Publications from ODSW Social Insights: Letters by DSW (Vol 1) | 页面 33

Integration 1

• everyone knows and is focused on the needs and priorities of the child,
young person, or old person and family
• everyone (including the family) is kept up to date (email, communication
books, case conferencing and regular telephone contact)
• there are processes to resolve any problems
In some cases, coordination moves to the level of significant collaboration that
allows for integration of services, especially when specialist disability or early
childhood intervention services provide support to mainstream organisation.
We see this in the examples of the TeachMe Program of AWWA and the
integrated services provided by Pathlight School in classrooms in mainstream
settings. The opportunities for collaboration are open doors depending on
scheduling, resources and deployment of professionals.
Some professionals are at times asked to collaborate with others who come
from a very different perspective or discipline who don’t see family-centred
practice as being central to their work. This can be challenging for everyone,
yet whatever support family-centred professionals can offer to improve
communication, coordination and integration with other services will be
beneficial to children, young people, older people and families.

How Do We Achieve Integration?
‘Integration’ is about working together to achieve better outcomes.
When integration works well, people using services report satisfaction.
‘Integration’ is about working together to achieve better outcomes. When
integration works well, people using services report satisfaction. This shift
towards personalisation, person-centred care and family-centred practice
is happening against expectation to deliver better service and support.
Effect ive integration usually results in working in different ways with different
people - this in itself can be a challenge because of the need to change
relationships, shift perceptions and share responsibilities and information. To

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