Consulting

Whether you know the issue you need support with or don’t know where to start, CRU consultants can work with you one-on-one to provide fresh perspectives, build skills and help plan the way forward.

CRU can provide consultancy services for:

People with disability and their families and friends:

  • Skilled disability consultants can work one on one with you and your family, to think about your needs, goals and the supports that may be useful to help you achieve a rich and inclusive life.

Workers and human service organisations:

  • We engage with workers at all levels and organisations on questions of values and vision, and provide analysis, advice and training to assist disability-related organisations to shape and deliver helpful and relevant responses.

Community, government & others:

  • CRU works with community groups, organisations in the private sector, government departments and other groups interested in supporting the full inclusion of people with disability in community and civic life.

 

 

bright pink CRU starburstInclusive Education

If we hold community inclusion as a goal for people with disability, this must begin in our schools. Inclusive education provides a lifelong foundation for social inclusion and participation. When students are able to attend their local school alongside their neighbourhood peers, they have the chance to make friends in their community. The local school provides opportunities for academic learning and for participation in the ordinary rituals of school life – concerts, sports days, camps, and excursions.

Research evidence shows that including students with disability in their local school is best for the student with disability academically, socially and vocationally, but it also has a positive influence on the non-disabled peers, their families and the broader community. Inclusive education is a human right enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability.

CRU works to:

  • Support families to have a clear vision for their son or daughter and become more informed about inclusive education and current inclusive education policies,
  • Develop the communication and advocacy skills of families so they can work effectively with their child’s school,
  • Build families’ confidence and support networks so they can sustain their efforts as valued partners in their child’s education
  • Provide information and resourcing to service providers including local schools.

Families For Inclusive Education (FFIE)

Families for Inclusive Education is a CRU Project funded by the Department of Education and aims to build the capacity of families of children in state schools in Queensland, to advocate for, nurture, and sustain their child’s successful participation in inclusive education. The project’s activities include face to face and online workshops as well as the provision of information and individual consultations.

For support that is outside the parameters of this project, CRU can assist you on a fee for service basis.

Suggested list of consultancy topics:

  • Vision and Planning for a full and meaningful life
  • Inclusion in School – practical strategies
  • Building Friendships and Relationships
  • Connecting with other families

Testimonial

I have been involved in so many conversations that have positively reflected on the information provided by CRU [at our staff professional development day], as well as ideas for promoting more inclusive practices at Autism Queensland.
Thank you so much for the wealth of resources and information that you have provided for both families and staff. Our expectations were definitely met! We really appreciate your commitment and expertise in meeting our needs as an organisation too, and within a short time frame!
Feedback from Karly Green, Lead Speech Pathologist, Autism Queensland

Cost

  • Price on application

 

 

bright pink CRU starburstFinding a job

Employment provides many benefits for all Australians. Apart from income it can provide purpose and belonging, connections and friends. CRU aims to inspire, increase confidence and motivate people with disability and their families to make a start on the road to employment. We can provide you and your family with information and strategies on getting started on the path to employment and working through the barriers.

CRU is currently funded by the Department of Social Services to work on an ILC Project called School to Work. This project aims to improve the life opportunities of secondary students with disability by supporting their transition from school to the workforce and their participation in employment. For support that is outside the parameters of this project, CRU can assist you on a fee for service basis.

Suggested list of consultancy topics:

  • Finding work – ideas to get started
  • Inclusion in the Workplace
  • Building Friendships and connections

Cost

  • Price on application

 

 

bright pink CRU starburstA home of your own

Moving out of the family home is a typical milestone for adults and CRU can help explore how to make this possible for people with disability, without compromising safety and security. To ensure home is a safe and secure place to be oneself and from there, take up opportunities to work, study, or to make a contribution and belong to your community requires planning and support.

CRU is currently working on two ILC-funded projects around home – My Home, My Way and Making Individual Living Options real. These projects aim to support people with disability and their families to think about moving into a home of their own (and the different ways it can look), while also specifically exploring Independent Living Options (ILO) as one strategy available through the NDIS. For support that is outside the parameters of these projects, CRU can assist you on a fee for service basis.

Suggested list of consultancy topics:

  • Living in a home of your own
    • What does that take?
    • What are your options?
  • A place to start
    • Vision and planning
    • Bricks & mortar
  • Getting the support right
  • ILO design (coming soon)

Cost

  • Price on application

 

 

bright pink CRU starburstShaping Great Lives

When thinking about what makes an ordinary life for people with disability one only need think about what would make an ordinary life for all people. We can all build our capacity to first imagine and then plan for the life we want.

In a variety of ways, CRU strives to build the capacity of people with disability, their families and supporters to expect more; to speak up more clearly; to stay on track and to decide what’s best in terms of building and protecting good lives for people with disability.  Building these skills is not necessarily about more effort but a shift in thinking that can help us to achieve more or to improve what we are achieving.

