Policy 1 : Service Access

Community Enterprise Inc. is a non-profit organisation established for the purpose of supporting people with disabilities and their families living in the Shire of Hidden Valley.

The services offered by Community Enterprise include group home accommodation, in-home respite, out-of-home respite, home help and community access. 

Community Enterprise is a non-profit, community organisation which is governed by a management committee elected annually by the members. Community Enterprise receives all of its operating funds from the Western Australian Government in the form of an annual grant.

The purpose of this policy is to set out the circumstances and conditions under which people can be accepted for services with the agency.  The policy has been framed around eligibility criteria outlined in the Disability Services Act (1993) and Standard 1 of the Disability Services Standards (1993).

This policy applies to all of the agency's programs and activities.

Eligibility for agency services is defined in the Disability Services Act (1993) as a person having a disability that:

1. is attributable to an intellectual, psychiatric, cognitive, neurological, sensory or physical impairment, or a combination of such impairments;
2. is permanent or likely to be permanent;
3. results in:
   • a substantially reduced capacity of the person for communication, social interaction, learning or mobility; and
   • the need for continuing support services.

The Disability Services Commission's current policy on Eligibility and Access for Disability Services Commission Functions and Services limits service access to the following groups included in Clause 1 above: intellectual (including autism), cognitive (excluding Attention Deficit Disorder), neurological, sensory or physical impairment, or a combination of such impairments. Disability Services Commission policy also limits service access to people who are under the age of 60 at the point at which they apply to be eligible for services.

The agency's funded activities, as stated in its funding agreement with the Disability Services Commission, are supported community living, family support, and community access and its geographic area of operation is the Shire of Hidden Valley.

The agency recognises the right of clients to transfer to an alternative service and will release any funds tied to that individual back to the Disability Services Commission for re-allocation, at its discretion, to another agency.

The agency also reserves the right to withdraw services in situations where its duty of care responsibilities to either its clients or its staff are demonstrably compromised.

The following procedures are to be implemented to enable the agency to meet its policy objective of ensuring that, within the constraints of available funding and resources, those people with disabilities who most need the services provided by the agency are accepted for services and that services are only withdrawn at the client's initiative or when the agency's duty of care responsibilities to its clients or staff are demonstrably compromised.

The agency will:

1. Develop an information brochure in appropriate formats on the agency's services and distribute it through local area co-ordinators and major health, welfare, local government and education outlets in the area.
2. Accept referrals from clients, family members, advocates, local area co-ordinators or other government or non-government agencies.
3. Within two weeks of receiving the referral, meet with the referred person, involved family members and advocates to determine the person's eligibility for services and collect background information in accordance with the Policy on Privacy, Dignity and Confidentiality.
4. Make a determination about offering services to persons found eligible based on the agency's available resources and the person's relative need.
5. If no other eligible persons are currently seeking services, and the agency has spare service capacity, accept the eligible person for services.
6. If a person is found to be ineligible for services from the agency, refer that person to an alternative service, where such a service exists.
7. If a person is found to be eligible for services, but the agency is not in a position to provide a service, offer to place the person on a waitlist for agency services and inform the person of the possible waiting time before services might become available.
8. Contact persons who are on the agency's waitlist at least every three months and advise them of their current status on the waitlist.
9. Maintain record of people who have been referred to the agency and denied a service summarising reasons for their being found ineligible or, if found eligible, reasons for being placed on the waitlist.
10. Withdraw services only if requested by the client or family or if the agency's duty of care responsibilities to its clients or staff are severely compromised and reasonable efforts to rectify the problem have been made and shown to have failed.
11. If the client has elected to no longer receive services from the agency, ask that the request be put in writing by the client or family.  If the agency is holding any tied funding on behalf of a person who no longer wishes to receive services from the agency, advise the Disability Services Commission immediately.
12. If the agency is contemplating withdrawing services, first arrange a meeting with the client, family and any advocate(s) they nominate to discuss the reasons why the agency is contemplating withdrawing services.
13. If after the meeting the agency decides to withdraw services, write to the client, family and advocates outlining the reasons behind the decision and advising them of their rights under the agency's Policy on Complaints and Disputes.

The following performance standards must be met to ensure that the procedures specified in Section 4 are implemented effectively:

1. An information brochure describing the agency's services has been distributed at least annually to local area co-ordinators and major health, welfare, education and local government outlets in the area.
2. Persons referred for services have been interviewed within two weeks of the referral being received by the agency.
3. Services have been offered on the basis of eligibility, relative need and available services.
4. Records have been kept on a central file of people who were found to be ineligible or found to be eligible, but denied services based on insufficient resources or relativity of need.
5. Eligible persons who were unable to access services, and so chose, have been placed on a waitlist and were contacted at least three monthly with respect to their progress up the waitlist.
6. Records are kept on a central file of people who are on the agency waitlist and the contact they have had with the agency while on the waitlist.
7. Where a client or family has elected to no longer receive services from the agency, the agency has endeavoured to secure that request in writing, has placed the written request on the client's file and has advised the Disability Services Commission if it held tied funding on the client's behalf.
8. Where the agency has withdrawn services, the agency has first arranged a meeting with the client, family and any advocate(s) they nominate to discuss the reasons why the agency was contemplating withdrawing services and has formally written to them to explain the reasons behind the decision.
9. The agency has advised the client, family and advocates in writing of their rights under the agency's Policy on Complaints and Disputes and has provided them with a copy of the policy.