19 December 2011

Clear and well-resourced leadership can make a huge difference in an individualised approach to vocational and support services, says Pact client programmes and service development manager Glenn Murtagh.

Last month Glenn went on an education trip to Australia, led by the New Zealand Federation of Vocational and Support Services (NZVASS).

He says he got a sense that as individual providers, everyone is working towards more individualised services. He says there is a big difference between those organisations just starting this approach and those who are well down the track. He believes this disparity is due to a lack of government direction and leadership.

“Certainly if we take the Victorian example, then this is evidence of how clear and strong, well-resourced leadership can make a difference.”

In Victoria he saw individualisation/person-centred supports working well. He says the focus of individualisation is targeted on day services, which are funded by state government. 

“The vision of the Victorian government is very clear and there is strong leadership to support the roll out of the strategy. They call it the reorientation of day services. They talked about it as enabling day services to lead change. This struck me as a distinct difference to how our government is approaching a similar change in New Zealand.”

Glenn says the Victorian government is providing funding to enable organisation to transition to this different way of working. This is similar to the approach that New Zealand’s Ministry of Social Development (MSD) took with Pathways to Inclusion. 

The Victorian government also had two other funding streams available – LESA (Leadership in Self Directed Approaches) and LIRDS (Leadership in Reorientation of Day Services). One example of how this funding is being used includes ensuring everyone is speaking the same language and another was to produce a DVD on change stories.

Glenn explains that day services used to receive block funding – similar to our MSD funding, but this was reallocated to individuals from January 1 last year. Organisations now need to account to individuals on how their money is spent.

Milparinka (in Melbourne) was held as an example of an organisation that had transitioned well and was leading the way in the sector. What impressed Glenn most about Milparinka was its focus on principle-based service delivery and family relationships, change management tools for staff and telling stories. It was also very clear about what it sells: outcomes and not time.

“This is a great way of seeing the world from a provider point of view that I think would assist us at Pact.”

Another Melbourne organisation, Outlook, is an example of an organisation that has been successful in building up social enterprises to the point that it is not reliant on Government funding. It is clear about its vision of not providing segregated settings for people with disabilities and is investing in community assets that are made available to all. Staff spend a lot of their time networking with their community leaders and telling their stories.

Glenn says the trip was very worthwhile.

“It gave me an insight on where we are heading in New Zealand.”

Glenn has information from the organisations he visited for anyone who is interested.