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Publications list

To order a publication simply email us at daretoaspire@daretoaspire.com.au with your order and postage details and we will post out the publication/s with a tax invoice.

An introduction to Restricted and Prohibited Practices - What Are They?

Unit Cost (incl. GST): $22.00
ISBN: 978-0-9804806-0-3

Summary: Every man, woman and child is protected, under Human Rights legislation, from abuse. Abuse can occur in a lot of different situations, but this document deals with the abuse of people who are in the care of others, including accommodation and support services for children, young people, people with a disability, and the aged.

This document specifically deals with ‘Prohibited’ and ‘Restrictive’ practices. These are things that may be done to a person in care that will usually be seen as ‘punishment’ or ‘inhumane’. They may leave you, the ‘carer’ vulnerable to allegations or charges by Police. In any court of law, there may be an acceptable defence (or reason) for your actions. This document aims to explain to you what these ‘prohibited’ and ‘restrictive’ practices are and the sorts of things that will be taken into consideration by a court to determine if you have acted ‘reasonably’ or not.

Making Sense of Rights and Responsibilities - A Practical Guide for Group Home Residents

Unit Cost (incl. GST): $22.00
ISBN: 978-0-9804806-2-7

Summary: Human rights legislation says that all people can live with the same rights regardless of whether they have a disability or not. This is a book for people who live in a residential accommodation service (typically referred to as a group home) as a tenant, or more commonly, a resident. It aims to provide some assistance in explaining not only the individual’s ‘rights’, but also their ‘responsibilities’ in being a good tenant.

This book specifically deals with balancing ‘rights’ with ‘responsibilities’ as you can’t have one without the other.

It may be helpful to have someone you trust go through this book with you to assist you to get a full understanding of the concepts and realities addressed. That trusted person may be a staff member who is employed to assist the person in their accommodation. In doing so, the staff member will also have an opportunity to consider these matters and how they may affect their role in the residence.

Services which are funded by government to provide specific supports (such as accommodation support) have a responsibility to help residents to achieve their maximum potential. This means that they are committed to ensuring that the rights of their residents are respected and to ensure that you have sufficient information to make informed choices and manage the risks which come with living in the community.

Duty of Care - A Practical Guide for Community Workers

Unit Cost (incl. GST): $22.00
ISBN: 978-0-9804806-4-1

Summary Extract: Duty of care is one of those things which most of us don’t fully understand, but which is a major influence and consideration in much of what we do – in our personal lives as well as in our professional roles.

Duty of care affects, and is the responsibility of, all citizens of Australia – it is not exclusively an issue in just professional life. People who are employed to support others (we will call them community workers) need to be very aware of the concept and practical implications of duty of care, as they work with people – people who have rights and people who often have special needs and high expectations of those who support them. Balancing the rights of the people we support with the legal obligations placed on us by specific laws, governments, funding bodies, and other authorities, can be complex mine field.

Having a good understanding of what duty of care means is essential in negotiating this mine field.

This booklet has been developed to provide community workers with an easy to understand guide to duty of care as a concept, and some of its applications within the main roles and duties they perform on a daily basis. It is specifically focused on the balancing act which comes with providing services and support which is empowering and non-discriminatory, but which do not expose the worker, their clients, or other community members to undue risk.

It is important to remember that duty of care is an issue for all of us all of the time, no matter where we may be or who we may be with. It would be impossible to cover all contingencies here, so this booklet is targeted specifically to the community worker who is responsible for caring for and supporting others – usually those with special needs such as a disability.

Keeping Good Records: A Practical Guide to Documentation for Community Workers

Unit Cost (incl. GST): $27.50
ISBN: 978-0-9804806-3-4

Summary Extract: In nearly all jobs, workers are required to keep some form of records relating to their work - regarding the systems within the organisation they work for, and in relation to the people they provide services to. The type of records are many and varied, but are usually well established in the job, based on the employer’s needs and based on external requirements.

This book has been developed to provide people who work in community services with a practical guide regarding the common expectations and processes in keeping good records. Whilst there are many different forms and documentation systems out there, this guide is presented generally and needs to be considered with due respect to the specific guidelines which most employers have in place regarding this part of service provision and service management.

Where appropriate, examples are given to enhance nderstanding of the concepts and practices being addressed.

