December Leadership Group Minutes Posted by Posted by Loren Savage on 8 January 2018 Posted on: 8 January 2018

 Enabling Good Lives (EGL) – MidCentral Regional Leadership Group

Record of the meeting held on the 13^th December 2017 in

Palmerston North

• Representing persons with disabilities: Martin Sullivan, Pete Allen, Antnz Burgess, Rose Boddy, Rachael Burt (disabled persons representative) and Rachael Kenny (People First)

• Representing families: Selwyn Bennett, Zandra Vaccarino and Pip Brunn

•  Representing providers: Carol Searle and Janice Gordon

• Representing Mana Whenua: Wairemana Campbell

• Representing Pasifika: Pati Umaga, Lovely Vaipulu and two family members who attended as observers   

In attendance

• Sacha O’Dea and Virginia Wilton from the Transformation Team at the Ministry of Health

• Jen Wilson (Oranga Tamariki), Scott Ambridge (Enable), Gabrielle Scott (DHB) and Julie Hook (Education)

• Mark Benjamin (Facilitator for the group), Jade Farrar and Tina Lincoln (Co-facilitators)

Apologies: Marshall Te Tau, Lovey Hodgekinson, Janice Gray (ACC)  

Robyn Richardson (Mana Whenua) and Katie Brosnahan (MSD)  

1. Welcome, karakia and introductions

    

2. What I think this change means / impact of the change in MidCentral

    

• Having choice and control – having the ability to decide on the direction of my life as we move forward

• A number of services will require significant change

• More choice and options regarding how people live their lives

• Thrive – not survive

• Remove barriers for families – need to reach others

• Mana enhancing for disabled people and families

• A system that is easy and accessible

• A connected system

• A system that enhances mana, where humanity is recognised and where lived experience is honoured

• A gain for our people

• Rangatiratanga – we need to reach out far

• Pacific people are connected

• It is easier to live a good life – people are connected

• Shift from a nightmare to a dream – spirituality is acknowledged

• Disabled people and families have options – we are the main decision-makers in our own lives – people want to engage with the system

• Taking the power from government to where it belongs – disabled people and families

• Making our organisations nimble – do what we say – do away with service specifications

• Removing barriers (moving to a genuinely inclusive approach where the person is at the centre)

• Choice and control – power is in the hands of the people

• Bringing more families in – being able to do and be what we want to be

1. Comments related to the supplied draft Code of Ethics for Tūhono / Connectors

   The MidCentral Leadership Group supports there being a Code of Ethics for both Tūhono / Connectors and everyone who works in the new system

Group 1

• Endorse the existing draft

• Keep it simple

• Additional reference to Te Ao Maori needed

• Who will oversee that people understand and act according to the Code

• Good to have clear accountability

• Should be over the whole system

• Add links to other guidance e.g. CRPD, Human Rights

Group 2

• Endorse the draft

• Make sure people understand CRPD and EGL principles are also an important guide

• Be clear about accountability processes

• More explicit about link to Te Ao Maori

Group 3

• Support the draft

• Needs to be across the whole system

• Needs an independent and external oversight / accountability process

• Link accountability to the Regional Leadership Group i.e. disabled people and families

Group 4

• Support the draft

• Is there a need for a Code of Conduct as well?

• This will offer good guidance and support

• Current material well aligned with the EGL principles

   

   

1. How should people learn about (and connect with) the new system?

    

   Group 1

    

• Disability awareness, led by disabled people, across all agencies (universal and disability specific)

• A wide publicity drive is required – educating all universal support, services, agencies and networks

• Contact (and information) must be direct and correct – need for multiple face-to-face opportunities and written material must be accurate and in plain language

   

  Group 2

   

• Begin Early – initiate connection with families as soon as possible (Early Childhood Centres, Paediatricians, GPs etc )

• All agencies need clear information to have available / circulate

   

  Group 3

   

• Need a diverse pool of Tuhono / Connectors.  Their role is critical.  They should initiate contact and then the person / family decide how they want contact to continue

• Important there are different approaches for different cultures and networks

• It is also about changing mind-sets

• Must be all based on a person by person, family by family and culture by culture approach

   

  Group 4

   

• Range of proactive roadshows and events

• Important not to narrow approach to just “ health” services and networks – Early Childhood, Justice, Marae etc

• A deliberate attempt to connect with those who have not been wanting to be linked with the current system

• Regional Leadership Group to have an outreach function

   

1. Monitoring and Evaluation

What is the flavour / key characteristics you want to see in a monitoring and evaluation approach?

• External (located in the community and not with the government or services)

• Independence is critical

• Must enable a person by person and family by family approach

• Simple to use

• Accountable to disabled people and families

• Must be regular

• Able to track change

• Both qualitative and quantitative

• A formative process – assisting on-going development/adaptation

• Strengths based

What do we need to ask and how should this happen?

