‘Care finder’ Heather helps Robin navigate support

How a statewide program is helping vulnerable older people connect with services

Robin* first made contact with COTA Tasmania’s care finder service in December 2023. 

A range of life challenges, including a period of homelessness, had led to barriers for them in accessing aged care and other support services. 

Services received in the past hadn’t taken account of Robin’s individual circumstances and history, and had lapsed. Robin was now having difficulties functioning in the local community. 

It was ‘care finder’ Heather Ross’s job to help re-establish entry level support services to meet Robin’s needs. 

Care finders help vulnerable older people who don’t have a trusted family member or friend to help them, and who need intensive support to navigate aged care and other local services.. People might be considered vulnerable for a range of reasons including language or literacy problems, finding it difficult to understand information and make decisions, and being reluctant to engage with government agencies. 

“Robin had experienced a lifetime of discrimination as a First Nations person and felt disrespected and misunderstood by some services in the community, and that was a huge barrier for them to access services,” Heather says. 

“Any service that was involved with Robin needed to know and understand their life history. Because that very much impacted on the way they interacted with services and there were certain things that would make things work better if the services were on board.” 

Robin had elected to engage with mainstream service providers, rather than those specifically supporting Aboriginal people. 

Heather’s first step was to try to build a rapport with Robin, “which was not always easy because they had trust issues and I had to gain that trust. But we got there in the end”. 

Robin shared their story with Heather, who has undertaken training in cultural awareness and in working with people affected by trauma. Heather then worked with Robin to decide what to share with support providers to help them understand how they could provide a good service. 

“It was always a discussion about ‘are you happy for me to tell them this? Are you happy for me to tell them that?’ Robin was always in charge and empowered.” 

Through hearing Robin’s story, Heather suggested they needed coordinated care through a home care package – and an aged care assessment was required for this to happen. 

“Due to Robin’s life history, having an assessment with people who are from government caused a lot of anxiety,” she says. 

“Some of our very vulnerable clients will not have an assessment without the care finder there because we’ve built that rapport, we’re a safe place and they trust us. 

“So there was an advocacy and support role for me – and to their credit, the team amended the way they did the assessment for Robin. It was very culturally appropriate, very understanding. It went beautifully. Everyone went in on the same page.” 

Robin was allocated a home care package and a case manager, and Heather helped connect Robin to the services they needed under the package – including support with cooking and social outings. 

“So I’ve not only walked with Robin, but I’ve walked with the assessment agencies and the home care package providers. I’ve found the ones that were willing to continue this journey that we started with Robin,” Heather says. 

Things didn’t go entirely smoothly with one provider at first, but this hiccup was quickly addressed and has led to changes that will benefit other clients.  

“The collaboration with that provider was amazing. They acknowledged there was a misunderstanding and that they had caused the client some distress,” Heather says. 

“They’ve come back to us and said ‘from our experience with you and this client, we can see that we need to change the way we do some things. We think this needs to happen for all our clients, not just this person’. 

“I nearly fell off my chair. That is huge. And I don’t know if it would have happened without a care finder being on board. 

“It’s been a really lovely outcome for Robin. It’s very early days, but so far the reports are very good.” 

Team leader with COTA Tasmania’s care finder service, Emma-Jean Jatan, says care finders are working within a complex system. 

“The care finder service meets people where they are at, without judgement, and with the aim of supporting them closely at a time of need,” she says.  

“Navigating the aged care system can be difficult, confusing and overwhelming. Care finders assist to take the stress and complexity away so that clients can concentrate on what is important – getting support in place that meet their individual needs and goals.” 

Robin is thrilled about the support Heather has provided. They say they have always struggled to navigate the aged care system, and Heather has been a “revelation”. 

“She has not tried to make me fit the program but actually heard my cultural concerns and needs and tried to make the program work in a more culturally supportive way,” Robin says.  

“Heather has walked with me in meeting with the appropriate people and supporting me in expressing my concerns to the program providers, never talking over or trying to diminish my cultural sensitivities and needs. 

“I can’t express enough my thanks to Heather for getting me my home care package and helping my cultural concerns be heard.” 

Heather is modest about the compliment: “I’m just doing my job.” 

But she acknowledges that without people like her in these roles, there would be some very different outcomes for people like Robin. 

“Robin didn’t need help with showering and going shopping. But they needed help so that they could engage in their community, feel comfortable in their own home, look after their own health.  

“This package has done that and if they didn’t get that, they’d still be back where they were.” 

*A real client features in this story, but a different name and gender-neutral pronouns have been used for privacy reasons. 

Care finder services

Free care finder services are for vulnerable older people who don’t have a carer or trusted support person and who need intensive support to be connected with aged care and other services.  

They are for people aged 65 years or older, or 50 years or older in the case of Aboriginal people. Different age criteria apply for people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. 

Care finders will talk to people about their needs and then help them learn about, apply for and set up support services.  

They will check in with clients to ensure they continue to have their needs met.  

Primary Health Tasmania has commissioned four organisations to deliver the Australian Government-funded care finder program in Tasmania.  

COTA (Council on the Ageing) Tasmania provides services statewide, The Salvation Army Tasmania and Wintringham in the greater Hobart area, and CatholicCare Tasmania in the greater Launceston area and north west Tasmania. 

Services may be delivered in person, by phone or online, depending on the person’s preference and location. Anyone can contact a care finder organisation about their services. No referral is needed. 

Want to know more? Go to tasp.hn/carefinderservices 

This story features in Issue 18 of our Primary Health Matters magazine. Click here to read the rest of the issue.