It is also important to note that these guidelines have been gleaned from the practices and principles used in specific community service related professions, and have been presented based on anecdotal experiences of long-standing industry providers and individual professionals. This is by no means a complete guide, and any issues or concerns should be addressed by getting appropriate advice from relevant professionals (e.g. a lawyer).

Responding to a cry for help! - Managing challenging behaviour from crisis point to positive and lasting change

Unit Cost (incl. GST): $44.00
ISBN: 978-0-9804806-1-0

Summary:People from all walks of life react to different occurrences in their lives in a different way from one other. If some of those occurrences have been stressful or overwhelming, often various forms of external support (e.g. counselling, therapy, grief support etc...) follow on as part of normal life. For people in care these supports are often not realised. Either because the cause or need for support is not known or because of communication difficulties, the person experiencing the difficulty may not be able to express their need and in some cases, we just don’t see the signs or hear the message. Often people resort to the use of behaviour to try and self manage their issues, usually without understanding that these behaviours may put themselves and/or others at risk. Sometimes the problem is so far back in a person’s life that the behaviours have become part of what the person does and it is impossible to identify why it started. However, the need for help for a person in care is just as important as it is for any person living in the community.

The information in this publication provides people in a ‘caring’ role (e.g. human service workers) with an understanding of the minimum standards of practice required when providing behaviour intervention and support services to a person who is in care. It is important to understand that these practices are based on recognised processes developed and utilised by behaviour specialists from around the world, and represent minimum standards only. New practices are being developed continually, particularly with regard to the ethics of supporting human rights. Workers supporting people with challenging behaviours are encouraged to undertake ongoing self-education to remain abreast with new developments in the field.

This information book has been developed to provide workers with information about the key components of behaviour intervention and support programs, how to respond to challenging behaviour when it occurs, both in the short term (in a crisis) and in the long-term through the implementation of a multi-element support plan. The information in this package is not definitive, but is intended to guide workers through the major components of behaviour intervention and support processes and the minimum standards required in applying that process.

Supporting Others to Manage Medications Safely - A Practical Guide for Community Workers

Unit Cost (incl. GST): $22.00
ISBN: 978-0-9804806-5-8

Summary: In a world full of risks to our physical and mental wellbeing, the risks associated with the use of prescription and over-the-counter drugs (or medications) stands out as one which is often very much understated or misunderstood, and one which poses a very serious risk of harm.

Many would argue that the health care professional who is prescribing or recommending a course of treatment, such as using medications, should be trusted that they know their job and would not do anything which would put us in harm’s way. However, as with all risks, we need to take some responsibility for what we do. In the case of medications, all health professionals would agree that their use does hold some risk and that whilst they have an obligation at law to inform us of those risks, the medication user has to take some responsibility to be reasonably informed of the dangers that any health care treatment poses to them, before they make a choice about whether to agree to that course of treatment.

In short, no medication comes with a 100% guarantee that there is no risk to the person taking them. You only need to read the information that drug companies and Pharmacists give to their customers to see the possible problems that can occur and the need for being aware of those possible problems when taking certain medications and the steps which should be taken if a problem arises.

This booklet has been designed to assist those people who take on the responsibility of supporting another person to manage the medication health professionals may prescribe for them. Community workers are less likely today to have medical training than they did 20 years ago when groups such as people who have a disability were largely cared for by people from the nursing profession. Therefore, to ensure that community workers can undertake this support role and ensure that the people they support get the maximum benefit from their prescribed treatments, it is important that they clearly understand what is required of them and are committed to achieving best outcomes.

As workers in community group homes or other community services, we are often required to assist our clients in their regular taking of prescribed medications, particularly when they are children or people who have limited ability to understand the implications of what they are doing. These people are placing their safety in your hands – a serious responsibility which should not be taken lightly.

It is helpful for workers to have some knowledge of the medications that each of their clients are taking, when they should be taking them, what is a safe dose of each medication, how it affects the person - both wanted (therapeutically) and unwanted (adversely), and how different medications affect (interact with) each other when taken together.

This booklet seeks to provide you an overview of terms, an overview of some basic pharmacology principles, issues to consider in educating clients about their medication, and important components of an effective medication management system, so that you can assist clients in using their medications in a safe and beneficial manner.

