What is the Key worker funding in NDIS Early Intervention and who should I choose to be my Key worker?
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What is the Key worker role in the NDIS?
Funding for a key worker is part of the NDIS early childhood / early intervention approach, it is based on research evidence and is the best way to support children with disability or developmental delay under the age of 9 years.
The Key worker model focuses on supporting both the child and the family in their everyday natural environments. The Keyworker model includes the nomination of a Key worker whose role it is to break down each goal into its components and identify when additional expertise is required to help address a specific challenge.
What qualifications are needed to be a Key worker in the NDIS?
A keyworker can be an allied health professional (therapist) who has specialist skills in working with children in an early intervention capacity. You could choose a:
- Physiotherapist
- Occupational Therapist
- Early Childhood Teacher
- Social Worker
- Speech Pathologist
- Psychologist
The keyworker will conduct an assessment with the child and the parent/carer to identify areas for improvement with clear goals. Then they will manage an early intervention family therapy support plan and strategies to achieve this.
The key worker’s role is to support and educate the family so that they can provide every opportunity for the child to practice their skills and participate in the therapy plan and work toward achieving the goals.
What is the role of a Key worker in the NDIS?
A keyworker will generally be part of an early intervention team of supports. Their role will be to co-ordinate the communication and information sharing between the health professionals working with the child and the family. They will also co-ordinate the reporting requirements for plan reviews.
How do I know if I have Key worker funding in my child’s NDIS plan?
There will be a stated item of support in the Capacity Building Supports part of your NDIS plan, labelled Early Intervention (children <9yrs) and indicates the funding is for a ‘Key worker Model’. The amount included in the plan, as illustrated below, will be an aggregate amount which includes the funding for the key worker and all related therapies.
See this extract from an NDIS plan:
Where do I find Key worker prices in the NDIS price guide?
The cost of a key worker will be the cost of the individual (therapist, social worker etc) you choose to take on this role. Therapy rates can be found in the NDIS price guide.
What characteristics make a good Key worker?
Being a Keyworker is all about working with the families, paediatricians and other Early Childhood Intervention professionals to develop a child and family friendly therapy support plan around the developmental goals of the child.
To be a good Key worker you must:
- Have great rapport and skills in working with children
- Work really well with families, playgroup facilitators and development educators from childcare or kindergarten (they might be with you for 4 years!)
- Be a great trainer (upskilling and educating is a big part of the Key worker's role)
- Have experience working in a multidisciplinary team (collaborating with colleagues from different fields like Speech Pathologists, Paediatricians and Psychologists)
- Have worked in a multidisciplinary team environment (can draw on skills and knowledge from different areas to inform their practice)
- Have experience with the Key worker Model
How do I choose the right NDIS Key worker for my child?
This depends on their needs. The Key worker’s professional background should align with the priority areas of the child.
Sometimes the NDIS Planner will nominate an ECI Professional in the plan, for example a Physiotherapist or a Psychologist, but not always.
Below is a quick guide to help you identify who might be best suited to the role of Key worker:
- A Physiotherapist would make an awesome Key worker if the goals concern gross motor skills, or gross motor delay, positioning for optimal function, standing and balance, assistive technology like walkers, wheelchairs and lower limb splints (such as not sitting properly, not running, hand-eye coordination, toe walking etc…)
- An Occupational Therapist would be your go to as the Key worker, if most of the goals are around improving fine motor skills (holding a pencil, brushing teeth tying shoelaces), dressing and hygiene, play skills, assistive technology, sensory processing/behaviours, planning/organisation skills.
- A Speech Pathologist would be a good choice, if the goals are related to anything language/communication (social stories, speech articulation, need for a communication device), play skills, eating (things like swallowing or food aversions), sensory processing/behaviours.
The child’s goals might cover all of these areas to some extent. It is the job of the Key worker to break down each goal into its components and identify when additional expertise is required to help address a specific challenge.
For example, a Physiotherapist might be working on goals around helping your child sit comfortably and improve their posture for handwriting and class participation, but then identify some challenges around pencil grip, which is fine motor skill related. The Physio Key worker would then bring in an OT to help with fine motor skills so that together, they can achieve the goal of improved handwriting and participation in class.
Where do I find a Key worker?
Because the Key worker Model is all about teamwork, it is generally easier to deliver this model of support through a large therapy provider with an Early Intervention Team where all the ECI professionals your child needs can be found in the once place. Other benefits of going to a large provider include:
- Leveraging existing relationships and strong communication between team members who already work in the same company.
- It is highly likely that the Key worker would have already worked in a multidisciplinary team before, and have the access to a team of health professionals that can support the child/family (family-centred practice)
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