Pathways to Better Living Pty Ltd – Plan Supports
This process provides a framework for planning individualised supports for each participant. Support planning provides each participant with opportunities to discuss their support plans to ensure the participants’ needs, support requirements, preferences, as well as strengths and goals are defined, and how supports can be provided to achieve those goals.
An overall support plan can consist of many different support plans depending on the needs of each participant. For example: risk management plan, health care plan, positive behaviour support plan, budget plan, physical activity plan, diabetes management plan, epilepsy management plan etc.
Pre-plan
Pre-planning includes:
- Gathering background information about the participant’s needs including previous plans
- Identifying people who are involved in the participant’s life i.e. informal supports
- Identifying any other resources useful to the participant
Preparing for the planning meeting involves:
- Understanding the meeting’s purpose
- Understanding who should attend and their role
- Selecting the most suitable meeting location
- Having access to any previous plans
- Understanding what resources are needed to ensure the participant is included in the meeting e.g. communication aids, support person or interpreter
- Understanding if there are any particular items the participant wants to discuss or does not want discussed
Planning meeting
When conducting a planning meeting, the meeting should:
- Have a designated facilitator (chair) and minute taker
- Be attended by the participant
- Stay focused on the participant
- If not attended by the participant, the participant’s preferences and goals must be raised
- Involve all attendees in problem solving and in ways to help the participant
- Involve all participating service providers presenting reports and recommendations
- Broadly cover the following four areas of the participant’s life:
- Lifestyle and environment
- Skills development
- Health care
- Recreational and social
- Outline identified goals including short term and long term
- Result in a support plan:
- With agreed supports, goals
- Agreed by the participant, their family, guardian, advocate and/or financial manager and confirmed by their signature
- Endorsed by key management personnel
Implement Plans
Implement the agreed plans:
- With workers trained to carry out agreed planned supports and services
- With oversight by key management personnel
- While calling out any potential barriers, and
- Documenting all provided services and supports
Review Plans
Ongoing reviews of support plans are required to ensure they are working as intended. Reviews allow the support team to make adjustments for changes in the participant’s needs and/or to overcome challenges. Conduct reviews:
- Every 12 months (overall support plan)
- Quarterly in areas where changes occur more frequently such as risk management, health care and annual budgeting
Additionally, when reviewing support plans:
- Document any adjustments to the support plan seek consent from the participant, their family, guardian, advocate and/or financial manager, for any changes made
- Refer any disagreement to key management personnel
- Provide the participant, their family, guardian and/or financial manager and other relevant service provider a copy of the updated support plan
