Planning Options and Services for People Ageing with a Disability

Introduction

In  2006, on behalf of the Toowoomba Intellectual Support Association Inc. (TIDSA), I made a written submission to, and appeared before, the senate committee inquiring into the Operation of the Commonwealth, States and Territories Disability Agreement (CSTDA). I regret to report that little has changed since then; disability support for people ageing with a disability in Queensland continues to be crisis managed on a daily, case-by-case basis. When a family carer dies without another family member to shoulder the burden, Disability Services regional office hit the telephones until a bed (not a home), is found to accommodate that person for the remainder of his or her natural life. Phased transition, compatibility, choice of geographic placement goes out the window – this situation is totally unacceptable.

As the CEO of IBM once famously remarked, “if you want to get to the bottom of the problem – follow the money”. Disability Services Queensland Annual Report 2006-07 “ Five years at a Glance” page 16, clearly examples where disability funding inequities lie in this state. Area Managers became Regional Executive Directors; additional layers of management increased the employee expenses line by 64.5% in five years (2002-2007). Quite simply put, Queensland is drowning in bureaucracies, public servants and misdirected funding.

Nowhere is this crisis more evident, than in the area of  disability supported accommodation. TIDSA research report – “An Analysis of Accommodation Needs of Adults with an Intellectual Disability in Toowoomba and Surrounding Areas” (www.usq.edu.au/sciences/research/crrah) is a credible

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document and widely referenced by government and non-government organizations alike. I strongly recommend that Senators note the findings and recommendations within the Executive Summary.

The TIDSA documents listed below will contain some duplication for the simple reason that this has all been said and presented before.

On behalf of TIDSA I thank the Senators for their consideration and commend our findings and feelings to the committee’s deliberations.

Attachments

1.	TIDSA Strategic Plan/2010 Annual Report.
2.	The Problem and a Solution.
3.	Supported Accommodation Design Requirements.
4.	Cluster Housing pilot model.
5.	Typical accommodation module.
6.	Anden House – one tiny step forward.
7.	Statement of author’s carer experience.