Transforming Services
Introduction
There has been a long history of people with a disability living in large congregate care facilities. Over time, large institutions have slowly closed down and ‘group homes’ or 'cluster housing' has replaced large, often over crowded congregate care models.
The Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability report said that “while group homes had improved the ‘degrading conditions’ often experienced by people with disability living in large institutions, it was clear that the advent of group homes had not eliminated institutional forms of violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation experienced by people with disability, particularly those with serious intellectual disability” (September, 2020).
There are examples of services, who with vision and decisive leadership have transformed their congregate care facilities to enable each person to live in their own home, with a range of supports.
Key Points
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Its is possible to transform services with clear vision and principles about what having one's one home means.
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Congregate models of service need to be dismantled rather than rebranded.
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Authentic individualisation moves beyond words by learning to think differently about people and home.
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A range of supports can be personally tailored to meet people's needs.
Watch Videos
Home is Where the Heart is
by Pat Fratangelo (Produced by Belonging Matters)
In this presentation Pat Fratangelo discusses how a service transformed from group homes to providing one person at a time living arrangements. She shares several stories, discusses the importance of home and what is really important to people.
Click on the Video to watch ->
Read
When people matter more than systems
by Michael Kendrick
"We are at a point in our history where there is considerable interest in whether it is possible to do a better job of responding to people as individuals. This paper will attempt to explore what this might mean based on the experience of people and systems that have been successful in doing so."
Key capacities involved in agency transformation to personalised life and support options
by Michael Kendrick
Service transformation, one person at a time, imagining better, building capacity
Is 'good' enough? - Not just a good organisation but a great one.
by Jeff Strully
Jeff Strully, at the time this article written was the Executive Director of Jay Nolan Community Services (JNCS). In this article, Jeff Strully shares his experience of transforming a service that provided group homes to a service that assisted people to live in their own home. Jeff shares the lessons learnt, the need to shift of agency culture and giving control back to people.
Still waiting for more agencies to climb on board.
by Jeff Strully
Jeff Strully, at the time this article written was the Executive Director of Jay Nolan Community Services (JNCS). In this article he describes their journey to transform a service that operated thirteen group homes and three “day behavioural programs” for people with Autism to enbale poeple to live in their own home and pursue a life in the community rather than in day programs - all in a cost neutral fashion!
Authentic transformation or just another program?
by Pat Fratangelo
At the time this article written Pat Fratangelo was the CEO of Onondaga Community Living (OCL). In this article she shares how they transformed from traditional group based day programs and group homes to personalised supports which assist each person with an intellectual disability to live in their own home, find a job or pursue their interests in the community. Pat challenges us to move beyond the language and rhetoric of individualisation and the justifications for what is currently provide by learning to ask different questions.
Useful Links
Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability
by The Australian Government
Group homes still places of abuse and violence for people with disability. The closure of large institutions housing people with disability, with the resulting development of group homes has not eliminated institutional forms of violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation experienced by people with disability, particularly those with serious intellectual disabilities, a report from the Disability Royal Commission says.