How Support Network Works for Support Coordinators

The previous articles in this series covered the problems, this article covers the mechanics. Support coordinators are pragmatic people with lots of work to do, and the questions that are going to arise about any new sourcing channel are pragmatic: how does it work, where does my time go, what does it cost the participant, and where are the risks. The walk-through is here.

What Support Network is, in one paragraph

Support Network is an Australian organisation that brings together independent support workers and nurses with participants, families and providers. Workers develop their own profiles covering their skills, training, availability, languages and fees; participants, and those assisting them, search and select the workers they want to meet and engage. The platform takes care of the connective tissue surrounding the arrangement, such as worker verification and screening checks, agreements and invoicing, all in a manner that gives independent arrangements the structure of a traditional provider relationship with the flexibility of a direct one.

The coordinator workflow, step by step

Search based on the participant's criteria. Narrow by location, availability, experience, languages and shift types, including hard-to-fill shifts like overnight and weekend supports. The old 12 phone calls search is reduced to a short list that can be created in one sitting and communicated to the participant on the day.

Use the short-listing with the participant, don't short-list for them. Profiles are written for the participant and family. Your job is to help them understand what needs they have, and present options; the decision remains with the person choosing, and this places the arrangement firmly within choice and control, rather than close to it.

Arrange the meet-and-greet. Contact is via platform and the meet and greet runs as per good practice: a conversation around a standard support session, preferences and awkward questions before committing. When the fit is bad, finding another option is not a fresh search, it's just a message away.

Formalise the arrangement. Agreements are established in the platform, as are agreed rates, within the limits of the applicable NDIS price list, and the invoicing arrangements. Invoices are received by the plan manager in a standard format for plan-managed participants, and for self-managed participants the structure of the platform provides the framework.

Create the backup in from the beginning. The best coordinator habit on the platform is to engage a second worker for a small number of hours or have a warm shortlist, so that the sick day doesn't become a support gap. Continuity is planned, it is never expected.

Where the coordinator's professional obligations sit

The platform does not affect your responsibilities, and it shouldn't. As with any other support, verification and screening occur at the platform level, but don't fail to do the usual checks: confirm the workers' checks and training match the supports being used, particularly if the support involves high intensity territory; keep the consent of the participant at the heart of information sharing; and document the sourcing process as you would any other. The platform cuts out the searching, not the thinking.

It's important to also mention the things the platform does not offer. It isn't the participant's decision-maker, and it doesn't make the choice for the participant, and it does not replace registered providers where the circumstances or funding of the participant dictate otherwise. It expands the options the participant selects from. If they are agency-managed, verify the eligibility requirements for that funding before assuming that an independent arrangement is accepted.

How this plays out in practice

Walk through a scenario the coordinator will be familiar with. A participant's provider leaves the area, and 14 funded hours are not used per week, with a mother filling in the shifts. The coordinator, with the participant's criteria, narrows down the list to 4 workers in one afternoon, the family meets them over the next week, and finally, supports restart the following Monday with a primary worker and a second worker who have agreed to work one regular shift as a backup. Months later, when the primary worker goes on holiday, the backup worker's hours are simply increased for a fortnight. Not a crisis, not a new search, no gap. With this kind of operation, the platform doesn't simply occupy the space. It brings an end to refilling it.

What this means for your caseload

Time arithmetic is the honest pitch to coordinators. The provider ring around approach uses hours per participant and creates single points of failure. The same result can be achieved at a far lower cost, using a searchable independent workforce, and yields arrangements with backup already in place. That returns your time where it belongs: coordination, capacity building and the people whose situations you need to make a judgement on, not your redial finger.

Next steps

This week, go end-to-end with one participant who has an unmet support need: criteria, search, shortlist of 3, participant choice, meet and greet, agreement, plus one backup arrangement. There is no better way to understand one cycle than by undergoing one yourself.