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MEET OUR CLIENT LIAISON COORDINATOR (CLC) – OLIVIA

Updated: Sep 13, 2023

Olivia McCluskey has had a long relationship with CPSN. Before becoming a valued member of our Innovative Choices team, Olivia first gained experience working with clients and families as a support worker. Olivia talks to us about her new role as a Client Liaison Coordinator (CLC).

For Olivia, her previous experience as a support worker has given her a unique insight into the daily lives of our clients and their families. In the short two months since she has joined our team, Olivia has applied that experience to her new CLC role, in which she makes it easier for our clients to find the right support worker to suit their individual needs.

What inspired you to make the change from support worker to CLC? I saw the Client Liaison Coordinator position advertised in the CPSN newsletter and thought this would be an amazing opportunity for me to work more closely with the organisation that had provided so much guidance and help for my young clients and their families.

What’s the main difference between your current role and being a support worker? There is less face-to-face work with the participants, but now I provide non-physical support to the participants and their families – taking a more holistic approach.

What’s been your biggest accomplishment in your role to date? My greatest accomplishment to date is establishing an accessible and easy-to-use support worker register of both current and new support workers who are looking for work. This also includes a register of participants who are looking for support workers. My intention was to have a live document that could be used to match support workers to participants in their area. So far, we have had lots of success with it and have been able to eliminate what can be a challenging process both for the participant and recruiting support workers.

What’s the best advice you can offer to clients who are looking for support workers? Participants don’t have to have someone in their networks to bring on as a support worker, so we can help them find someone for you. Clients may not be aware we have the register operating, and we may have someone suitable for them right away.

What’s the best tip you can give clients using our service? Make sure you notify your CLC if there’s been a change in your circumstances. It could be a change in living arrangements, an NDIS plan review, hiring or replacing existing support workers. Additionally, if you just need someone to talk to, we are here to help, and if we don’t have the answer right away, we will definitely find out for you.

How can clients get more out of their funding? They can get more out of their funds by understanding how they can best utilise their support workers – whether it be for one-to-one physical support or assist with getting their groceries and shopping. Also accessing the benefits of flexi-funds can see the funding cover a lot more than they would elsewhere.

Can you explain what flexi-funds are, and how they can be used? Flexi-funds are a unique perk CPSN offers to clients to set aside some funding to assist with paying for things such as support worker training, first-aid training and background checks. Flexi-funds can be used if clients have a holiday planned or extended time where they require a support worker for longer than usual. To learn more about flexi-funds and eligibility, you can email the Innovative Choices team at enquiries@cpsn.org.au

How are clients staying connected with their support workers during COVID-19? It’s great to see many of our clients are using Zoom, Google Hangouts, and online games to stay connected to their support workers. Many others who were finding it hard to get out of the house to get their groceries and other items have asked their support workers to do some shopping for them and enjoy having a chat when they drop it their groceries off. Some participants have met up with their support workers in local parks or walking tracks to enjoy the outdoors. Also, it’s important to note that if comfortable, clients can engage with their support worker as they would normally – they just need to make sure they observe strict hygiene practices.


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