Support Coordination: Clarifying Roles and Responsibilities around transport
As support coordinators (SCs), our primary responsibility is to connect clients with the services and supports they need to lead fulfilling lives. However, a common question that arises is whether SCs should transport clients to appointments or meetings. While the intention behind this question is often to provide immediate support, it's crucial to understand why transportation is not part of our role and how we can better assist participants in building their capacity to manage their transportation needs.
As per usual, the NDIS makes no strict statements around SCs and transport; however it is important to take a more nuanced approach to how you look at the parameters of your role. Although the NDIS does not specify that SC cannot transport participants, it is clear that the role is a capacity building role, and an intermediary role and a role that does not include practical support - the "doing". Support Coordinators are not providers of practical support; we are providers of advice, guidance, understanding, and ensuring that the supports we do put in place, are lasting and work appropriately regardless of if we are there or not.
The Role of a Support Coordinator
Support coordinators serve as intermediaries, linking clients with appropriate services and supports. Tasks can include:
- Understanding clients' needs and goals.
- Developing and coordinating support plans.
- Connecting clients with service providers.
- Monitoring the effectiveness of supports and services.
- Supporting participants to understand their budgets and use them effectively and appropriately.
The role is based around empowering and supporting participants to access necessary services, with the intent of building long-term independence and resilience.
Why Transporting Clients Is Not Part of Our Role
1. Boundary Blurring
Transporting participants can lead to blurred professional boundaries. It may create a dependency that is not aligned with the objective of building the participant's independence. As SCs, we must maintain clear professional boundaries to ensure that our relationships with participants remain objective and focused on their long-term goals.
2. Capacity Building
One of the core aims of support coordination is to help participants build their capacity. By arranging for transportation or finding alternative solutions, we enable participants to manage their needs independently. For instance, assisting a participant in applying for travel subsidies or supporting them to engage in travel training with an appropriate support worker can significantly enhance autonomy and independence.
3. Continuity of Support
When SCs provide transport, participants may become dependent on a specific individual rather than developing skills or accessing services that are sustainable in the long run. If an SC leaves their position, participants who have not built capacity may struggle to attend important appointments or meetings, which can lead to significant disruptions in their support.
4. Charging
Transporting participants is not a capacity building support. If you are undertaking a transport role, how are you charging for that? Are you charging your time then kilometres? It's messy, and the reason it is messy is that the role was not designed to include this type of support. If you are doing it for free, why are you undervaluing your time and efforts? What are you setting the participant up for in the future? What happens when you cannot do this anymore? Has the participant been properly supported to understand that transport can cost money and be hard to access at times? What skills have you built by taking on this role, and then on top of that, doing it for free?
Alternatives to Transporting Clients
Instead of transporting participants, SCs can take several steps to support their transportation needs:
Facilitate Access to Transportation Services:
- Help participants apply for community transport services or NDIS-funded transport supports.
- Connect participants with local volunteer driver programs.
- Support the participant to build connections that may help them with transport, such as willing friends or family.
Build Transport Skills:
- Organise travel training programs to teach participants how to use public transportation safely and effectively.
- Provide information on planning trips, using transport apps, and understanding schedules.
Coordinate with Stakeholders:
- Collaborate with service providers to arrange home visits or virtual meetings when participants have transportation challenges.
- Support the implementation of flexible scheduling to accommodate participants’ transport limitations.
Empower Clients Financially:
- Assist participants in managing their budgets to allocate funds for transportation.
- Guide participants in accessing financial support or subsidies for transport costs. (Taxi subsidy card etc)
- "It's no big deal, I'm helping!"
While it may seem helpful to provide transport for participants, this approach can undermine their long-term independence and blur professional boundaries. As support coordinators, our goal is to empower participants to manage their transportation needs through capacity building and connecting them with sustainable resources. By focusing on long-term outcomes rather than taking a reactive approach to support, we can ensure that participants develop the skills and confidence to navigate their lives more independently, leading to ongoing outcomes that continue to support the participant even when you are not there.
Reflecting on Boundaries and Self-Care
It's important to acknowledge that many support coordinators experience feelings of guilt and shame when they cannot personally provide all the support their participants need. This emotional response often stems from a deep-seated desire to help and a difficulty in accepting that they cannot do everything for everybody. However, this inclination to overextend can lead to burnout and inadvertently place participants in challenging positions. By recognising these feelings and reflecting on the underlying reasons for wanting to be constantly available, SCs can better understand their professional boundaries. Embracing the fact that our role is to connect and empower, rather than do everything ourselves, is important. This shift not only maintains our own well-being but also ensures that participants receive sustainable and appropriate support. It’s essential for SCs to practice self-care and set clear boundaries to maintain a healthy, effective, and professional relationship with their participants.
I know that those of you out there who are transporting participants are going to have a lot of thoughts about my blog. Once upon a time, many moons ago, I was the SC who thought I had to be everything to everyone I supported. Having many years of experience under my belt now and being able to reflect on my own boundaries and the need to "fix" every single little problem. My main reflection is that my need to do this stemmed more from an emotional response to my own experiences of being in the "system" and feeling like people were not there for me, or they should have been more helpful. I can also reflect that the adversity I faced built resilience. Learning to do things on my own and become independent are some of the most important skills I have, and I would not trade those difficult situations if it meant that today I was still unable to navigate life by myself.