Needs Assessment and Services Coordination services
If you or someone you care for needs support because of a disability, you’ll need to talk to a Needs Assessment and Service Coordination service (NASC).
NASCs are organisations contracted by the Ministry of Health to work with disabled people to:
- identify their needs
- outline what disability support services are available
- determine their eligibility for Ministry-funded support services.
What is a needs assessment?
A needs assessment looks at your abilities, resources, goals and needs. It identifies which of these is most important.
The goal of the needs assessment is to figure out how to maximise your independence. The NASC will work with you to ensure you can participate as fully as possible in society.
What is service coordination?
Service coordination is when the NASC organises a package of services to best suit you. The NASC will take into account which needs and goals matter most to you and to your family, whānau or carers.
Support services can then be provided by:
- people in your networks or community
- service providers.
Who is eligible for a needs assessment?
You are eligible for a needs assessment if you have a physical, psychiatric, intellectual, sensory or age-related disability.
The disability must:
- be likely to continue for at least six months.
- limit your ability to function independently, to the extent that ongoing support is required.
How do I get a needs assessment?
You will need a referral for a needs assessment (a documented request for needs assessment and/or service coordination). Your doctor or health professional will be able to refer you, or you can self-refer.
What are NASCs’ key roles and responsibilities?
The contract the Ministry has with NASCs requires three things of the NASC:
- Facilitating the needs-assessment process
-
Service coordination, which includes:
- giving information about options
- planning and coordinating the supports in a support plan
- allocating some DSS-funded support services
- Budget management – NASCs must manage the Ministry-funded Disability Support Services in a fair and cost-effect way.
Some NASCs have different staff working as Needs Assessment Facilitators and Service Coordinators. In others, staff take on both roles.
What is NASCA?
The Needs Assessment and Service Co-ordination Association is a not-for-profit organisation for the people who manage NASCs. Membership is voluntary, but all Ministry-contracted NASC managers are members.
Find out more from the Ministry
Find the contact details for your local Needs Assessment and Service Coordination agency.
Resources
Needs Assessment Coordination Service factsheet
A Ministry of Health publication
Related websites
New Zealand Federation of Disability Information Centres
Supporting the provision of disability information and referral services.
Weka
Disability information for disabled people, and their families, whānau and caregivers.
Kidshealth
Developed by the Starship Foundation and the Paediatric Society of New Zealand.
Page last updated: 17 May 2012
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