Stakeholder Collaboration for Clients with NDIS Forensic Histories

NDIS Forensic Services

NDIS forensic services involves providing supports and services for individuals with disabilities who have a history with the criminal justice system.
What are forensic services?

People with disabilities involved with the justice system face complex challenges that many NDIS providers are not equipped to manage.

These individuals have unique support needs related to their disability, and an essential part of successful service delivery is how the SIL provider – such as Hope Circle – interacts and collaborates with the myriad of stakeholders, some of whom are unique to clients with forensic histories.

Forensic clients’ support needs are additional to normal SIL supports, including helping support the needs of meeting correctional services requirements and for the individual to reintegrate with their community.

Our SIL supports also work to support the participant’s mental health with different strategies including support from other providers and services.

SIL Stakeholders

It is normal when supporting a client in supported independent living that a SIL provider like Hope Circle will need to liaise with a number of key stakeholders, around the individual’s circle of supports.

In providing transparency, we are focused on working in partnership with the key SIL stakeholders including:

  • support coordinator
  • family/guardian
  • medical/health professionals like a GP or dentist
  • allied health providers such as an occupational therapist, speech therapist or physiotherapist
  • other provider/s such as for community participation or group activities.

As a technology-forward organization, we utilize our CRM and electronic systems to capture case notes and incident reports, making it easier to share this information with the key stakeholders.

At Hope Circle, we believe that communication with stakeholders is one of our strengths – and transparency is one of our values. We use a variety of means to communicate with the stakeholders including email, phone and face to face.

NDIS Forensic Stakeholders

NDIS clients with forensic histories bring greater complexities to the delivery of services and the collaboration with stakeholders around the individual being supported. We discuss this more in another article about normal vs forensic support in the NDIS.

So, who are the additional stakeholders that we liaise with in delivering forensic services?

It will vary for each individual, but can include:

  • mental health and forensic mental health professionals
  • correctional services
  • police
  • the participant’s lawyer
  • behaviour support practitioner
  • Public Trustee
  • Drug or alcohol support agencies
  • and other stakeholders providing tailored supports to participants.

Hope Circle’s approach to Collaboration

We recognize that successful services for a client with corrections, justice or forensic history relies on great communication amongst the stakeholders: the circle of supports around the individual living with disability.

This transparency and communication helps ensure the participant is put first, and that supports are provided – with dignity – which help to reduce the likelihood of their being reincarcerated again.

Through our discussions with the participant’s stakeholders, we identify the information that each needs and wants to be provided with and establish a plan or process to provide that.

Over time, we work collaboratively with behaviour support practitioners, utilizing their skills in training our disability support workers in the unique needs of our participants. We also provide data and reports to them, working to trial new approaches to reduce and eliminate restrictive practices.
Where it is possible to do so and in preparation for release, our staff and disability support workers are able to visit clients in correctional facilities. We’ve found that this can assist with their reintegration back into community, and with their disability support services.

Conclusion

At Hope Circle, it’s part of our core identity that we work to help our clients live the life they want to lead. We work to provide them with dignity of risk, hope for the future and increase the control they have over decisions.

CEO Andrew Ellis says, “when joining Hope Circle, one of the first things I noticed was how proactive our service coordinators are in communicating with our clients’ stakeholders. It certainly is a strength and part of our identity as we see the importance of working with the circle of supports around the client to help them live the life they want.”

Want more?

Hope Circle is a registered NDIS provider specialising in providing SIL and in-home & community support to individuals with complex disabilities.

Our team has extensive experience working with NDIS participants who have corrections or forensic histories, mental health and physical disabilities.
For more information regarding our services in Adelaide or Perth, please contact us here.