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Barriers and enablers to safeguarding children and adults within a disability services context : insights from an Australian delphi study

- Ottmann, Goetz, McVilly, Keith, Anderson, Julie, Chapman, Jessica, Karlyawasam, Imalka

  • Authors: Ottmann, Goetz , McVilly, Keith , Anderson, Julie , Chapman, Jessica , Karlyawasam, Imalka
  • Date: 2017
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Social Policy and Administration Vol. 51, no. 3 (2017), p. 488-510
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  • Description: Research conducted in the 1990s revealed the tragic irony that exposure to the disability support system, and particularly to its institutional forms, was a major risk factor related to the neglect and abuse of children and adults with a disability. Subsequently, a range of policies have been introduced to minimize risk. However, recurring events of abuse and neglect in the disability services sector in high and middle income countries demonstrate that processes geared to safeguard children and adults with a disability from abuse and neglect remain insufficient. To establish the wider fabric of organizational factors that contribute to effective safeguarding practices within the Australian disability support sector, a modified online Delphi study was conducted, capturing the views of disability services staff and managers (n = 249) regarding barriers and enablers to effective safeguarding. This study identified issues concerning organizational culture, management practice, workforce development, client capacity building and contextual factors. During Round Two of the Delphi, participants were asked to rate the categorized enabler statements according to importance on a 10-point Likert scale, to ascertain the degree of consensus. A total of 262 of the statements were regarded as important or very important. The Delphi result highlighted the considerable gap between the wider systemic and cultural processes that, in the eyes of disability services staff and management, contribute to good safeguarding practice and the safeguarding measures currently in place. The article calls for a holistic approach to safeguarding that addresses procedural issues and to the transformation of the wider systemic and cultural fabric of an organization. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. **Please note that there are multiple authors for this article therefore only the name of the first 5 including Federation University Australia affiliate “Goetz Ottmann” is provided in this record**

‘I walk from trouble’ : exploring safeguards with adults with intellectual disabilities – an Australian qualitative study

- Ottmann, Goetz, McVilly, Keith, Maragoudaki, Margarita

  • Authors: Ottmann, Goetz , McVilly, Keith , Maragoudaki, Margarita
  • Date: 2016
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Disability and Society Vol. 31, no. 1 (2016), p. 47-63
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  • Description: People living with intellectual disabilities have a right to be safe from abuse and neglect and have a right to be included in the decision-making process determining safeguards that will affect them. However, the research evidence that could underpin good professional practice in terms of co-producing safeguards against abuse and neglect directly involving people with intellectual disabilities is largely missing. This article, based on qualitative research involving semi-structured interviews conducted during the first half of 2014, seeks to strengthen this evidence base. It reports on the prevention strategies identified by 12 adults with intellectual disabilities about how to stay safe and compares these with the findings of similar research. The article suggests that a comprehensive safeguarding approach comprises both life course-focused safety training and access to assisted decision-making. The article argues that given the plethora of risk situations encountered by people living with intellectual disability, assisted decision-making should take the form of a co-creation process that is situation specific and grounded in everyday life. © 2016 Taylor & Francis.
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