Assisting Others to Take Medications Safely - A Practice Guide for Community Workers

A Supplementary Publication to "Supporting Others to Manage Medications Safely A Practical Guide for Community Workers"

Unit Cost (incl. GST): $22.00
ISBN: 978-0-9804806-6-5

Summary: This practice guide has been developed as a supplement to the Dare to Aspire publication “Supporting Others to Manage Medications Safely – A Practical Guide for Community Workers”.

It is intended that the publication “Supporting Others to Manage Medications Safely – A Practical Guide for Community Workers” will provide the Community Worker with a practical but detailed insight into the world of pharmacology (the study of drugs) as it relates to their work and to the people (referred here as clients) they support.

This supplementary guide, however, extends that knowledge into the practices required on a day to day basis to assist clients to actually take their medications, including step by step instructions and suggestions to make this often daunting task simple and straight forward.

It is highly recommended that the Community Worker take the time to read “Supporting Others to Manage Medications Safely – A Practical Guide for Community Workers” before they follow the guidelines in this supplement.

Dare to Aspire recognises that the handling of medication is a very serious matter, which carries with it certain risks for the person taking the medication and those who assist them. Dare to Aspire recognises that Community Workers often have limited insights into the world of medication, but need to at least understand the safest practical way to assist their clients to take medication.

These publications may be used as part of a comprehensive training program for Community Workers, but should not used as the sole form of training. This supplement would therefore be a suitable addition to any induction and orientation program for new Community Workers.

"So Now You Are A Team Leader" - A Survival Guide for Team Leaders in Community Services

Unit Cost (incl. GST): $22.00
ISBN: 978-0-9804806-7-2

Summary: So now you are a Team Leader, or maybe you have been a Team Leader for some time now, and you are looking for something to help you cope with the rigors and demands of the position. This survival guide is probably just what you are looking for.

Community service organisations, like many other forms of business, operate largely on team power – they deliver their services to their clients through groups of people who bring together a vast array of skills and experience, which together offer the client a comprehensive service. But being the leader of a team (a Team Leader) is not an easy job by any stretch of the imagination. Many who take on the role do so for a number of personal and professional reasons and others want it, but never seem to have that edge which lands them the job. Whatever the reason, workers who take on this vital role face many challenges in keeping the team focused and productive.

The Team Leader (and it is acknowledged that the role may come with many different titles depending on the organisation) is viewed as being the glue that keeps the team together and working. Managers view the Team Leader as an extension of their role – a person who can be trusted to ensure that the team delivers on every count of what is expected of them.

Based on the experiences of many Team Leaders who have successfully (and some not so successfully) undertaken this role, we have found that there are a number of common rules, principles, and ways of doing things which increase the likelihood that the Team Leader experience will be fun and fulfilling, both personally and professionally. It is widely recognised that the job is extremely challenging and there are no guarantees that everything tried to build, motivate, and keep a team together will work. But the areas covered in this book bring together the best tips we can find to ensure that your efforts in team leading will see positive results.

What this book doesn’t do, however, is challenge processes and regulations which we all have to live with, no matter what job we do. Policies and procedures, common elements in the structures and processes of nearly all community services, are developed by organisations to ensure that certain required processes are applied and certain decisions are made which comply with the expectations of the law and industry regulations. What this survival guide does do is help to ensure that the people applying the policies and procedures do so with effectiveness, consistency, understanding and commitment – working together in the team, as part of the whole organisation, with a view always to the aims and purposes of the organisation. Most employers need to have faith in the fact that the teams they employ at least do the minimum required of them, and at best, do it in a manner which gives the client better than expected outcomes.

It is also important to point out that within a community service – a service which serves the people of a community, team functions and behaviours will have a direct effect on the people receiving the service. This effect can be seen, for example, in the behaviours of clients in an accommodation service, where it is well known that the behaviour of staff directly affects the behaviour of the clients. This is an important consideration when dealing with difficult behaviours, which are caused by many factors in the person’s environment, and just one good reason to get the team and its members working well together.

What is provided here in this guide is a ‘pot pourri’ of ideas, suggestions, strategies, and guides, which you can consider when facing the challenges in your team leading role. They are by no means definitive, and there are a whole myriad of additional things you can do to deal with the challenges you face. We have simply picked out the best of what we have found that works, and invite you to look further afield for strategies you can use to address your own unique challenges. We invite you to read them, consider them, and apply them using your own measure of creativity and ideas.