The Ministry of Health (MOH) funds a range of disability support services for people who have a physical, intellectual or sensory disability, autism spectrum disorder or a combination of these that:
- Is likely to continue for at least six months
- May limit their ability to function independently so they require ongoing disability support
If someone in your family or whānau requires disability support you can contact:
- Whaikaha - Ministry of Disabled People, freephone 0800 566 601
- Your local Needs Assessment and Service Coordination organisation (NASC), freephone 0800 693 342
- Enabling Good Lives (EGL) Connectors - Waikato and Christchurch
- Mana Whaikaha – Te Whatu Ora MidCentral
NASCs
Needs Assessment and Service Coordination services (NASCs) are organisations contracted by the Ministry of Health to:
- Determine eligibility for MOH-funded support services
- Advise what disability support services are available and help with referrals
- Identify strengths and support needs, and allocate services
The NASC process
Initially, a NASC Assessor will arrange to meet your family member to assess what supports are needed, their goals and priorities. Families, whānau and/or supporters may also be part of this process.
Next, when the needs assessment is completed, a NASC Service Coordinator provides options that align with the goals identified during the initial needs assessment.
The NASC will then refer your family member to a provider of the services that will be able to meet their needs. The choice of service provider will depend on their:
- Disability
- Age
- Supports they are eligible for
- What is available in the local area
If circumstances change for your family member, such as their parent is ageing and can no longer care for them as they have done, it is important to contact the NASC and have a new assessment that takes this change of circumstance into account.
IDEA Services provides services for people with intellectual disabilities and their families/whānau and has offices throughout New Zealand. After you’ve spoken to a NASC they will be very happy to talk to you about what is available in your region.
Contact your local IDEA Services office
More information
Phone 0800 693 342 to connect to your nearest NZ Federation of Disability Information Centre or visit the NZ Federation of Disability Information Centre website. To find out more about needs assessments, visit the Whaikaha website.
Enabling Good Lives and Mana Whaikaha
Enabling Good Lives (EGL) is a new approach to supporting people with disabilities that offers greater choice and control over available support.
There are EGL programmes in Waikato and Christchurch. Mana Whaikaha is Te Whatu Ora MidCentral’s (formerly the MidCentral DHB) version of EGL.
More information
To find out more about what could work for you, please visit the Enabling Good Lives or Mana Whaikaha websites.
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