NZ NEEDS ASSESSMENT SERVICE COORDINATION ASSOCIATION (NASCA) GENERAL MEETING

Hon Tariana Turia, Associate Minister of Health and Minister of Disability Issues

Friday 12 March 2010; 10am

Latimer Hotel, Christchurch

In just over seven months time, New Zealand must present its first report on implementing the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Person with Disabilities.

It will be a process whereupon government agencies will be frantically compiling information on activities, and drafting reports. Disabled persons organisations will be actively involved in reporting on the Convention and of course the voice of disabled people must be heard through the country's report.

And for all of you here- Managers of Needs Assessment and Service Coordination organisations - the perspectives you bring about your satisfaction with the Ministry of Health or DHBs will be an important part of the story.

Whilst the focus of the report will be on how well we stack up on all 50 articles of the Convention, there are some key statements within the Preamble which I hope will be given life.

Statements which recognise the need to

• promote and protect the human rights of all persons with disabilities,

• which value the existing and potential contributions made by persons with disabilities to the overall wellbeing of their communities;

• and importantly, which understand that disability is an evolving concept; and that disability results from the interaction between persons with impairments and attitudinal and environmental barriers that hinder full and effective participation.

I am looking forward to making our first report and NASCA - and this conference - are part of the reason why.

For the progress we have achieved in needs assessment and service coordination; and the valuable work that this Association does in supporting good outcomes for disabled persons; is part of the story we must tell about our approach to disability issues.

NASC, at its very minimum, is about facilitating a process for people to identify their needs, explore their support options and provide assistance to access services.

The outcome of the process is to confirm whether a person is eligible for Ministry funded support, to work with them to identify their needs and goals, and to refer for specialised assessments where appropriate.

I mentioned the word minimum before - and I want to expand that further.

One of the issues that always arises with NASC is the essential dilemma that if you assess for a need there is a risk of an expectation being set up around options and services to meet those needs.

The services are supply driven - the person has to fit to the service.

Whereas with other models such as Local Area Coordination, the service has to fit the person. The disabled persons and their whanau are placed at the centre and in control of their natural and community supports.

Last September, the Ministerial Committee on Disability issues received a report on local area coordination - a report which is now going to be released to the public and put up on the Ministry's website.

Local area coordination has a significantly stronger focus on developing relationships with disabled people and their families, and working with them to identify the sort of life they want to lead and how to achieve that life.

In many ways this is a major paradigm shift from a disability support system that asks "what support do you need" to a system that asks "what's a good life for you"?.

I have to say I am a real fan of putting the responsibility on to whanau, including the notion of self-assessment where disabled persons and their whanau describe what is the most appropriate support they need.

I met recently with Taikura Trust in Auckland and they told me about some models in place, wherein every family holds a USB stick retaining all relevant data for supported living and individualised funding.

I like the concept of taking collective responsibility - responsibility not just for assessing needs but also in facilitating the types of supports around people which enhance the quality of life.

This is whanau ora in action - it is about organising our support from within our family and community first, rather than relying on disability support services to meet all needs.

I think this is one of the biggest challenges for NASC.

The responsibility of budget management can sometimes overshadow the other responsibilities of needs assessment or of service coordination.

While managing the budget is critical, we want to also encourage flexibility with which the funding can be used to support disabled persons.

This is part of the future outlook that I am really interested to explore in your ongoing development.

I want to know whether we can pick up on the key elements of the Local Area Coordination type processes while also increasing the choice and control of disabled people and their families.

I want to see individualised funding and supported living widely available, using existing funding in different ways.

And I'm keen to look at some of the best practice ideas from projects such as the marae based training in Toitu; the Pacific competency framework; or the induction training and resources being prepared around disability awareness, culture and responsiveness.

And so we come back to the concepts promoted through the United Nations Convention, that tell us disability is an evolving concept.

My ambition as Minister for Disability Issues is to help ensure that everything we do - whether as a department, an agency, a Minister, a family member - focuses on what will make a real difference to their lives.

My basic assumption is that disabled people and their families are in the best position to make choices and decisions about their lives.

I have three particular passions that I am concentrating on:

• disabled persons - and the whanau and friends who support them;
• the accessibility of the world we all live in, its social and physical environment
• and the degree to which specialised disability supports work for disabled people.

What then can NASCA do as an association; and what NASC do as a procedure for disabled persons and their whanau?

How will you expand on the opportunities provided in needs assessment and service coordination to focus on families and outcomes?

What can we do together, to encourage greater flexibility in the way funding is allocated and supports are purchased?

And ultimately, what is it that we need to do, to invest in our disabled people and their families - to enable them to focus on ‘what's a good life for us'?

I am hoping that you will answer those questions for me over the course of this conference.

Helen Leahy
Senior Ministerial Advisor
Telephone: (04) 817-9170
Facsimile: (04) 817-6525
Cell: 021-881-031