Page 3972 - Week 11 - Tuesday, 15 Sept 2009
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represents a 60.5 per cent increase in recurrent funding. I will say that again: it is a 60.5 per cent increase. Combined with additional funding from the Australian government, we have seen an increase of 31 per cent in accommodation places for people with disability, a 55 per cent increase in community support, a 70 per cent increase in community access hours, an 11 per cent increase in centre-based respite nights and an increase in flexible respite hours of 96 per cent.
New service types that are more flexible and responsive to the needs of people with disability have been established. These include the local area coordination service in the Woden and Belconnen regions, CANaccess services and supports such as the popular quality-of-life grants to help people with disability and their families plan for a better quality of life.
Particular mention can be made of the significant steps we have taken in achieving better outcomes for young people with disability who are leaving school. This is especially the case for those young people who are not yet able to undertake paid work or further study or access the Australian government’s disability employment network.
For these young people and their families, the ACT government now provides an array of practical options to assist them to achieve their life goals. This involves a planned and equitable access to the available formal supports, but also builds on the natural and informal networks around each young person and their family. Importantly, the government is also working with employers and community support agencies around the responses that they can make to improve the transitional outcomes for students as they move from the education system into their adult life.
Young school leavers who are not quite work ready still have access to transitional pre-vocation support for up to three years. This support assists a young person to plan for their future and to build skills, experiences and confidence as they move towards their adult life. Support is generally provided for a few hours each week or for a fortnight.
The ACT now provides a guaranteed ongoing minimum two days, or equivalent hours, worth of support for those young people who may never have the opportunity to join a workforce because of the debilitating effects of their disability. These two days will be in addition to any other support they may be receiving, such as respite or additional support at home.
Alongside this, families choose how they get their funding in the way that best suits them. This could include block funding or direct funding, and may complement other one-off grants such as quality of life. Disability ACT and the Department of Education and Training are working in partnership with families to ensure that early discussion and planning are undertaken to determine the direction a young person wants to take after they leave school. Each young person and their family will know what supports will be provided to them and will be working towards establishing these well before the end of the school year.
However, there is still much more to be done, and I turn now to the direction to be taken over the next five years. Future directions: towards challenge 2014 will build
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