Care Leavers used to receive priority access to a Home Care Package
A Care Leaver is an Elder or senior who spent time in a foster home, children’s home, orphanage, or another institution when they were a child and they used to receive priority access when Home Care Packages, now worth up to $58,400.00 were allocated. Since February 2017, allocation has been prioritised based on the application date and individual care needs.
Unfortunately, decades ago as many as 500,000 children were placed in foster homes, children’s homes, orphanages and other institutions. The majority of these Forgotten Australians, Forced Child Migrants and Stolen Generations have been scarred by their childhood experience living in institutional care away from their parents. Is it any wonder that now, as Elders, Care Leavers are very wary about moving back into institutions like a nursing home for the 24 hour care they need?
For Care Leavers, in home care, where they keep control of their life and stay in their own home, is their preferred aged care solution.
Thankfully, Care Leavers are recognised as one of the 9 special needs groups when applying for a Government funded Home Care Package to help them stay at home where they remain in control, rather than moving into the institutional setting of a nursing home. When you have your Aged Care Assessment completed by ACAT, make sure you tell the assessor you are a Care Leaver so that they understand how important it is to your soul to remain at home and in charge of your life.
Under the Aged Care Act 1997, Elders with special needs, who identify with or belong to one or more of the following 9 groups:
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities;
- non-English speaking (culturally and linguistically diverse [CALD]) backgrounds;
- live in rural or remote areas;
- who are financially or socially disadvantaged;
- who are veterans, including the spouse, widow or widower of a veteran;
- homeless, or at risk of becoming homeless;
- parents separated from their children by forced adoption or removal;
- who are care leavers; and/or
“No-one can right the wrongs of the past, but we can acknowledge past actions that caused pain and all be part of a healing process that eases the pain and removes fears so many have carried with them all their lives,” said Daughterly Care CEO and Co-founder, Kate Lambert.
Daughterly Care Caregivers are trained to listen to Care Leavers’ stories, discover their unique emotional and physical needs, and meet their deep wish to be loved, respected and cared for in their own homes and on their own terms where they remain in charge of their life.”
Building trust begins with listening to Care Leavers’ stories
Children removed from their families, whether forcibly or through misfortune, suffer a deep and lasting hurt. If the hurt is compounded by a further breach of trust due to an abusive institutional experience, the resulting trauma is often locked away in the child’s memory, a source of fear, anger and deep anxiety.
Daughterly Care’s Hourly Caregivers and Live in Carers are trained to listen and not judge. Our focus is exclusively on the elderly person, their individual needs, and their absolute right to a life of real quality. In time, trust builds, the Care Leaver tells their story—typically, a story of deprivation, loss and abandonment—and our Hourly Caregiver or Live in Carer gains deeper insight into the mistreatment. With that comes a better understanding of the Elder and their in home care requirements and goals. Such requirements include considerations of health, appropriate care, food and nutrition, privacy, identity and relationship and retaining control over their life.
“Can anyone ever understand what I’ve been through, or love and care for me as I am?”
Absolutely we can. You might not realise it, but Daughterly Care came into existence for elders who prefer to stay in charge of their life with in home care because they want to live life fully and joyfully to their very last breath, in their own home. Like you, Verlie witnessed the lack of genuine care, dignity and respect…actually abuse that institutions enable. Verlie saw this when working in a nursing home. Unfortunately, history has shown us that abuse has often been experienced in institutions. So we decided 24 years ago to do something about it. Daughterly Care’s in home care service accepts and celebrates the person you are, and we support you in your wish to remain in charge of your life, independent and at home all the way through to end of your life.
Daughterly Care understands Elders who are Care Leavers
Our Hourly Caregivers and Live in Carers understand that, as an Orphaned Child, Forgotten Australian, Forced Child Migrant or member of the Stolen Generation:
- you were most likely separated from your family and loved ones at a very early age when your family were critical to you;
- you may have lost connection with your birth identity, your family, your people and your culture and that this still causes you great distress;
- you may have struggled with mental and physical health issues for much of your life because of abuse you experienced or witnessed whilst in institutional care;
- your instinctive attitude towards authority and routine may have been compromised by life in a harsh institutional environment when you were young and you wish to avoid spending the final years of your life back in an institution; and
- you might possibly find it hard to build sustaining relationships with others because of the ways you were mistreated.
Daughterly Care assists Elders who are Care Leavers to stay in charge of their life
We are entirely at home re-enabling, enabling, supporting and caring for Elders in their own home. You will stay in charge of your life. You won’t be pigeon-holed or saddled with a pre-designed, one-size-fits-all care management plan or business model where you are told “you have to go to a nursing home”. Our Hourly Caregivers and Live in Carers are your Caregivers. You are their focus and their priority. Your care plan will be both flexible and dynamic, designed in consultation with you, with our expert and experienced care managers and registered nurses and, as needed, with your doctor and other medical professionals.
Our Caregivers can assist you by:
- providing a completely personalised and highly professional, one-on-one in home care service, and developing a care plan that leaves you in charge of your life and is tailored to your unique needs and aspirations;
- establishing a flexible care routine that empowers you to make expertly guided choices about how you want to live, what activities you want to engage in and when, so that you can enjoy life to the full within the comfort and familiarity of your own home, and never, ever have to be confined in an institution. We want to support you to remain in charge of your life… for all your life.
- enabling and assisting you with daily home duties, such as light housekeeping, shopping and meal preparation and proper nutritional advice.
- arranging medical appointments and transporting you to them;
- we also assist with the paperwork required to claim priority access to a Consumer Directed Care Home Care Package; and
- offer continuity of private care by the finest Hourly Caregivers and Live in Carers so that you feel completely at ease and supported by the trusted Carers and 24hr Registered Nurses you have welcomed into your home and your life.
We look forward to assisting Care Leaver elders to remain in control of their lives and live their final years in their own home. Experience the support of Daughterly Care today. Call us on (02) 9970 7333 to book a free consultation.
Need more information? To know more about us, read why we started Daughterly Care, and take a look at our services. Meet the stars of our business, our in home Caregivers and case managers and operations team.
Read unsolicited feedback from our clients. We’re always thrilled to receive such kind words.
The next step is easy … contact us for a confidential chat about your needs or to organise your, free no obligation consultation email claireg@daughterlycare.com.au or call us on (02) 9970 7333.