Planning is a process focused on identifying client needs, clarifying goals and hopes, setting priorities and identifying steps/actions necessary to achieve recovery. It is client driven and empowers the client. Goals may be very small and concrete as well as longer-term and broad. Planning is centred around the development of a support plan which address the needs of the client as identified in the assessment process. Select these terms to learn more about the types of plans that are developed to support the social and emotion wellbeing of a client.

Purpose of planning

Planning should be an empowering process for the person, assisting them to:

• become more independent
• meet their needs
• increase their participation in the community.

Individual support plan

An individual support plan provides an outline of the:

• needs and goals of a person (What)
• strategies/actions or services that will be required to meet these needs or achieve these goals (How)
• key people, including the person, workers and significant others that will take responsibility for the strategies (Who)
• timeframe for the strategy to be implemented (When)
• ongoing process for reviewing the plan.

There are a number of different types of individual plans.

Personal futures plan

This type of plan is used to help the client to achieve their long-term goals.

Individual service plan

Individual service plans can be used to ensure that the services received meet identified needs.

Behaviour management plan

This type of plan is developed to respond to challenging behaviours that limit the person’s ability to learn skills and to participate in the community.

Case management plan

A case management plan can provide a flexible and empowering approach to identifying and planning to meet a person's support needs. It describes the needs, strategies, resources and outcomes required to enhance a person’s recovery.

Health care plan

These plans are developed by health care professionals such as nurses, therapists, dieticians.

They are used to ensure that complex medical care needs are managed and reviewed in a timely and coordinated way.