Matching and Allocation Procedure

(P-6) Matching and Allocation Procedure

Policy Area	Provision of Supports – Service Quality – Matching Staff to Participant
Policy Number	P-6
Version	2
Approval Date	01 November 2023
Review Date:	31 October 2026
Scope:	All employees
NDIS Practice Standards and Indicators	Standard 3: Support Planning 3.2. Each participant is actively involved in the development of their support plans. Support plans reflect participant needs, requirements preferences, strengths and goals and are regularly reviewed

This Policy complies with the NDIS Practice Standards and the NDIS Act 2013

Procedure

Escapades Group is committed to ensuring that children and young people are treated with respect, fairness and dignity within a welcoming and supportive environment that is free from all types of abuse and inappropriate behaviour.

This Matching and Allocation Procedure sets out the process undertaken in Escapades Group’s Disability Services to ensure that children are allocated to the most appropriate program group where their care, support and safeguarding needs can be met.

SCOPE

This procedure relates to all Escapades Group employees and volunteers providing programs for children and young people between the age of 6 years and up to 25 years of age in Escapades Group’s Disability Services.

DEFINITIONS

Behaviours of concern: actions of a participant that may, or have potential to, cause physical or psychological harm to self, another person, or property. This may include actual or threatened aggression, violence, suicide, or self-harm (intentional and accidental).

Child – For the purpose of this Procedure the term child, children and young people refer to a person or persons under the age of 18 years.

Harm – Harm is any detrimental effect on the child’s physical, psychological, emotional or cultural wellbeing whether caused by physical, psychological or emotional abuse or neglect, sexual abuse or exploitation or family violence.

NDIS Goals and Objectives – are used to assist in identifying a participant’s individual support goals and the services and strategies that will be provided to meet those goals.

Positive Behaviour Support Plan– A plan that identifies strategies for preventing, deescalating and managing behaviours of concern. This plan may also be referred to as an Individual Crisis Management Plan (ICMP) in other areas of Escapades Group. The intent and purpose of the PBSP is the same as the ICMP.

Risk – The chance of something happening that will have an impact upon Escapades Group’s key objectives. It is measured in terms of the consequences and the likelihood of the event or the potential event happening.

Participant Risk Assessment – a tool within the risk management framework specifying the approach, the management of components and resources to be applied to the management of risk.

Stakeholders – individuals and organisations that are part of a participant’s formal and informal support network. This may include family members, carers, Escapades Group employees or volunteers and employees from external organisations.

Young person – for the purpose of this procedure, the term young person applies to a person or persons aged over 18 years and under 25 years.

PROCEDURE

Referral

Children/adult or young people aged between 5-67 years old, living with a disability are eligible to attend Escapades Group’s Disability Services.

Children/adult or young people are eligible to receive funding for Escapades Group’s Disability Services through the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).

All initial enquiries for the services are received by Escapades Group’s Director and Services Coordinator review to ensure the service has capacity to support the child/adult or young person with appropriate staffing and peers for the individual’s needs.

Children, adults, and Young people can be referred to the services from external service providers or individual families self-referring.

Families/ carers or the referring agency are asked to give a summary to assist in understanding the child/adult young person’s needs and suitability to Escapades Group’s Disability Services.

The Director or Services Coordinator contacts the family/carer to discuss desired goals, and personal profile and possible group vacancies within the service.

If Escapades Group’s Disability Services are unable to meet the needs of the child/adult or young person, alternative services options are discussed with the child, adult or young person, family or carer and where relevant, a referral is made.

If children/adult or young people are a good match with Escapades Group’s Disability Services, their parents/ carers are invited to attend an Intake Meeting with the Director.

Intake meeting

Further information is gathered at the intake meeting by Escapades Group staff to support the matching and allocation process including discussing the child/adult young person’s:

Age
Gender
Interests
Strengths and abilities
Life skills
Diagnosis
Individual preferences
Desired outcomes and goals
Peer friendships
Support and skill development requirements
Behaviours of concern
Staff to participant ratio requirements

Information is recorded on the following documents:

Participant Intake Form

The Director or Services Coordinator provides the child/adult or young person and family/ carer with a rundown of the appropriate service for the child/adult or young person to assess the suitability of the program to their needs and preferences.

Parents/ carers sign the Consent Form so that child/adult or young person can receive medical treatment if it is required and can participate in the various activities of the service.

Information collected is used to develop an Individual Support Plan together with the child/adult or young person and their family/ carer that identifies a participant’s individual NDIS goals and the services and strategies required to meet those goals.

Matching and allocation

Information collected in the intake meeting about individual children/adults and young people is used by the Director/Coordinator to match and allocate children/adults and young people to the most appropriate program.

