisory Group to inform the ongoing work of the MHCA DisabilityCare Australia Capacity Building Project.

Draft terms of reference for the PAG is attached for your information.

It is anticipated that the group would meet mainly by teleconference until the project’s conclusion in July 2014, although there may be a couple of face to face meetings as determined by the PAG.  

The selected nominees will join Ms Margaret Springgay, Carer Representative and Ms Lyn English, Consumer Representative from the National Mental Health Consumer and Carer Forum who have already been accepted as key members to provide mental health consumer and carer input to this process.

Update from the MHCA DCA Capacity Building Workshop

Thanks to all the workshop participants who made this an extremely productive day.  While there was an acknowledgement that significant uncertainty exists within the sector and amongst consumers and carers, participants maintained a positive energy and identified a number of key actions for the MHCA. A detailed report on the workshop’s outcomes will be sent to you and made available on the MHCA website soon but we note that the following issues emerged as being of particular concern:

• Scheme design and administrative arrangements for clients of current services which will become ‘in scope’ for DCA
• Eligibility, particularly the issue of permanency of impairment and its implications for recovery
• Early intervention and what Tier 2 support will provide people who are not eligible for fully funded packages of support
• Supported decision making for people with psychosocial disability
• Availability of information from DCA around these and other implementation issues
• Implications of DCA for organisational viability and maintaining a suitably qualified workforce
• The need for monitoring and evaluation on critical mental health specific issues.

As a result the MHCA has proposed that a series of working groups on these issues may assist in developing priority actions to address these areas of concern.

Working Groups

Expressions of interest are sought from MHCA members and stakeholders to participate in working groups on areas of priority concern for mental health sector capacity building to engage with DCA.  There are quite a few working groups at this stage and some may need to be amalgamated, depending on interest.

• Eligibility and assessment (including the development of case studies or personal stories)
• Monitoring and evaluation (including early warning systems)
• Service quality
• DCA Participants from diverse backgrounds (including ATSI peoples)
• Supported decision making
• Scheme design and administrative arrangements (including packages of care)
• Organisational readiness
• Workforce

At this stage we envisage that working groups would meet by teleconference, with secretariat support provided by the MHCA.

Survey

Those who attended the Workshop on the 27 August will remember a survey seeking input on priority issues for mental health sector capacity building.  This survey has now been updated and available for distribution. Please click here to view the survey.

We would appreciated if you or your colleagues/contacts could complete a survey as soon as possible.   However please note that there is deliberately no deadline date for completion of the survey because it is intended to be used as an information tool while it is up on the website.  All information will be carefully considered.  

Link to information on the MHCA website

Finally, as well as making sure you receive information by email, we plan to ensure that the survey, the Project Background Paper distributed prior to the workshop, and the final report of the workshop outcomes will be up on the MHCA website within the next week or so for circulation to your networks.

DisabilityCare Australia Website

New information is being added to the DCA website daily and it is not always clear what is new and what is old.  We are trying to keep up to date and let you know what information may be of most interest through these bulletins:

• There are now two “cameos” featuring how people with psychosocial disability may benefit from DCA: http://www.disabilitycareaustralia.gov.au/people-disability/videos-stories-quotes-and-cameos/cameos
• For people in launch sites there is now also an easy-English guide to appealing DCA decisions: http://www.disabilitycareaustralia.gov.au/aat-english

I hope that this information is useful and please do not hesitate to contact either Liz Ruck or Travis Gilbert, MHCA Policy Officer if you have any questions via telephone (02 6285 3100) or email dca@mhca.org.au.