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

Project team o Dr. Angela Crettenden o Julia Dinham (Project Officer) o Dr. Pammi Raghavendra o 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, Canada o Comprehensive and integrated framework for pediatric rehabilitation services o Aim of improving community participation and quality of life of children and young people with disabilities

Key Elements of the LNM o Applies across disciplinary groups o Emphasis on evidence-based practice o Integration of a family centred approach o A focus on key developmental transitions for children o Support for flexibility of services o Stronger links with the community

Implementation of the LNM at Novita o Major organisational restructure in 2008 (the Programs Project) o Move from a regional to a service-based structure o Services areas provide targeted support at times of key developmental transition o Specialist services involving dedicated therapy teams

Other Changes o A tiered keyworker system o Agreed definitions of interventions at identified ages and stages o 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 Proj ect 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 Evaluation o Find out how staff felt about the restructure and process of implementation o 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 negative o 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 Services o Significance of resourcing

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