Matching and allocation takes into consideration:

The age of the child/adult young person
Compatibility with other children or young people attending the program
Support requirements
Skills and abilities
Individual preferences
Individual support goals
Behaviours of concern that may impact on other participants
Established peer friendships
Match of the level of support needed by a child/young person using the staff to participant ratio below.

Participants are allocated to programs according to age and gender and interests, the child/adult or young person’s developmental abilities, chronological age and physical size are also taken into consideration.

All efforts are made to maintain established peer friendships where they exist and provide participants with consistency in relation to employees providing the service.

Children/adults or young people and their family/carer are involved in decision making throughout the entire matching and allocation process.

Staff to participant ratio

Low support needs- A child/adult or young person who has one or two characteristics described in a. and/or b. below must be assigned a staff-to-client ratio of 1:4.

Medium support needs- A child/adult or young person who has three characteristics described in a. and/or b. below must be assigned a staff-to-client ratio of 1:3

High support needs- A person who has 4 or more characteristics described in a. and/or b. below must be assigned a staff-to-client ratio of 1:2

Requires Individual support- A person who does not meet the requirements of 1:2, 1:3, 1:4 must be assigned a staff-to-client ratio of 1:1 and receive Individual Support and may not be eligible for group activities.

a. The child/adult or young person requires daily total care and monitoring or constant hand-over-hand physical guidance to successfully complete at least three of the following activities:

Toileting
Communicating basic needs
Eating
Ambulating

b. The person assaults others, is self-injurious or manifests severe dysfunctional behaviours at a documented level of frequency, intensity or duration requiring frequent daily on-going intervention and monitoring as established in an approved behaviour management program.

Participant Risk Assessment

As part of the matching and allocation process, an environmental scan is undertaken by the Coordinator to identify potential individual and group related risks. Each participant is to have a Participant Risk Assessment completed. If program risks or individual participant behaviours of concern are identified, then a Challenging Behaviour Support Plan may be developed.

The Participant Risk Assessment identifies potential risks factors in the day to day operation of the program and planned actions to reduce risk.

The Challenging Behaviour Support Plan outlines strategies to prevent, de-escalate and manage any identified behaviours of concern to minimise any risks to the child/adult or young person and other children or young people attending the program.

Challenging Behaviour Support Plans are developed in consultation with the child/adult where possible, the family/carer and other relevant stakeholders. All efforts are made to ensure approaches are consistent with those used in the different settings in which the child lives and participates.

Safeguarding children and young people under 18 years placed with young people aged over 18 years

While children are usually grouped with other children/adult or young people of similar age, exceptions may be made in the case of an emergency placement or to accommodate sibling groups.

If a child or young person under 18 years is placed in a group program with a young person over the age of 18 years or where there is a significant age gap between children/adults and young people attending a program,
the following steps are undertaken.

A Participant Risk Assessment and Group Risk Assessment Plan is developed to identify and address any potential risks related to the placement such as behaviours of concern that may pose a risk to younger children attending the group program.
Children or young people aged under 18 years are never left unsupervised with a participant aged over 18 years

Transition planning

An individual transition plan is developed and implemented in partnership with the child/adult or young person’s carer/family and key support workers to ensure a smooth transition of the child/adult or young person into the program.

Review

Regular review and monitoring is an important aspect of the matching and allocation process to ensure the ongoing suitability of the placement.

Regular face to face communication and feedback is facilitated at the beginning and end of each visit between the Coordinator/ Support Staff and the participant’s family/carer to ensure the placement is meeting the child/adult or young person’s needs and goals and to identify any concerns about the placement.

Reviews of the placement are carried out at the end of each year, or more frequently where issues have been identified or where the nature of the child/adult or young person’s needs may require more frequent review.

Challenging Behaviour Support Plans are reviewed within 12 months or more frequently if there are changes to the participants environment or:

There is any change in the behaviour of a participant.
After any incident involving the participant.

All participants and their families/ carers receive annual written outcome reports that outline achievements in relation to individual goals, progress and development.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Services Coordinator/Director

Ensure the director, coordinators, employees, and volunteers have appropriate training and supervision to understand and fulfil their obligations regarding matching and allocation of children/adults and young people to programs.
Effectively communicate with the participant and their family/ carers.
Complete appropriate matching and allocation documentation.
In collaboration with participant and family/ carers develop a Challenging behaviour support plan where required.
Communicate participant support needs with Disability support staff prior to the participant accessing services including the Challenging behaviour support plan and any health issues.

Disability Support Staff

Ongoing assessment, support, review, and monitoring of the child/adult and young person
Implement sound risk management practices in the areas of responsibility.
Implement Challenging behaviour support plans and communicate participant needs and risks to the Coordinator/Director.