We are Worth the Investment. NSW Council for Intellectual Disability Conference 16-17 July 2015.Criminal Justice and the NDIS Kelly da Costa, Lifestyle Solutions
2. About Lifestyle Solutions
•Lifestyle Solutions is a national provider of disability supports, as well as services and
supports for children & young people in Out of Home Care and Foster care.
•A long-time advocator of “choice and voice™
” for people living with disability, we
have also been involved with the National Disability Insurance Scheme roll-out from
its earliest stages.
•Founded in Newcastle in 2001 with a group home to support five incredible
individuals, our not-for-profit organisation has since touched the lives of so many
more Australians, and grown to become a key innovator in the community services
sector.
•Today, we provide a diverse range of supports to more than 1,000 people living with
disability throughout Australia, as well as 250 children and young people in Out of
Home Care and Foster Care.
3. GOOD NEWS STORIES
Lifestyle Solutions approach to all supports is focused on choice and compatibility.
Some of our newer People We Support have never lived away from there families,
and now they are flourishing due to greater independence and skills development.
Some are using their supports to grow as individuals and achieve their goals and
dreams.
To help this process, we have a external engagement manager who is focused on
liaising with families and People We Support to ensure the move is positive for all
parties.
Each week we hear more and more “good news stories”, and achievements for the
people we support. They take great pride in telling their stories!
Sometimes these stories just blow us away!
5. GOOD NEWS STORIES
NDIS changes lives….
Our engagement team worked tirelessly and collaboratively with a team of
professionals at the Mental Health Unit in Newcastle to assist a young lady whom
had been institutionalised for the past 2 years to gain a safe and comfortable place to
call home, surrounded her with a team of 4 female staff who provide her with 1:1
support to achieve her goals. These supports are funded by the NDIS.
She has now successfully started to live out her dream of living out of hospital, have
her own home, and start achieving her goals and taking control of her life.
Since she has been engaged with the NDIS and her Lifestyle Solutions workers, her
mental health professionals report that she is happier, mentally healthier and has
lost weight from engaging in activities every day.
6. ABOUT Community Justice Program
• At Lifestyle Solutions we also specialise in providing support to people living with
intellectual and other cognitive disability who have had ongoing contact with, or
are at risk of entering, the criminal justice system.
• Nationally, we are leaders in the provision of Community Justice Program (CJP)
supports and services that encourage participants to re-enter the community and
engage in a positive and meaningful way.
• We work together with participants, their families and carers to plan both short
and long-term goals that assist in building confidence and self-esteem. Through
our supported accommodation, as well as clinical behaviour supports and case
management, we have a proven track record of supporting participants to
become contributing members of their local communities.
7. CJP at a glance
Eligibility for the Community Justice Program is based on the following criteria:
• Diagnosed intellectual disability
• Aged 10-65
• Time has been spent in custody
• Ongoing risk of reoffending
8. CJP at a glance
Service is delivered in the following ways:
•Accommodation, casework & behaviour intervention provision.
•Services are delivered by funded NGO providers like Lifestyle
Solutions
•Tertiary support and monitoring is provided by FACS clinical
team
9. CJP at a glance
The Aim of the Community Justice Program is to:
•Reduce risk of reoffending in the people we support
•Improve adaptive functioning in the people we support
•Promote independence in the people we support
10. CJP at a glance
Demographic of the Community Justice Program is:
•340 clients
•40% Aboriginal
•Average age 33
•Mild Intellectual Disability
•90% history of substance abuse, trauma / neglect
11. CJP at a glance
Breakdown of Service provision:
Intensive
On site
Drop In
Tailored
LRC
Casework
Assessment
12. CJP and the NDIS
Currently:
• 10 clients are in the Trial Site
• 5 are currently in transition to the NDIS
• There have been 2 applications for exceptional circumstances
• Currently all are considered lower risk / needs clients
• All utilise drop-in support