• Face-to-face approaches (the point emphasised and supported most often in discussion)

• Invite people to share their stories/experiences – what is working well and what could be changed/improved (must not be “ boxes”) – the second most emphasised point in discussion

• Semi-structured discussions – must not have a rigid format

• Ask people what success looks like for them and how things are going

• Must be high trust relationships created – to build safe environments – face-to-face

• Evaluation to be aspirational – not limited to what is

• Strengths based

• Must have an improvement/development/positive change focus to discussions

• Needs to be an approach that is OK across cultures

• Open process – invite people to contribute … not set questions

• Will collect great information about what is working well and what needs to be improved

   

1. Safeguarding

    

• The biggest safeguard is the creation of a non-disabling society

• Strategies/approaches need to be crafted person by person, family by family and situation by situation

• A focus on evolution of supports and services (making things better)

• Different things for different people and different times

• People being connected with people is a key safeguard

• Having non-paid people around can be a safeguard

• Up-skill universal services

• Need to ensure safeguarding approaches are free from conflicts of interest

• Any approaches need to be easy to use and regular

   

1. Should people know about funding before or after planning?

Discussion in the group featured the following points:

• There are advantages and disadvantages to either approach

• Different approaches for different people (for some people, knowing the amount of funding may restrict their thinking and for other people they will want to make pragmatic decisions)

• How the allocation may occur may impact on this?

• An idea suggested was that there is certainty that “basic” needs will be met and then ‘additional’ funding may be determined after a ‘plan’

• Clarity needs to be obvious around “big ticket” items e.g. costs and benefits  spread over several years

• Any process regarding the allocation of resources needs to be responsive to changing circumstances

   

1. Comments from Sacha O’Dea (Programme Lead, System Transformation)

    

• The current focus is obtaining ‘feedback’ and contributions to the development of the prototype (and associated Cabinet paper)

• The next Cabinet paper is due early February 2018

• Many working groups have finished and they are unlikely to meet face-to-face again

• Six additional working groups will start in the new year

• Content of the Cabinet paper to include: components of the MidCentral roll-out, support to go ahead with the roll-out, finances that will need to be drawn down for the next phase, what funding will need to come from other government departments and the process for future work and decisions

• After decision are made, via the Cabinet paper, the focus will move to:

1. What will be happening in the MidCentral region (what people will need to start to do)

2. What changes may mean for people

3. Answering emerging questions – live streaming options to be considered

4. Identifying the balance of decision-making between the MidCentral Leadership Group and the System Transformation Team

    

1.  Discussion with Sacha O’Dea (Programme Lead, System Transformation)

 How were decisions made regarding who was on different working groups?

Response: Decisions were made on the basis on achieving balance, ensuring the views of various groups were represented, geographical and organisational variables (people from different places and people associated with different organisations/networks).  Note that there was a high level of interest in some working groups and not all of the people interested were able to join their working group of choice.

What steps are there to ensure the on-going input from Maori at all levels and aspects of on-going work?

Response: Material and recommendations from the Maori ‘deep dive’ workstream are being considered.  There will be a regional approach.

General discussion

• There was a request that questions to the Core Group be formatted for ‘Survey Monkey’.  Responses can then go to the Leadership Group members.  This would reduce “administration” time.

• There is urgency around “branding”.  Some people expressed a desire for materials to add clarity e.g. cards with the website email and a contact number, specific brochures for different groups

• It was raised that someone wanted to change their details currently posted of their website profile

• A request that Core Groups have access to live streaming technology to expand the number of people who can actively participate

   

1.   What group members think about the current processes around the MidCentral Leadership Group:

    

1. Good processes to build things

2. I am always learning something new

3. A great learning process

4. Challenging and thought provoking

5. Messy and valuable

6. Scrub cutting

7. It is clear there is much knowledge in the room

8. Good structure and approach

9. Babel – many different voices

10. Great to meet people and share ideas

11. Right to the point

12. Impressive – very focussed and direct

13. Great to have Pasefika more involved

14. Synergy gained

15. We are all on the waka – but yet to leave the bank – groups are forming

16. Moving on

17. Inclusive

18. Small group work is helpful

19. Measure twice and cut once – critical thinking and discussion is really valuable

20. Hopeful

21. The beginning of consensus (starting to learn how to make decisions together)

     

1.  Invitation (addition)

There is an acknowledgment of “Te Hotu Manawa O Rangitane O Manawatu Marae, Whakapai Hauora and Te Whare Wairua o Mere Rikriki that held and supported our Maori Deep Dive Process.  We specifically acknowledge the Manākitanga shown from Shane Ruwhiu, from Rangitane “Whakapai Hauora Trust” (Iwi services), who has extended an invitation for our MidCentral Regional Leadership to be welcomed into and onto the Marae and Chapel in the new year.  This is to support of our kaupapa and group aspirations, to hear and connect to some of the Iwi korero and aspiration, and whakawhaunautanga.

13.  Concluding word

13.  The meeting closed with karakia at 4.05pm