Information for Families, Agencies,
Social Workers & Carers
We accept nominations / referrals for children, young people and families on an on-going basis for our services. An Agency Referrals Guide & Client Nomination forms can be obtained by contacting our offices. The benefits of nominating children and young people is that once they have had their initial intake that are added onto our database so that the families / Children & Young People are sent information and kept informed of services that they are eligible for on an ongoing basis.
Priority of Needs
With many children, young people and families wanting to attend camp there needs to be a structure in place as to who is selected and who is placed on the waiting list. This is called the Priority of Needs. Completion of a nomination form Does Not guarantee placement for camps. The selection process is decided by the staff and/or Members of the Board of Management and is up to their discretion. The criteria for selection is taken from the information received through, nomination form/s, the intake interview, as well as any new information as supplied by parents/carers/social workers /others involved in the lives of the child and/or the young person. There are circumstances where children and young people or families will not be selected for camp, this includes; Children and/or young people that pose a threat to either participants and/or volunteers, and/or a disability that cannot be accommodated (i.e. multiple/severe disability that needs specialist training) *Without a Carer or Staff Member willing to attend. Edmund Rice Camps (S.A) Inc. reserves the right to accept or reject any application based on the number of places available, as well as on the best possible match between applicants, the skills of the leaders volunteering for a particular camp, and the needs of the camp as a whole
Nominations for our services
New Nominations for a child /young person and/or family can be made at any stage through out the year.
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Photocopy the nomination & conditions of placement forms (attached or obtain a new one from us) & fill in the information required (NB as much info as possible helps us assess the nomination in a priority of needs)
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Fax, Email or Post the nomination and conditions of placement form to ERC
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ERC will contact the family / carers directly and an informal interview is set up to find out a little more information. All the information that we receive will assist us on where to place them in the priority of needs for services
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A Child / Young person and/or Family personnel file is created and the information is put onto a database so that when the appropriate camp or day activity is approaching the office can send out a camp registration form with a cut of date that nominations will be accepted by.
To make things as easy as possible we only require a phone call to register interest for the camp before the cut of day and this will be stated in the letter or email sent to you. Once a child, young person is selected they are sent out consent and medical indemnity forms to complete with details of the camp. Children, young people or families not selected are put on a waiting list incase others are not able to make the events, these children, young people or families are also sent out a letter to inform them of what is happening.
Care needs of Children:
ERC recognises the five primary care needs which need to be met to ensure children’s developmental well-being. For children meeting these needs is of key importance due to children’s developmental dependency, limitations and vulnerabilities.
These needs are the need for->
Physical care - the need for a person to have their bodily care needs for food, shelter, clothing, freedom from physical harm and medical care met.
Psychological care - the need for a person to develop a sense of self identity of themselves as a unique person (Self ), who has value (self-worth) and capacity to act upon their world in a socially acceptable and appropriate manner (self-efficacy).
Emotional care - the need for a person to receive nurturance and affection to enable them to develop appropriate emotions towards themselves and towards others.
Cognitive care - the need for a child to receive cognitive and intellectual stimulation through formal and informal education to enable children to develop their learning and thinking skills and abilities.
Social care - the need for a person to belong to valued social groups within a society, to ensure a sense of social inclusion and social reciprocity and identity within the society.
We recoginise that the family/kin group is the principle social institution where children’s care needs are predominantly met and children’s future potential as adults is realized. As one of the key ‘vulnerable’ groups within society, children are dependent upon the resources and capacities, not only of the significant familial carers in their lives, but also upon the resources and capacities of all adults within their wider care environment (i.e. neighbours, schools, community activities, political and social policy makers). The capacity of the family to appropriately respond to the care needs of children is however inextricably linked to the socio-economic context of the community and society which surrounds them. The economic, social and moral resources and capacities of the community and society act to sustain and support the family in responding to children’s care needs.
Unfortunately, there exists within all societies significant numbers of children who are ‘vulnerable’ to not having one or more of their care needs met. This ‘vulnerability can be generated and maintained as a result of a complex dynamic between three key factors associated with:
The child – age, physical & intellectual disability, health, gender characteristics of the child.
The carers – the commitment of carers towards the care well-being of the child and the capacities and resources available to carers respond to the care needs of a child.
The care environment – commitment of the care environment of a child (kin, neighbours, schools, camps, communities) towards the safety, protection and care of children and the capacities and resources available to enact the caring role.
Fees
Fees for our services are advertised when we call for registrations of interest for them. This is usually sent out via email to agencies and mail to families on our databases.
All fees must be paid prior to the camp or activity event.
services are accessible as possibly to all children, young people & families. If families are experiencing financial hardship, they are able to contact us to discuss alternatives to paying the camp fees.
Are you on our email list?
Our services including closing dates for registrations of interest are advertised directly to services, workers and families via email alert. If you would like to be added onto this list to ensure you receive information about our services please:
Send an email to eddie@eddiericecamps.org.au
With: Please add me to the client referral contacts list
Include: Your name, agency & your email address.
