Barwon Child, Youth & Family (BCYF) has been awarded a new contract to partner with the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) in the provision of Early Childhood Early Intervention Services (ECEI) across the Barwon region.
The ECEI program is an early access point for families for children aged 0-6 years of age. BCYF will draw on its’ early childhood knowledge to help determine appropriate supports for this age group who have and/or are experiencing developmental delay or disability.
“We will help families to understand their child’s support needs and provide them with information and guidance to help them make informed choices about appropriate supports and services” said BCYF’s CEO Sandy Morrison. “BCYF will also provide initial supports, and, if a child requires longer term early childhood intervention, support the family/carer to request NDIS access, develop a plan and connect them with appropriate providers” Mr Morrison added.
“Barwon Child, Youth & Family are delighted to now be a Community Partner of the NDIA and we look forward to working with them to develop and implement this important new initiative under the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). At BCYF, we have significant expertise and experience in early childhood intervention and have a range of complementary programs already in place within our Early Years’ Service” said Mr Morrison.
Planning for the establishment of the ECEI program is well underway with service delivery due to commence in October.
About the ECEI Program and Partnership:
The ECEI program is an early access point for families where concerns for disability or developmental delay exist for children aged 0-6 years. Most children in this group will be prediagnostic. The program will provide a range of interventions that include:
- remedial interventions that divert children from requiring life-long disability support for preventable chronic issues;
- strengthening parents and other care givers to maximise their choice and control in the disability and non-disability service system;
- build the capacity of universal service providers to modify their programing to best meet the needs of children experiencing disability or developmental delay; and
- where appropriate, process requests for NDIS funded plans and services.
Further information is available on the NDIS website.
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