What is Adolescent Support?
Adolescent Support is a specialist case management service provided by Aspect for families of adolescents diagnosed with autism and an intellectual disability. The program is funded through the Ageing Disability and Home Care (ADHC) for the Metro North region of New South Wales.
The referral system is open and referrals can be taken from families themselves, teachers, caseworkers or other allied health professionals. The referrals will be processed through ADHC’s Metro North Information, Referral and Intake System. If the adolescent meets all of the eligibility criteria, the referral will be accepted by Adolescent Support.
Who can access Adolescent Support?
To access Adolescent Support services, your adolescent must meet the following criteria:
- 12-18 years living at home
- DSM- IV or ICD-10 diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) (includes atypical autism/PDD-NOS, but not Asperger’s Syndrome)
- Intellectual Disability (IQ 70 or below)
- High risk of exiting school prematurely OR
- Receiving home schooling due to behaviour management issues
- At risk of institutional care or family breakdown
There are also some exclusions for referral:
- Under 12 or over 18 years of age
- Living in institutional care
- Living in supported accommodation
Where does Adolescent Support operate?
You and your adolescent must reside in ADHC’s Metro North region, which includes all local government areas in the regions of Cumberland/Prospect, Nepean and Northern Sydney, as shown roughly in the map below:
What does Adolescent Support provide?
Adolescent Support offers a collaborative, family focused approach including:
- Comprehensive individual functional needs assessment of the adolescent
- Needs assessment of your family
- Service plans for your adolescent and family
- Family training, including the development and provision of resources
- Positive Behaviour Support assessments and intervention
- Specialist support for school
- Co-ordination of access to a range of services including allied health services such as Speech Pathology and Occupational Therapy
- Liaison with other agencies on your behalf
How does the Adolescent Support service work?
Once the referral has been received by Adolescent Support, an individual case manager will be assigned to work with your family. The philosophy of Adolescent Support is to work in collaborative partnerships with families, schools and service providers, using an evidence-based, data driven approach.
As part of this approach, Adolescent Support is being evaluated independently through Macquarie University. As such, a prerequisite of entry into the case management program is that families agree to participate in research interviews. Prior to the case management service commencing, a researcher from the university will conduct some brief assessments both at home and school. The researcher will also conduct assessments at regular intervals during your involvement in the program. These assessments should not involve a great deal of time commitment from your family.
Once the research assessment has been completed, the individual case manager will make contact with you to arrange an initial consultation at home. The process will begin with an initial assessment of your family’s needs in relation to your adolescent. Following this, a plan will be developed and networks established with other agencies involved in your family’s life. Regular meetings are conducted with your family and other professionals to ensure all team members are working towards the same goals. In between meetings, you are welcome to contact your case manager via phone or email.
Is there a cost for the service?
No. There is no cost to families for the service. Adolescent Support has been fully funded by the Ageing Disability and Home Care (ADHC).
For more information, please contact the Adolescent Support team on: (02) 8878 1803
Adolescent Support works within the guidelines and legislation relating to child care and protection. Please see the information below (Promoting Safety – Responsibilities to Children and Parents) outlining our responsibilities:
Promoting Safety: Our Responsibilities to Children and Parents
Keeping children safe is a big concern for parents. At Autism Spectrum Australia (Aspect), we take the safety of children, young people and other family members seriously. We are committed to working with other agencies, including the Department of Community Services (DoCS), to keep children safe. We want to make sure parents know what steps will be taken to fulfill our agency’s legal responsibilities regarding the safety of children and others in the family. We know that families want services to keep personal information private. We will not share your personal information outside this agency without your agreement, except where the law tells us to, or where we have an ethical responsibility in relation to client safety. These times when we can’t guarantee client confidentiality are explained below.
Reporting to DoCS
The law states that staff involved in services to children must advise DoCS if we have concerns that a child or young person may be at risk of harm. At Aspect all staff are required to accept thisresponsibility. The law states that the government can fine some people if they fail to carry out this role.
Giving Information to DoCS or the Court
The law states that Aspect has to provide information if DoCS workers ask us about your child’s safety, welfare or well-being. If we do this, we will tell you as soon as possible, unless this could place a child in an unsafe situation. We keep a written record of any requests from DoCS, and of our response to them. Where DoCS refer families, we will talk about how and when to provide feedback to DoCS about your progress, right at the beginning of our work. If we are asked to write a report for the Children’s Court about you, we will discuss that report with you before sending it to the court and we will give you a copy with any confidential details about other people removed. We will do our best to write the report so that it is clear and easy to understand. Courts can use a subpoena to see our files, e.g. in Family Law Court or criminal matters. We need to let you know that we must provide the court with our files if this happens.
Promoting Everyone’s Safety
We believe that safety is important for everyone in the family. We may need to take action if we think that anyone in the family is going to hurt themselves, is going to hurt someone else, or is at risk of being hurt. We also have to make sure our staff members are safe at work.
Employee Screening
All staff members working with children at Aspect are subject to a “Working with Children Check” and other screening processes prior to employment, in order to rule out anyone with a criminal record.
It’s the Law
The main law discussed in this sheet is the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act, 1998 (Sections 23, 27 and 248). You can find it on www.austlii.edu.au. Look at the alphabetical index for the New South Wales Consolidated Acts. The Act can also be found on the DoCS website: www.community.nsw.gov.au
This information was developed by the Association of Children’s Welfare Agencies and has been modified by Aspect to support the work of the Behaviour Intervention Service.
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