What Does it Mean to Be a Key Worker? 

The term Key Worker has been circulating around the field of human services for over twenty years now. There are a few varied interpretations internationally, so it is timely to consider what this term means in the context of working with young children and their families.

When people are thinking about starting the Key Worker online course, they often ask me:

What does the term Key Worker mean?

The ‘Key Worker’ model involves one professional becoming the primary point of contact for a family adapting to having a child with a disability or developmental delay.

When thinking about how to describe this role in a nutshell, I always think about the work of Dr Stacey Alexander. Stacey was actually the original author of the online course and spent time researching the role and the meaning in the Australian context. Here she said so well,

“The Key Worker model involves support to the family; using the skills and knowledge from the Key Worker’s own discipline, their transdisciplinary skills, the skills of their team, and their capacity to provide consultation support to children’s services.” 

I always think of the Key Worker as the conduit from the team to the family and child. This person takes the lead role in supporting the child and family with strategies to work on that will enhance the child’s potential. The Key Worker is the main or primary therapist who works with the family. I think it is important here to note that this does not mean that the family will not see other people or members of the team, but having a primary therapist ensures a continuity of support. 

Our own research into the role at Noah’s Ark (Alexander & Forster, 2012) informs us that:  

“The Transdisciplinary Key Worker model extends the role of the ECI professional to become both the primary contact for the family and the main person working with the family on extending the child’s learning opportunities.”

What do I need to know to be a Key Worker? 

To work in a Key Worker role, a worker needs to draw on their own professional background as a core element to the role. But some of the other skills that are discussed in the online course that support therapists and teachers to become a Key Worker include:

1. Considering how to provide emotional support to the child and the family
2. Looking at how we deliver information and advice which enables families to navigate services, understand professional terminology and access resources
3. What tools we use to identify and address both family and child needs
4. Support to develop an understanding of the role of advocacy and how we can support both families and children to develop advocacy skills
5. What to consider when offering support in service coordination.

How does this relate to the new terminology, 'Lead Practitioner'?

In the recent Australian NDIS review, the Honorable Bill Shorten MP talked about the preferred way of working with young children in the future and highlighted that there should be a Lead Practitioner. This announcement was met with great enthusiasm from the field, as experience and research tells us that this way of working is the most effective for both child and family wellbeing. 

What is a Lead Practitioner? Basically, it is the same concept and just different terminology for the Key Worker. The NDIS review has strongly recommended that services to children are provided by a Key Worker who works as a lead practitioner.

Do I have the right qualifications to become a Key Worker?

In my experience Key Workers usually have a background in Allied Health, psychology, social work or teaching. There are no prerequisite qualifications to complete the Key Worker online course though.

Ultimately, we are trying to work with the family to enhance their skills to support their child.  

I have found that it is also our own understanding and conviction around which model works the best that supports a family to understand this way of working. It is not a matter of the primary therapist, or Key Worker, knowing everything. It is a willingness to work with the family on goals that may traditionally have been out of your first training but adding to that knowledge on the way.  

The Key Worker is a linking piece in the puzzle of working in a family-centred way with families. We are currently taking enrolments for our February course to enable therapists to become confident Key Workers.