This article is an excerpt from A journey with people towards self-direction by Leanne Burke, published in the Crucial Times, June 2012 Issue 43. This article is written from the perspective of Host Provider.

Strategies for organisational sustainability

It has been important to consider how self-direction arrangements can be safeguarded, as much as possible, into the future. These safeguards are important for the (Host Provider) service as well as for individuals and families.

Staffing OptionS makes the assumption that the person and their family and committed friends are best placed to know their own needs and that they have the capacity to assume the responsibility to direct their own support. However, under the terms of the service agreement (with Disability Services), Staffing OptionS is delegated authority from the funding body to ensure outcomes. In a self-directed arrangement this authority is then delegated to the individual or family who wish to become the directors of their own supports.

The delegation of conditional authority is based on a mutually respectful relationship where the ethical and honest behaviour is expected from both parties. Negotiations under this relationship include an assessment of risk and viability measures to manage potential risks to the person receiving support, the person directing support and to employees and contractors as well as methods of meeting administrative and legal requirements.

Staffing OptionS forms a "bureaucratic shield" or buffer from departmental requirements so people's lives are not consumed by paperwork, administration, management or reporting requirements. However, conditional authority allows Staffing OptionS to step in to over-ride any action or decision which would place it in breach of its legal obligations. The general intention remains, however, that the support arrangements would operate as autonomously as possible.

The administration fee charged to individuals and families is another safeguard for Staffing OptionS. It provides a financial basis to administer funds and to provide staff who are able to assist with the establishment and development of self-directed support arrangements and the development of assistance that may be required in the future to sustain the support arrangements.

Strategies for sustaining individual arrangements

The challenge for individuals and families in terms of the future for any self-directed arrangement is the sustainability of the arrangement - what safeguards can be put in place for the time when the person or persons currently directing support can no longer do so.

Staffing OptionS believes that it has an obligation to invest in planning activities with each person and their family and committed friends when we establish self-directed support arrangements. We encourage individuals and families to engage in planning for the future and recommend that they seek assistance from programs specifically established for succession planning or to include planning in their budget allocation. Planning support can be purchased within Staffing OptionS or we can assist individuals and families to engage a person of their choice from outside the organisation who is skilled in person-centred planning.

We are also starting to make plans to invest in further strategies to address this important question of sustainability. These include:

• Succession planning activities
  
• Further implementation of supporting roles - similar to the establishment of the recruitment service and the service development worker
  
• Development of more collective approaches
  
• Skilling up or collaborating with other family members in self-directed roles
  
• A framework to direct support into the future
  

As we continue to learn more about how self-direction can best work for people and to develop strategies for sustainability for individual arrangements and for our service, we know that staying clear about what is our business will remain fundamental to this process.