Changes to ACC sensitive claims and Ministry of Justice funding

An article from Counselling Aotearoa News by Irene E M Paton

There have been significant changes in the services offered by both of these major third party funders. The Government has moved to a model of having a ‘supplier’ who holds the contract and contracts with ‘providers’ to do the work.
With ACC, there are a number of NZAC members who have been granted a supplier contract. These can be found on www.findsupport.co.nz. This explains about the new process and for more detailed information go to: www.acc.co.nz/for-providers/integrated-services-for-sensitive-claims/index.htm.  It offers a lot more services to clients (social work, family/whanau, group work) and more support for providers (cultural advice and active liaison).
I think it will be more respectful of clients as the supplier can choose who will do the assessments and the counsellor is paid to attend the sessions with the client if necessary. There is more of a sense of working together as a team in the best interests of the client’s healing and growth.
Unfortunately the previous funding for couples who needed support to rebuild or repair their relationships (Section 9s and 10s) has been withdrawn.
Now the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) has developed a new system whereby couples who want to make parenting agreements have to go through a process called Family Dispute Resolution (FDR) before they are able to take the matter to Court.
There are exceptions to attending FDR where the parties are unsuitable for the mediation process.  Couples under the threshold can have government funding for the FDR process and there are two main suppliers - Fairway and Family Support. They also need to attend a Parenting Through Separation Programme and are offered three sessions to prepare them for mediation and free legal advice.  More information can be found on www.justice.govt.nz/family-justice.
Other suppliers have been appointed to provide non-funded or partially-funded work. These can be found on www.justice.govt.nz/family-justice/about-children/making-decisions-about-children/new-process/justice-providerslist.
These are challenging times and we are being invited to adapt to a new culture. A colleague, Paul Muir, and I have set up two new companies to supply both of these services (www.cfdr.co.nz and www.optimumsolutions.co.nz). It has been hard work to go through the tendering process, however we are hoping that we will be able to offer quality services to clients.

© 2015 NZAC

http://www.nzac.org.nz/counselling_aotearoa_news.cfm?articleID=942&page_obj_id=53

Therapy out of reach for many survivors of sexual abuse

An article from NZ Doctor by Reynald Castaneda

A Wellington GP is calling on ACC to recruit more sensitive claims counsellors, saying abuse survivors encounter long delays before their first therapy session.

ACC’s sensitive claims process has improved over the years, but survivors still face barriers because of a lack of counsellors, Doctors for Sexual Abuse Care deputy chair and GP Cathy Stephenson says.
Ease of access is important for people with a physical and/or mental injury suffered as a result of sexual abuse or sexual assault. Even the smallest inconvenience can discourage them from seeking help, Dr Stephenson says.
For example, when assisting one of her clients to find a counsellor in a different city, she called nine counsellors from a list of 10, and all were fully booked. Left to make these calls on their own, the client wouldn’t persist after being told “no” several times, she says.
Another problem is counsellors who can take new clients will not accept victims of sexual abuse, Dr Stephenson says. This is “fair enough” as they shouldn’t be overwhelmed by too many such cases.
ACC sexual violence strategy manager Emma Powell says the system is still evolving after multiple makeovers in the past several years.
 “We couldn’t have changes overnight … relationships had to be repaired within the sector to a point where we could all be working collaboratively,” Ms Powell told New Zealand Doctor.
“We want people to come forward and we want people to access services … this is not one of those [services] where we try to reduce people [coming] forward”, she says.
Changes to ACC’s sensitive claims pathway began five years ago after an independent review. ACC has been tinkering with this pathway since then, with recent changes going live at the end of last year.
More than 118 individuals and organisations offer sensitive claims services under the new contract, with approximately 800 providers including counsellors, Ms Powell says.
Survivors no longer have to get approval from ACC to see a counsellor, she says. But if more therapy sessions are needed, an individual assessment needs to be completed. If approved, the client can receive other types of treatment, including psychiatric and psychological help as well as financial compensation if they were earning at the time of the abuse. If a client is declined, in that the client’s mental issues are not caused by the sexual abuse incident, the client is redirected to other pathways which can help them.
“ACC doesn’t just say sorry, that’s it … it’s a very different system these days.”
Survivors who do not reach the assessment stage because they volunteered not to continue with any more counsellor sessions are also marked as “declined” in ACC’s books.
In the financial year 2013/14, 5118 sensitive claims were lodged and 3595 (70 per cent) marked as “declined”.This is a jump from 4828 claims lodged in 2012/13 (65 per cent were “declined”) and 4430 claims lodged in 2011/12 (63 per cent were “declined”).
Asked whether this conflated use of “declined” hides the real number of claims turned down by ACC, Ms Powell says survivors receive a personalised service even with this “accept or decline” system. Real numbers are revealed after audits are completed.

In essence
Wellington GP Cathy Stephenson says ACC needs to enlist more sensitive claims counsellors because survivors encounter long delays before their first therapy appointment.
ACC says the system has been improving in the past five years and dramatic changes cannot happen overnight.
Survivors don’t need approval from ACC to have an appointment with a counsellor, but must go through an assessment if more sessions or treatment are required.

© 2015 MIMS (NZ) Ltd

http://www.nzdoctor.co.nz/in-print/2015/february-2015/18-february-2015/therapy-out-of-reach-for-many-survivors-of-sexual-abuse.aspx