Family Forum 2023

On Tuesday 9 May over 30 LDS families, friends, supporters and staff joined us online and in-person to hear from our CEO, John van Ruth and the Client Services team to receive an update on how the organisation is tracking, the implementation of the new Client Services structure and to answer community questions.

In summary the topics included:

John van Ruth, CEO:

CEO John van Ruth speaking to audience at the Family Forum via phone camera infront of the LDS branded signage

John spoke about the last 3 years at LDS and how the organisation has not only grown but also continued to develop skills in quality & safeguarding while always keeping the client at the centre of everything we do. John thanked the community for their support over the past 3 years as he prepares for retirement in July.

Matt Stevens and Ben Natt, Senior Client Services Managers:

Matt and Ben spoke about their backgrounds and their desire to work with people living with disability. They were pleased to announce that we have a near full complement of Team Leaders and Client Services Managers and that their impact is already being felt across the network. They also spoke about how they will continue to work tirelessly to improve our quality while also communicating regularly to families and the circle of support for each client.

Marcy Jackson, Jo Williams and Laura Duffield (Paul Hodges – apology), Client Services Manager:

Client Service Managers speaking to the crowd and to the camera, standing in front of the LDS branded signage

Each introduced themselves and gave their experience in the disability and social services sector along with their lived experience. They all expressed that they are really enjoying working at LDS and are spending a lot of time helping Team Leaders to understand their role and support both staff and clients. This will be an ongoing focus in the coming months.

The Forum then opened for questions from the floor. Many of these questions were related to individual houses and operations and were answered by the management team. One question was around how does the structure work operationally in Client Services. The explanation is similar to a football team:

  • The staff are the players
  • The Team Leader is the captain, directing the players on the field
    during the game
  • The Client Services Manager is the coach, directing the game
    plan and making changes as required
  • The Senior Client Services Manager is the Director of Football,
    ensuring that the team and coach are performing, but also
    planning for the future

Thank you to everyone who attended the Forum and we look
forward to seeing you all in person and online again next year.