BUSHkids Annual Report 2018-2019

Section NDIS

Early intervention and community connections are key to success for thousands of kids The first six years of a child’s life are crucial in identifying and mitigating the impacts of disability or developmental delays and BUSHkids’ vast experience in the field is helping not only children build skills and independence but also their families and local communities to connect with available support services.

Delivering Early Childhood Early Intervention (ECEI) services on behalf of the National Disability Insurance Agency as an NDIS Partner in the Community , our EarlyStart teams are the first point of contact families have with the NDIS. Early intervention is vital in helping children develop the skills they need to take part in daily activities and go on to thrive and develop to achieve the best outcomes throughout their life. Our proven, multidisciplinary keyworker-led approach helps give confidence and clarity to a child and their siblings, parents and carers in what can be an unsettling and uncertain time in their lives. We help families navigate the NDIS, guiding them to supports most suited to their individual needs and taking a holistic approach to connecting them with other local families and community services. If that process results in an approved NDIS plan, then the family is connected with NDIS Providers to deliver the services outlined in the plan. BUSHkids ECEI teams advocate for services or equipment that are reasonable and necessary under NDIS funding and support families to make better-informed choices for their children. For the families we have helped gain access to the NDIS, we have also increased parents’ ability to support their children’s development in emotional regulation and building their social skills. Three of four key delivery areas for NDIS ECEI Partners are centred on community work, and our teams have been working hard to develop new relationships while expanding BUSHkids’ existing community connections. In locally hiring staff who best understand how to support families in their own community, we have been able to focus on needs and priorities close to home. Our EarlyStart teams also offer regular community capacity- building sessions to parents, carers, and early educators. Overall, we have seen some great outcomes — whether helping families gain access to the NDIS or continuing to work with children in their own environment to help them grow further in areas of developmental delay. In the 27 months since we inaugurated our first EarlyStart service in Bundaberg, we have almost tripled the number of successful NDIS plans obtained across all our ECEI services, now delivered from six primary and two satellite centres.

432 2017–2018 1,178 2018–2019

Location

Plans Children Sessions

ROK

198

198

1,218

Total NDIS plans approved across EarlyStart services

EML

100

125

638

GLT

147

163

827

BDB

328

483

2,757

HVB

170

285

1,124

KRY

MCY

235

319

1,553

GYM

Totals

1,178 1,573

8,117

29

EML

ROK GLT

BDB

HVB

GYM MCY

KRY

Service Agreement / Local Government Areas

Rockhampton : Rockhampton, Livingstone, Central Highlands, Banana Shire and Gladstone

ROK, EML, GLT

Bundaberg : Bundaberg

BDB

Maryborough : Fraser Coast, North Burnett, South Burnett and Cherbourg

HVB

KRY

Maroochydore : Sunshine Coast, Noosa and Gympie

MCY

GYM

A N N UA L R E P O R T

2 0 1 8 – 2 0 1 9