The new Constitution
At the Special General Meeting on June 14, the New Constitution for the Association was voted in by the members. Some of the major changes include:
Name Change to Down Syndrome South Australia Inc (Down Syndrome SA)
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A new structure for the Board of Directors, with three directors elected by the membership and five directors appointed by the Board
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Clearer rules about membership, voting etc
Importantly, the new Constitution requires Directors to relate to and consult with members on a regular basis, to ensure that the Board stays aware of the needs of the membership, and vice versa, the Directors will be able to keep the members better informed of what is happening in the association.
The three directors elected from the previous Board are Marty Hoffensetz, Jackie Beard and Robyn Blundell, and retiring President Judy Opolski and retiring Treasurer Jan Squire have been co-opted to the Board during the transition process and whilst some of the new directors are appointed.
Judy Opolski and I have been interviewing a number of candidates for the Director positions, including a new Chairman. We are delighted with the wonderful diversity of skills available to the association, and believe that, together with the new Chairman designate, it will be possible to build a very strong and energetic Board committed to taking the organisation into its next exciting phase, and ensuring that there is sufficient money available to not only survive, but also to raise the several hundred thousand dollars of extra funding required each year.
When next I write, I expect to be able to announce and introduce the new Directors. In the meantime, the final version of the Constitution approved at the SGM can be found by clicking on this link New Constitution.
The Better Start Program
The Better Start Program is a new funding initiative by the Australian government to provide access to funding for early intervention services for those children that are eligible. The program will commence on 1 July 2011. Children aged 6 and under whom have been diagnosed with a sight or hearing impairment, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy or Fragile X syndrome will have access to funding and new Medicare items under the Better Start for Children with Disability (Better Start) initiative.
The initiative covers the following:
- Funding for early intervention services for eligible children
- Medicare items for the development of a treatment and management plan for eligible children under the age of 13
- Medicare items for up to four allied health diagnostic services and for 20 relevant allied health services (in total) for eligible children up to the age of 15 (provided the treatment and management plan is in place before the age of 13).
Parents and carers of eligible children will be able to register their child for the early intervention funding from 1 July 2011.
The Department is currently establishing an independent Registration and Information Service (RIS) whose role will be to confirm a child’s eligibility and register them for the Better Start early intervention funding.
The contact details for the RIS will be placed on the FaHCSIA website in the weeks leading up to 1 July 2011. The Department has developed fact sheets for parents and carers of eligible children who are interested. The fact sheets are available for download on the FaHCSIA website, www.fahcsia.gov.au/betterstart
