JFA Purple Orange welcomes the recommendation to establish Foundational Supports, including the Thriving Kids initiative, although we remain cautious about the details of how these will be designed and implemented. We are troubled by the lack of follow through on the Federal Government’s oft-repeated promises to genuinely co-design reforms with the disability community – something that the new Minister for Disability and the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) Mark Butler appeared to reiterate in his address to the National Press Club when he twice committed to the principle of “nothing about us without us”. We can only underscore the utmost importance of co-designing this program and the many benefits that result from including lived experience experts in deliberations and decision making about programs for which they are the intended beneficiaries.
In this submission, we first outline eight key principles that we believe should be at the core of developing, implementing, and evaluating the Thriving Kids program. These are:
- A genuine co-design process to develop the program
- Lived experience voices in all decision making
- Focus on genuine outcomes for children and families
- Commitment to the Social Model of Disability
- Inclusion, belonging, and dignity for all children
- Embedded in everyday community settings
- Evidence-informed and independently evaluated
- Adopt respectful, inclusive, and accurate language
Second, we provide some initial feedback on the structure of the Thriving Kids program, recognising that we recommend a genuine co-design process to work through the detailed design and implementation plan. In this section, we cover the choice between a single national program or place-based options, the target group for the program, eligibility to participate, the need to address intersectional needs and ensure equity of access and outcomes, and the critical issues of workforce readiness and investment in training.
It is impossible to overstate the importance of building a Thriving Kids program that is fit-for-purpose and will deliver the best possible results for children and their families over the short, medium, and long terms. We fear the Department of Health, Disability, and Ageing’s desire for rapid development of the program will undermine this. Given the NDIS Review attributed some of the problems with the Scheme to its rushed roll out, we emphasise that haste is never a good substitute for high-quality processes undertaken over a reasonable timeframe.
We request the opportunity to present oral evidence at a Committee hearing to provide further input. Contact details to arrange this are provided in the conclusion of this submission.