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Multicultural Respite Services (MRS)
Wed, 08/20/2008 - 04:28 — admin
1. What Is Respite?
2. What is the Multicultural Respite Service?
4. The Target Group
5. MRS Programs
6. Program Costs
7. Respite Workers
8. Who is Eligible to Use Multicultural Respite Services?
9. Funding Bodies
10. Forms
1. What Is Respite?
Respite is a break from the responsibility of looking after someone on an ongoing basis.
2. What is the Multicultural Respite Service?
The Multicultural Respite Service (MRS) is a respite and social support service that caters to individuals with mild to severe disabilities. The MRS program is a mobile community access program that promotes social interaction and personal development by providing participants with the opportunity to engage in social and recreational activities within the local community under the supervision and care of our dedicated Respite Workers.
- The MRS Program aims to provide respite to carers so that they may have a break from their caring responsibilities.
- The MRS Program also aims to provide a respite service that is beneficial to the individual participants by promoting social interaction and personal development through group social and recreational activities within the local community.
- In addition, the MRS Program aims to further enhance the quality of the service provided by ensuring that the service is sensitive and responsive to the individual needs of our participants.
4. The Target Group
Unlike many mainstream respite and social support services, the MRS Program aims to cater for the needs of people from Indigenous and Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) backgrounds by providing respite that is suitable to the specific cultural and linguistic needs of our participants and their primary carers / families.
5. MRS Programs
Children's Program
This program offers age-appropriate group respite and social support to children and young people aged 5 to 17 years. The Children’s Program incorporates both local community outings with centre-based days to provide the children with a range of fun activities that can be enjoyed in the social group environment.
The program operates on fortnightly Saturdays between the hours of 10 am and 3 pm, except during school holidays and caters for children with mild to severe disabilities from the Marrickville and Canterbury Local Government Areas.
Vacation Care Program
During the school vacation periods, the MRS Program offers a Monday to Friday Vacation Care Program to children aged 5-17 years with mild to severe disabilities living in the Inner West. Similarly to the Children’s Program, the Vacation Care Program is a mobile community access program that incorporates both local and centre-based recreational activities.
Adults’ Program
The Adults’ Program offers a wide variety of recreational and social support activities to adults aged 18 to 45 through a mobile community access program.
The Adults’ Program caters to participants with mild to servere disabilities living in the Marrickville and Canterbury Local Government Areas. This program operates on fortnightly Saturdays between 10 am and 3 pm and every Thursday evening between 6 pm and 9 pm.
Flexible Respite
Flexible respite plans can be negotiated for participants requiring one to one care whose needs cannot be met by our regular group programs.
6. Program Costs
The cost of all programs is $8.00 - $12.00 per event. However, in certain circumstances the cost may be negotiated.
7. Respite Workers
The Respite Workers are recruited to meet the needs of the individual participants and their families. For example, the majority of our carers are bi-lingual/bi-cultural and sensitivity and responsiveness to the individual cultural and linguistic needs of our clients is actively promoted within the organisation. Training/professional development is also provided to all Respite Workers on a regular basis.
8. Who is Eligible to Use Multicultural Respite Services?
People aged 5-45 with intellectual and/or physical disabilities who live with their family in the Marrickville and Canterbury Local Government Area is eligible to participate in the MRS Program subject to the existence of vacancies within the Program.
The Vacation Care Program is available to shool-age children with intellectual and or/physical disabilities living with their families in the Inner West.
9. Funding Bodies
The MRS Program is funded by the NSW Department of Ageing, Disability and Home Care (DADHC), Commonwealth Department of Health & Ageing (DOHA) and the NSW Department of Community Services (DoCS).