Family Support Workers

Policy

The TAC can fund the reasonable cost of a family support worker to assess a client's needs and suitability for a rehabilitation program to enable a client to resume parenting duties where a client is unable to carry out their parenting duties as a direct result of transport accident injuries.

Transport Accident Act 1986 reference: s.3 'rehabilitation service', s.23 and s.60

Background

Family Support workers assess and recommend interventions and the provision of equipment to assist a person with their parenting role. They are involved in developing a rehabilitation program to achieve this which is time limited, goal orientated and measurable.

Guidelines

Who is eligible for family support worker services?

TAC clients who are eligible for family support worker services are clients who:

• fulfil their parenting role and
• have children up to 16 years of age.

What can the TAC pay for?

The TAC will consider paying the reasonable cost for the provision of a family support worker to:

• assess a client's needs in relation to their parenting role including whether a rehabilitation program is appropriate and make recommendations regarding education and equipment prescription.
• design and implement a rehabilitation program to assist a client to acquire parenting skills where appropriate.
• recommend ongoing TAC funded and/or formal and informal community supports where a client requires ongoing assistance to perform their parental duties (see also Child Care policy).

Who can make a referral to a family support worker?

The client's TAC coordinator, case manager, rehabilitation hospital, or treating team may make a referral to a Family Support agency.

Prior approval must be sought from the TAC before making a referral to a family support agency. A request or referral for a family support worker may be approved as part of the independence planning process for clients with a 'severe injury'.

Can the TAC fund a family support worker to travel?

Prior written approval is required before the TAC can fund family support worker travel. Travel is billed separately and is paid at the applicable hourly rate on a pro rata basis.

The TAC can fund family support worker travel time where:

• a medical practitioner has confirmed that the client is medically unfit to travel; or
• the need for attendance is clinically justified by the family support worker that the support should be delivered in a community setting, eg. home, school; and
• the family support worker providing the services is the most appropriate according to geographic location of the client and the support needs required.

Travel time can be claimed only for travel to and from the service provider's practice address and the community setting (eg. home, school). The total travel costs should be apportioned equally to those clients to whom services have been provided where more than one client is visited in a single travel period commencing and ending at the family support worker's rooms.For example, practice rooms are at A, patient 1 in B, patient 2 in C, patient 3 in D, travelling time is as below:

3 hours 45 minutes @ $92.93 (fee as of 1 July 2017) per hour = $348.49, therefore travel per patient, $348.49/3 = $116.16 and the travel time of 3 hours 45 minutes will average to 1 hour 15 minutes each. The average travel time and the amount charged must be clearly stated on the invoice. For the current fee refer to the Family Support Workers fee schedule.

Can the TAC consider paying for Equipment?

The TAC can consider paying for equipment required as a result of a client's transport accident injuries.

A client will be required to contribute to the cost of equipment where it is only partially related to the transport accident injuries and will be used for non-transport accident related purposes, or the requested item is other than a suitable standard model. The client will own the equipment where he/she contributes more than 30% of the purchase price. (See also Equipment policy).

Who can supply family support services?

A family support worker employed in an agency funded by the Department of Human Services - (see also Service Provider Eligibility Criteria).

Can the TAC fund family support services performed by a member of a client's immediate family?

Refer to the Funding Treatment by a Member of a Client's Immediate Family policy.

In relation to family support, what will the TAC not fund?

The TAC will not pay for:

• services for a person other than the injured client
• services that are of no clear benefit to a client
• treatment or services where there is no objective evidence that a treatment or service is safe and effective
• services for a condition or need that existed before a transport accident or that is not a direct result of a transport accident
• services that the client accessed, was assessed as needing or was on the waiting list for prior to the transport accident
• child care services where the client is not eligible for child care services as per the Transport Accident Act 1986 - (see also Child Care policy)
• the cost of telephone calls and telephone consultations between providers and clients, and between other providers, including hospitals
• services received by the injured person outside the Commonwealth of Australia
• services provided more than 2 years prior to the request for funding except where the request for payment is made within 3 years of the transport accident. Refer to the Time Limit to Apply for the Payment of Medical and Like Expenses policy.