FUNDING has always been a challenge for public services such as the Manning Great Lakes Early Intervention Centre.
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Despite an increase in the number of families who need the service, their base level of funding has not increased for several years.
Compounding the problem is the fact that additional funding is based on case load numbers and so fluctuates.
As a result the service does not know how much it is going to have each year, which makes planning ahead very difficult.
Catering for small children with special needs, the service provides qualified help for children both in their homes, within various services in the community, and in private and playgroup sessions at its Tuncurry and Taree based centres.
Its occupational and speech therapists currently service up to 120 children, with outreach services throughout the Manning, Gloucester, Tea Gardens, and Great Lakes.
Getting to and from one appointment can take up to half a day, stretching the centre thin.
“It’s very difficult to maintain the services required with enough therapists. The staffing levels are always a challenge,” said Sally Gibson, the service coordinator for the region.
With current restructuring taking place on a governmental level for the national implementation of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) by 2018, funding for services such as this one will shift from NSW Government’s Ageing, Disability, and Homecare Services (ADHC) and the Department of Education, to a more not for profit business approach, supported by funding granted directly to individual families in need.
“We are constantly in discussions with ADHC about our funding levels,” said Ms Gibson, adding the observation that the government appeared to be biding their time with decisions as they trialled the NDIS scheme in various locations around the country.
A very small amount of private funding has been donated to the centre by Club Forster, St George Building Society, Manning Valley Cruises, as well as Quota, who are helping it access technology funding to enable the purchase of smart boards, iPads, and equipment such as touch and switch adapted toys.
Even simple sensory tools such as weighted blankets, move and sit cushions and hand and mouth devices all help to give comfort to some children about where their bodies are, providing them with balance and focus to use within the community.
For centres such as these, everything counts.
