Page 1035 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 21 March 2012
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In Victoria, for example, there are many day services operating in both metropolitan and regional areas. These services commonly operate from Monday to Friday, and often from 9 am to 3 pm. These services seek to provide programs to people with a range of disabilities to participate in community-based activities and to enhance their skills to participate in mainstream community life. These services also provide vocational training, recreation, volunteer work and life/independent skill development, including nationally recognised qualifications and certificates for people with a disability, with many agencies having registered training organisation components.
I believe that the ACT should be seeking out such examples of best practice, and exploring more comprehensive and sustainable community-based options to meet the ongoing needs of people with a disability, their families and their carers.
Finally, I am calling on the government to include in the Community Services Directorate annual report longitudinal qualitative research, with a small sample of young people with a disability who have left school, over a four-year period, on their experiences and the outcomes of various government-funded service provider programs. I understand that the concept of a cohort study of school leavers is not new to the Community Services Directorate, but it is important for the government, and the community, to better understand the journeys and the potential barriers that may be faced, and must be overcome, in this defining and crucial transition period.
The Greens feel that this research would be of great benefit to young people starting out on new pathways, of great interest to families and carers who are beginning the sometimes daunting task of planning for life after school, and of great practical value to the community service providers and government policymakers as they design and implement new programs.
Today I also take pleasure in launching a discussion paper that has been put together. The discussion paper is titled Planning, navigation and meaningful opportunities: post school options for young people with disability in the ACT. I will be putting this discussion paper out for community organisations, carers, young people, parents and others involved, asking them to answer a series of questions about how they would like to see things improved so that we can put forward a bit of an action plan for the future. This will go hand in hand with an online survey that will be up and going by tomorrow; again, that will seek feedback and input from those people so that we really can explore these issues. As I said, it will assist in putting together that action plan for the future.
I would like to acknowledge the parents and carers who have contacted the Greens about these issues and taken time from their busy schedules to provide such valuable insights into their real-world needs as well the strong work, advocacy and representation of stakeholder views by such organisations as Carers ACT.
I hope for support from everybody in the chamber today for my motion. I seek leave to table my discussion paper.
Leave granted.
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