Growing Together

Copy and Paste all the Following text into ChatGPT:

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STEP 1: MY VALUES (answer these questions)

1. What supports, resources, or training could be available to ensure disabled people and their whānau are set up for success in managing their flexible budgets, without taking away their choice and control?
   (Consider what would empower disabled people to take full control of their funding, rather than assuming they need monitoring or external decision-making.)
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2. How can we design a system that trusts disabled people and their whānau to manage their own funding while providing the right level of support—without turning that support into control?
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STEP 2: MY EXPERIENCE (answer this question)

3. Have I or someone I know faced unnecessary barriers when trying to manage flexible funding?
   What happened, and how did it impact our ability to live a good life?
4. Do you have any other insights or experiences that could help shape a better solution?
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STEP 3: GENERATE MY RESPONSE (press enter) 

"I am responding to the New Zealand government's consultation on disability support services. The question I am answering is: ‘Do you agree or disagree that disabled people and/or their family/whānau/carers should be able to manage the responsibilities of flexible funding? Why or why not?’ Make sure you answer this question.

Act as my friendly human rights defender and craft an attention-grabbing opening that immediately draws the reader in. My response must be strong on rights, self-determination, and ensuring disabled people and their whānau have full control over their lives.

Key Principles to Embed:

✅ Ground my response in the Enabling Good Lives (EGL) principles, UNCRPD, Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and Whānau Ora.
✅ Frame the right to manage flexible funding as a matter of citizenship and self-determination, rejecting paternalistic oversight.
✅ Critique any assumptions that disabled people or their families are incapable of making responsible financial decisions, highlighting how this contradicts:

• The EGL principle of self-determination, which emphasizes that disabled people and whānau should be in control of their own lives.
• The UNCRPD, which guarantees autonomy, dignity, and full participation in society.
• Te Tiriti o Waitangi, which upholds Māori disabled people’s right to tino rangatiratanga (self-determination).
  ✅ Challenge the idea that managing flexible funding should be any more complicated or restrictive than other personal financial responsibilities.
  ✅ Explain how a system of trust and partnership supports better outcomes than a system of control, reinforcing the EGL principle of relationship-building.
  ✅ Call for a system that provides optional, strengths-based support for those who want assistance, rather than imposing control over all.
  ✅ Highlight that a strengths-based, self-directed funding model aligns with EGL’s core principles, including:
• Beginning early – Ensuring that people have the skills, tools, and knowledge to manage their own supports proactively.
• Person-centered – Allowing people to choose how they manage their funding, based on their own preferences and circumstances.
• Ordinary life outcomes – Making financial decision-making an ordinary part of disabled people’s lives, just like it is for any other citizen.
• Mana enhancing – Ensuring that disabled people and whānau are not subjected to restrictive oversight or excessive bureaucracy.
• Easy to use – Ensuring that managing funding is as simple and intuitive as possible, with minimal administrative burden.
  ✅ Propose solutions such as independent navigators, accessible financial tools, and peer mentoring to ensure disabled people and whānau are set up for success without being restricted.
  ✅ Provide clear, actionable recommendations on how to maintain flexibility, choice, and control while ensuring that support is available where needed.

Now, based on my answers, create a strong and persuasive response that:

1️⃣ Starts with an engaging, bold opening that immediately establishes the need for change.
2️⃣ Introduces my values and experiences, grounding my response in personal reality.
3️⃣ Makes a persuasive argument that disabled people and whānau are fully capable of managing their own flexible funding, in alignment with EGL, UNCRPD, and Te Tiriti.
4️⃣ Challenges any suggestion that disabled people and their whānau need to be monitored, emphasizing the importance of trust, partnership, and autonomy.
5️⃣ Pushes for an approach that provides support without control, ensuring that disabled people can access resources, tools, and guidance when needed—but without being subjected to restrictive oversight.
6️⃣ Aligns with EGL core principles, ensuring that:

• Self-determination is respected, allowing disabled people to make decisions about their own support without interference.
• Capacity-building is prioritized, ensuring that people have the tools they need to manage funding successfully.
• Systems are easy to use and free from excessive bureaucracy, ensuring that disabled people and whānau are not burdened by unnecessary red tape.
• Trust is the foundation of the system, rather than an assumption that disabled people must justify every financial decision.
  7️⃣ Proposes practical, evidence-based solutions, such as:
• Independent EGL navigators, who can offer guidance and financial literacy support without acting as compliance enforcers.
• Peer-led mentoring programs, ensuring that disabled people and whānau can learn from others with experience in managing flexible funding.
• Accessible financial management tools, designed to be user-friendly and supportive, rather than complex and bureaucratic.
  8️⃣ Challenges the assumption that disabled people need more oversight than other citizens, explaining how this reinforces ableism and exclusion.
  9️⃣ Ends with a compelling summary that reinforces the key message and calls for urgent reform.

Use clear, direct, and persuasive language to make this response as strong as possible, ensuring that it highlights the need for a funding model that treats disabled people as full and equal citizens, capable of managing their own lives and resources.*