Finding The Right Support Workers For Your Child And Family

Support Workers can be an important source of support for your child that helps them meet their goals as well as providing respite for you as a family.

Support Workers can increase your child’s independence by assisting with personal care, getting them out and about in the community and supporting your child to play and have fun. Support Workers are funded under the Core budget in your child’s NDIS Plan.

Think about what your child and family needs
Think about when your child needs the most extra support. Consider your family schedule as a whole to ensure your child with disability gets the supports they need during the busiest times.

What specific tasks does your child need help with? For example, personal care, assistance in the community or therapy support. Are you looking for community access and someone to get out and about with you or your child, or do you need in-home support?

Getting Support Workers
There are four ways to get Support Workers for your child:

1. Service provider
There are many service providers who provide Support Workers.

Before signing up, be sure to check:

* Do they complete safeguard checks of all Support Workers?
* Do they provide you with a choice of Support Worker?
* What training do they provide?
* What is their cancellation and replacement policy?

2. Use a matching platform
Matching platforms are online agencies that will help you search for a Support Worker who meets your child’s needs, interests and availability requirements. You can find more information about matching platforms on the NDIS website.

Before signing up, be sure to check:

* Do they complete safeguard checks of all Support Workers?
* Do they provide you with a choice of Support Worker?
* What training do they provide?
* What is their cancellation and replacement policy?
* Do they cover all the legal and financial responsibilities for employing Support Workers?

3. Find your own Support Worker but employ them through a matching platform
You can choose your own Support Worker but employ them through a matching platform. This means that the matching platform looks after the financial and legal employment responsibilities.

4. Direct employment
Direct employment is when you find and employ the Support Worker yourself. If you directly employ Support Workers you are accountable for legal and regulatory responsibilities, such as taxation, superannuation, insurance and work health and safety.

Find out more about these responsibilities and self-management on the NDIS website and the Self Manager Hub.

Advertising the role
Think about who you already know – friends of friends, people from your faith communities or a club you are involved in. Ask your child’s therapist if they know anyone.

Summarise what you are looking for in a short ad that explains what you want the Support Worker to do and include anything that is important to your child.

Share the ad with your networks but don’t include any private information such as your address or personal details about your child. Make sure you include information about how people can apply, such as by phone, email or written application.

Choosing the right people
Check that any potential Support Workers have a current Working with Children Check and ask for a Police Check. You might also require a First Aid Certificate. Make sure you see evidence of these.

Then make a time to meet in person. For a first meeting you could meet in a library or café rather than in your home. Prepare questions that will help you find out more about the person:

* Tell me about how you interact with children?
* What do your friends like about you?
* Have you had experience of (explain a bit about your child’s support needs)
* Are you experienced in providing personal care?
* What would you do if (give an example of a situation)
* How do you maintain boundaries with children?
* How would you want us to communicate?
* Are you okay with my pet cat/dog/bird in the house?

Call at least two referees. Let the applicants know the outcome of your decision.

Things to consider
It’s rare that any one Support Worker will have all of your desired qualities. Consider taking on two or three workers, even if you don’t have a lot of hours of work to offer. This will help ensure you have people to cover times of illness or holidays. Your child’s Support Workers may not only work with your child and family. Keep this in mind and try to book Support Workers for regular shifts.

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