A trauma-informed NDIS provider that supports placements instead of destabilising them.

SCA is an NDIS provider for DCJ caseworkers working with young people aged 12 to 20 across Western and South West Sydney. We understand that a placement can hold or a placement can crack, and that a lot of the difference comes down to whether the outside providers are helping the carer or getting in their way.

We work with young people in foster care, kinship placements, residential care, and semi-independent living arrangements. Our founder Yosmerys Aparicio Cuencas built the organisation specifically because too many out of home care young people were being handed to providers who did not know the sector, did not read the care plan, and did not communicate with the caseworker until something went wrong.

What we hear from DCJ caseworkers

The pattern is consistent. A young person moves into a new placement and the NDIS providers take weeks to re-engage. Behaviour escalates around court dates, contact visits, or a school change, and the behaviour support practitioner has not been told any of it was coming. Reports turn up late, in a format the district office cannot use, or with no data on the actual incidents. When the caseworker changes, the whole thing has to be explained again because nothing was documented centrally.

We also hear about providers who position themselves against the carer instead of alongside them. That is a fast way to destabilise a placement. Our starting position is that the carer is the intervention and our job is to make their week easier, not harder.

How SCA works with DCJ caseworkers

We treat OOHC referrals differently from the start. On day one we ask for the care plan, the behaviour support plan if one exists, and a summary of any critical incidents in the last six months. We ask who the caseworker wants copied on notes, how often they want updates, and what format the district office prefers.

We nominate a single point of contact for the caseworker so you are not chasing four different email addresses. Session notes are written in SOAP format and available within 48 hours. Monthly summary reports go out on a fixed cadence agreed at intake. Critical incidents are reported within the DCJ timeframe, not ours.

Our behaviour support practitioners write plans that account for the realities of a placement: contact visits, sibling arrangements, school-refusal patterns, and the transition points that we know set young people off. We share draft plans with the carer and caseworker before they are finalised so nothing lands as a surprise.

What to expect in the first two weeks

Day one, we acknowledge the referral and ask for the paperwork. Within three business days we come back with a fit assessment, a proposed mentor or practitioner, and a start date. Week one, we meet with the carer and the young person in the placement, at the young person’s pace. Week two, first working sessions begin and the first SOAP note lands in your inbox.

If capacity is tight in a specific postcode, we tell you on day one instead of accepting the referral and letting it drift. Honest capacity conversations save everyone a fortnight.

How to start

Send a referral or ask about current capacity. Email the details to info@supportingcommunitiesaustralia.com or call 0480 800 521 and we will come back the same working day. If it is more useful to run the young person past us informally first, that is fine too. We would rather have a quick conversation about fit than accept a referral we cannot hold.