Empowering Inclusive Communities is an ILC-funded project that CRU is working on between 2020 and 2023. It aims to provide information to inspire and encourage people with disabilities, their families and supporters to take their place in community. CRU will be offering a series of webinars and general workshops (to be delivered throughout Queensland), as well as coordinating peer networks and conducting some individual consultations.

For support that is outside the parameters of this project, CRU can assist you on a fee for service basis. Many people appreciate the opportunity to connect with CRU following a workshop to discuss what the content could mean in their particular situation.

Suggested list of consultancy topics:

CRU has a strong track record of assisting people and their families to build their capacity in the following areas. Our consultants can assist you to develop your skills in:  

  • Vision and Planning for a life in Community 
  • Circles of Support & other strategies 
  • Safeguards & Succession Planning 
  • Building Friendships and Relationships 
  • Valued Social Roles 
  • Advocacy Skill Building 

Cost

  • Price on application

 

 

bright pink CRU starburstUsing support well

We all need assistance with things in life. For people with disability, the range and scope of assistance required can bring a lot of people, providers and bureaucracy into your life. Engaging the right support at the right time takes intentional thinking and planning. When support is done well, it assists with the creation of a rich and ordinary life and underpins important relationships and opportunities for new experiences.

A core ideal of the NDIS is that people have choice and control and can direct their own supports, regardless of what their support arrangements look like or how their funding is managed. This doesn’t have to mean doing everything on your own, and whether you’ve been managing your supports for years or are just starting out with your NDIS plan, CRU can work with you to build your capacity to feel confident, connected and in control.

Suggested list of consultancy topics:

  • Taking charge of the direction
  • Working collaboratively & in right relationship
  • Engaging and directing your own workers
  • Preparing for NDIS Review
  • Implementing your Plan
  • Self-Managing with Confidence

Testimonial

Good to know other people have success doing things different to me –I don’t need to ‘reinvent the wheel!” I appreciated the knowledge and wisdom of the group. It is always affirming and encouraging to be with and sharing with people who are on the same journey.
Feedback from a participant

Cost

  • Price on application

 

 

bright pink CRU starburstLeadership development

In our sector not many people aspire to be leaders. Leadership tends to occur when people step forward and take action when they see something that needs to change and they have a vision of something better.  We know there are many people with disability, family members and workers in various roles and types of organisations that are demonstrating leadership across Queensland. CRU recognises the need to support, develop, resource and connect leaders in the sector.  We work very deliberately to fortify people involved in a movement for change by highlighting the many forms that leadership can take and what can be done to support, inspire and develop it further. 

CRU works to create formal learning opportunities and better networks to help make those change efforts even more powerful.  Structured leadership development activities can help strengthen people with disability, families and workers for the long haul of leadership and change.  

Suggested list of consultancy topics: 

  • The Nature of Practical Leadership   
  • Leadership for Social Inclusion   
  • The Natural Authority of Families 
  • Leadership mentoring 
  • Different paths to leadership 

Cost

  • Price on application

 

 

bright pink CRU starburstOther consultancies for organisations

We engage with people and organisations on questions of values and vision, and provide analysis to assist disability-related organisations to shape and deliver helpful and relevant services, products and communications. CRU can work with you in the following areas:

Organisational Change

CRU can assist organisations through helpful conversations and the delivery of staff development. From investment in key personnel to large-scale training, CRU is equipped to design specific programs to influence the change process.

Resource & Website Development

Combining technical skills with contemporary knowledge of disability practice, CRU can help you create accessible print publications, videos, organisational materials and websites that are for, or about people with disability.

Other Topics

We may be able to respond to and design consultancies to best match the needs of your team or organisation. Speak to us about your options for personalising our consultancy packages or resources to suit your unique needs.

Examples of resources CRU has designed and created for other organisations:

  • Video:  Esperance’s Story
    Amparo Advocacy contracted CRU to create a film aimed at the Swahili speaking Congolese Community in Queensland.  This video is in Swahili with English subtitles
  • Website:  Dr Michael Kendrick, International Consultant
    Michael Kendrick is a long term ally of CRU.  He commissioned us to create and populate a website of articles and videos.

Testimonial

UnitingCare had services that needed a significant redesign and a staff team in need of clarity about their role in people's lives. We decided we would re-train the 700 staff who worked for us. CRU was fantastic at helping us design the face-to-face component that would complement our learning and development framework. CRU were professional, approachable and flexible – they took time to listen to us carefully.
Graham Hambleton, Manager of the Disability Leadership Unit, UnitingCare Queensland

Cost

  • Price on application

 

 

bright pink CRU starburstCustomise a consultancy topic

We can respond to and design consultancies to best match the needs of your individual circumstances and family, or your team or organisation.   Speak to us about your options for personalising our consultancy packages or resources to suit your unique needs.

Consultancy enquiry form

dusky pink CRU starburstOnline store

Our online store includes a variety of local and internationally produced resources that promote and deepen our understanding of what it means for people with disability to live ordinary lives and how to make it a reality.