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Disability Advocacy and Complaints Service of SA is an independent individual advocacy agency. Through the use of advocacy, DACSSA facilitates the airing and resolution of disability based grievances and complaints.
DACSSA does not provide on-going advocacy for consumers, rather the organisation provides a service through which specific issues can be addressed with the appropriate people or organisation concerned.
DACSSA is part of an advocacy network and will refer consumers to other advocacy agencies if they provide a more appropriate service.
DACSSA Advocates are committed to using their skills and knowledge in advocating with or on behalf of people with a disability. Some of these skills and knowledge are listed below:
Skills | knowledge |
communicating issues | organisational structures |
gathering information | policies and legislation |
using structures and policies | disability services |
negotiating | political systems |
empowering consumers | complaints procedures |
patience | issues for people with disabilities |
listening | factors leading to discrimination |
planning and evaluating | philosophy of disabilism |
In 2002/03 DACSSA employed 2.8 full time equivalent (FTE) advocates and one Executive Director, who also provided advocacy.
In 2003/04 DACSSA employed at times 3.4 FTE advocates and the ED, which includes the Whyalla Office, and part time through the year one full time advocate to leave without pay to work with the IDSC?
In 2004/05 DACSSA employed in the first four months 2.8 FTE and for one month the Whyalla Advocate. However, one of the full time advocates was on leave without pay at the IDSC. In February we had to declare one full time position redundant, as the leave without pay for the full time advocate was coming to an end, and DACSSA did not have the funding to continue the position.
In October, Mr. David Arblaster, the Executive Director, resigned. The Management Committee of DACSSA appointed Mr. David Rigney, previously a part time advocate, to the position of Executive Director. This left the office with 0.8FTE advocates, hence Monika Baker was employed for one day per week, or 0.2FTE, which lifted the number of advocates to 1 FTE and the Executive Director.
Towards the end of May David Rankin joined DACSSA, which increased the number of advocates, together with an increase in Helen Finch's hours, to 1.3 FTE.
In June Leatha Henry started as a volunteer advocate and has provided us with two additional days per week of highly professional advocacy services.
Thanks to a grant from Community Benefit SA and the Minister for Families and Communities DACSSA was able to develop a new database. Fortunately, the database was just ready in time to enter the data of the previous year, and send off the results to our funding body, the Department for Family and Community Services.
Data entry was done by contractor's and some staff members over two weekends.
The database worked perfectly, however, there was not much time for quality control of data entry, and also, some of the forms, which had been collected throughout the year, lacked some of the information. Therefore there are different results for all the different categories.
The results do not vary greatly considering that 416 advocacy processes and around 200 inquiries had to be entered. Next year the quality of the data entry will be greatly improved. Advocates have been trained to use the database on a regular basis, and the Executive Director is checking that all fields are filled in. Quality control processes have been put in place.
We have decided to provide the membership in this report with the same numbers we have provided to FACS.
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