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S32 Step By Step Guide

Types of plans

1. Psychologist engaged to assess disability

If you are seeking a new assessment of your client's disability from a suitably qualified and experienced psychologist, consider also asking them to make recommendations about what services should be put in place to assist your client to minimise the risk of offending behaviour in the future.
This is particularly important if your client has no current services and no one to help access services.
However, the psychologist may not be able or willing to take the steps to link your client with the services. In this case you will need to make sure mechanisms are in place for implementation to occur by either arranging for someone else to do it or by arranging the services yourself.

You should be prepared to explain to the court how the plan is to be implemented.

2. ADHCAgeing, Disability and Home Care (ADHC)
ADHC is the main agency that provides services to people with intellectual disability in NSW.
ADHC Contact details: www.adhc.nsw.gov.au/contact_us

ADHCAgeing, Disability and Home Care (ADHC)
ADHC is the main agency that provides services to people with intellectual disability in NSW.
ADHC Contact details: www.adhc.nsw.gov.au/contact_us
support plans are based on an assessment of the client's needs and are extremely detailed and come in a standard format from ADHCAgeing, Disability and Home Care (ADHC)
ADHC is the main agency that provides services to people with intellectual disability in NSW.
ADHC Contact details: www.adhc.nsw.gov.au/contact_us
case workers. They usually cover all areas of a person's life. They are particularly helpful in circumstances where your client has complex behavioural difficulties and requires a range of services.

It is important that you liaise with the ADHCAgeing, Disability and Home Care (ADHC)
ADHC is the main agency that provides services to people with intellectual disability in NSW.
ADHC Contact details: www.adhc.nsw.gov.au/contact_us
worker preparing the plan and discuss which specific areas of support would be of greatest assistance to both your client and the court. There is a potential risk in including all aspects of a wide-ranging plan as conditions of a section 32 order as this may increase the likelihood of a breach.

Further reading - More about ADHC

3. Non-government disability service providers

Your client may be receiving support from NGONon-government Organisations. These organisations may not be familiar with what is required when writing a support plan, so it is generally advisable to talk with them about the sorts of issues that should be covered and confirm this discussion in a letter. Specific supports that could assist the person that are typically offered by NGOs include drop-in accommodation support, employment, counselling, day programs, community access support and behaviour support.

Some clients with intellectual disability may be linked with mainstream services rather than disability services. If that is the case, then those are the agencies that might best be able to assist with compiling a support plan for your client.

4. Do-it-yourself plan

This is a sort of hybrid plan that you put together from all of the information that you have gathered about available services. It may be as simple as a few dot points on a page. This may be necessary if you are unable to engage the support of an organisation to put the various strategies together as a support plan. It will generally be backed up with information about the service, letters from service providers or more detailed proposals.

For example, the do-it-yourself support plan may rely upon acceptance to courses in anger management or relationship counselling, participation in sporting activities, drug and alcohol programs or any disability services that have been engaged.

Another reason for putting together a summary plan might be that the support plans supplied by other agencies are overly detailed and are not agreed to in full by your client.

Many magistrates may make compliance with the support plan a condition of the order so it is important that the plan is something that is both achievable and agreed to by your client.

About support plansExamples - DIY plans

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