Implementing the Life Needs Model at Novita Children's Services: Supporting children with physical and other disabilities during times of

transition

Project teamo Dr. Angela Crettendeno Julia Dinham (Project

Officer)o Dr. Pammi Raghavendrao Margarita Tsiros (Project

Officer)o Wendy Wake-Dyster

Novita Children’s Services“Connecting kids with their worlds”o Provides therapy, equipment, family

support and specialist services to more than 2,000 children and young people with disabilities

o Expert staff includes occupational therapists, speech pathologists, psychologists, social workers and physiotherapists

o Division of Research and Innovation

The Life Needs Model (LNM)o Developed by King et al (2002)o Thames Valley Children’s Centre in

Ontario, Canadao Comprehensive and integrated framework

for pediatric rehabilitation serviceso Aim of improving community participation

and quality of life of children and young people with disabilities

Key Elements of the LNMo Applies across disciplinary groupso Emphasis on evidence-based

practiceo Integration of a family centred approacho A focus on key developmental transitions

for childreno Support for flexibility of serviceso Stronger links with the community

Implementation of the LNM at Novitao Major organisational restructure in 2008

(the Programs Project)o Move from a regional to a service-based

structureo Services areas provide targeted support

at times of key developmental transition o Specialist services involving dedicated

therapy teams

Other Changeso A tiered keyworker systemo Agreed definitions of interventions at

identified ages and stageso Introduction of a waiting list and a

“request-based” service model for older children

o Development of service supports (eg workload management database and electronic recordkeeping)

Evaluation of the Programs Project

o A prospective (pre-post) comparison of data relating to outcomes of service provision before the 2008 organisational restructure (The Baseline Study), and several years later (Stage 2 of the Evaluation)

o Qualitative and quantitative data

Aims of the Evaluationo Find out how staff felt about the restructure

and process of implementationo Compare services before and after the

restructure in relation to equity, consistency and transparency

o Compare how staff managed client demand before and after the restructure

o Provide recommendations for improved services

Aims of the Evaluation

o To evaluate Novita services before and after the restructure in relation to key transition points (to school and to adult services)

Outcomes for School Transition

o Interviews and focus groups with Novita staff, parents and school staff in 2007 and 2010

o Feedback positive at both time points

Outcomes for School Transition

o Key issues in 2010: Flexibility of timing of transition to

Child & Adolescent Services (+ve) Focus on transitions (+ve) Information provision (+ve)

Outcomes for Transition from Novita to Adult Services

o Interviews and focus groups with Novita staff, parents & adolescents, and staff of adult service providers in 2007 and 2010

o In 2007 feedback was mostly negativeo In 2010 feedback was both positive and

negative

Outcomes for Transition from Novita to Adult Services

o Key issues in 2010: Collaborative relationships (+ve) Information provision (+ve) Workload pressures for Family Service

Coordinators (-ve) Lack of knowledge of individual clients (-ve)

Impact of the LNM at Novita?o In relation to service provision at key

times of developmental transition: Little impact in relatively well resourced

early childhood services More positive impact in less resourced

Child and Adolescent Serviceso Significance of resourcing

THANKYOU !angela.crettenden@novita.org.au