Week 9 and 10 prepare for work

Prepare for Work in the Community Sector

Development and impact of personal values (CONT)

Principles of effective client service delivery

Recap Week 8 3/09/2013

Development and impact of personal values

• Work with clients is consistent with their needs and rights.

• Contact with clients is within accepted practice and codes of conduct of the organisation and duty of care responsibilities.

• The client will, where able, direct all interventions provided by the organisation.

(CONT)



• Workers will actively empower clients to make decisions affecting their lives.

• All service delivered to clients upholds relevant statutory and legislative requirements, the reputation of the organisation and the area of work.

• Client service delivery is based on accurate and up to date information about service options and the service being delivered.

(CONT)



• All appropriate documentation related to client service delivery is completed and maintained according to organisational standards.

• Strategies are implemented to ensure client services are routinely reviewed in the light of client needs and rights and organisational policies and capabilities. Remedial action is implemented as appropriate.

(CONT)



• The organisation will provide all service within access and equity guidelines.

• Companies are welcomed and are utilised to identify gaps in service and areas of practice that may need improvement.

(CONT)


According to Youth Action and Policy Association (2002) access and equity means:

“Ensuring that all Australians regardless of racial, religious, cultural or language backgrounds enjoy full access to services they are entitled to. It is NOT about special services for people of culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, or from a non English speaking background”.

(CONT)

Access and Equity

(CONT)

Access and Equity

Access and equity is about identifying and removing barriers which prevent people from knowing, using and participating in a service that they wish to utilise.

It is based on an equitable, fair and just distribution of resources amongst all eligible clients, even if it means providing additional services or seeking additional resources to do so.

LEGISLATION IN THE COMMUNITY SERVICE INDUSTRY

PREPARE FOR WORK IN THE COMMUNITY SECTOR

Week 9 10/9/2013 = Team Building Assessment

LEGISLATION IN THE COMMUNITY SERVICE INDUSTRY

PREPARE FOR WORK IN THE COMMUNITY SECTOR

Week 10 17/9/2013 – Recap + handing in Assessment Task 2 Written Report

TYPES OF LAW

• Community service workers practices are determined and regulated by law

• This means you have to comply with a minimum set of legal requirements, which vary according to the target group.

• Legislation is a set of guidelines, passed be an ACT of Parliament, which clearly defines what is legal and illegal.

TYPES OF LAW

Activity 1 • 1. What acts are we generally governed by

working in the area of children's services?

2. What is both the law and regulation that most clearly relates to children's service educators? This will be answered in Activity 2

(Students to think about this before checking their notes....refer Work with Others Week 6)

Legislation affecting work planning

There is a range of legislation that impacts upon workers as There is a range of legislation that impacts upon workers as employees. These include -employees. These include -

• Industrial Relations Act 1996 (amended 2011)Industrial Relations Act 1996 (amended 2011)• Annual Holidays Act 1994Annual Holidays Act 1994• Long service leave Act 1955Long service leave Act 1955• Anti-discrimination Act 1977Anti-discrimination Act 1977• WHS Act 2011WHS Act 2011• Children and Young Persons Act 1998 (amended 2010)Children and Young Persons Act 1998 (amended 2010)• Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998• Workplace Relations Act 1996Workplace Relations Act 1996• Workers compensation legislation (various acts)Workers compensation legislation (various acts)

• In contrast common law is what is known as judge made law as the decision rests with community attitudes and expectations .• For example in the Community Service

Industry the most obvious example of common law is the Duty of Care requirement.

STATUTORY AND REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS

• If a legal obligation is statutory, it means there is an Act that says you have to do something or not do something. This means you can be legally punished if the Act is not followed.

• For example it a statutory obligation in NSW for community service workers to report situations where they believe a child is at risk of significant harm

STATUTORY AND REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS

• What is the name of this reporting?

• What is your professional requirement in this instance and how would you initiate this if you were working in a service?

• Regulatory requirements refer to standards or rules on how a service should be run in order to meet the needs of the clients effectively and safely.

• The statutory and regulatory requirements contained in Acts and regulations shape community service organisations’ policies and procedures- they guide your decisions about what is ‘right’ in regard to your clients

Activity 2

• To look up any state legislation, go to the NSW Government legislation website where you can search or browse alphabetical lists of Acts: www.legislation.nsw.gov.au

• Now – type in search and early childhood

• Discuss your findings

•Duty of Care: refers to the obligation to take responsible care to avoid injury to a person whom, it can be reasonably foreseen, might be injured by an act or omission

•Reasonable Standard of Care refers to what is expected of any other reasonable person/worker who performs the same duties this is about doing your work as well as any other worker.

• A breach of duty of care exists when it is proven that the person who is negligent has not provided the appropriate standard of care

•Duty of Care vs dignity of risk:Dignity of risk is the concept that recognises risk as a natural part of life that helps us to learn and develop. This almost seems in contradiction to duty of care that refers to an action or an inaction that could cause foreseeable harm. In balancing the two, the benefits gained in undertaking an activity need to be weighed against the foreseeable risks and determining how these risks may be minimised.

•Duty of Care vs dignity of risk:

Activity 3 - Balancing the risk

NEGLIGENCE

• A failure of duty of care towards a client may lead to a change of negligence. Negligent conduct is conduct which is in the opinion of the court falls below an acceptable standard

PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY• Confidentiality means keeping private

what someone tells you• Confidentiality also extends to things like

names and addresses of clients, phone numbers and addresses of staff and volunteers• It is essential that all information and

documents that are confidential are kept secure in a place that cannot be accessed by unauthorised people• For example in lockable draws and filing

cabinets

WHAT ARE THE EXCEPTIONS TO THE RULE OF CONFIDENTIALITY

EXCEPTIONS TO THE RULE OF CONFIDENTIALITY

• These include • Making records available to the police if

they have a warrant to inspect documents• Making information available in the case of

suspected or confirmed child abuse• Responding to a summons or subpoena

CLIENTS RIGHTS TO CONFIDENTIALITY

•Remember that all clients, whether they have a drug and alcohol issue, a mental illness or a physical or intellectual disability have rights, and their confidentiality must be respected


•Unless it involves a disclosure or something that leads you to believe they are at risk of harm, do not share their information with others. Respect their right to privacy as you would that of a carer or co-worker.


•All people respond better when their wishes are taken into account. Workers can demonstrate their respect for the rights of clients to be meaningfully involved in decisions about their lives on a daily basis.


Activity 4 Selecting relevant information – working in pairs, identify the information that needs to be given by parents if they are enrolling their child at your service.

STANDARDS AND CODES OF PRACTICE

• An acceptance of the code of ethics by workers ensures that the safety, wellbeing and rights of clients are being actively and continually considered within the workplace the code is voluntary but most services require workers to adhere to a professional code for the benefit of both the client and the service.

LINKING LEGISLATION TO ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF WORKERS.

• There is a variety of legislation to uphold when working in the Community Services Industry. Being aware of legislation is only the first step. Employers must also develop policies and procedures to ensure work practices reflect the legislation.

Week 9 and 10 prepare for work

Career

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