Disability services
- three models of service delivery
Social Role Valorisation (SRV)
Deinstitutionalisation
Disability services
Disability and community
Disability services role
models
Explanation
of
terms
Disability services
- three models of service delivery
Models of service:
Service delivery has five main functions:
… To provide a service to the users,
… To provide the resources (staff, volunteers, facilities, equipment,
skills, knowledge etc.) necessary for the service,
… To maintain the service to a standard that can be used by all members.
… To balance the needs of the service users with the needs of the
service, and the needs of the community,
… To share and draw on skills / resources where needed.
While a service provider operates within it's own model of care, each
community that the service operates within is based on a model that
loosely describes it's function or role within society.
Three broad (and simplistic) models could be described as, but not
limited to:
… Social (holistic): is concerned with
who we are, and how we socialise with each other. Human interaction
with each other and the environment play an important part. Families,
ethnic or social groups, hobby clubs are all about how the members
interact with each other and how the environment affects the members as
a group. Members also have the opportunity to change their own
environment to their own needs without affecting the community as a
whole. The purpose (objectives, goals, policies etc.) of the community
are less formal with less defined roles.
… Professional (holistic/specialised): is concerned with providing an
environment that accommodates the particular profession or the activity
of the profession (educational / medical / business). The members have
to fit in to structured environments that are less accommodating to the
needs of individual members and how they interact with each other. Work
places, schools, churches, hospitals, boarding houses, nursing homes
(even suburbs) are about groups of people, and how the person fits into
the environment rather than how the environment fits into the person.
The purpose (objectives, goals, policies etc.) of the community is
formal with clearly defined roles for its members. Community services
are often built around the professional model, where staff or
volunteers are employed by the service to support the service users
within the goals, values etc. of the service provider. Records are kept
on budgets, expenses, care plans, progress notes, medical histories etc.
… Scientific (specialised): is concerned with research, facts and
figures. The community is highly structured around a set of standards,
procedures and principles that do not allow for individuals. Focus is
on objective systematic enquiry of objects, patterns of behavior and
interactions, time and resources, balance sheets and budgets,
efficiencies of scale, opportunity cost etc. Research communities need
to have a consistent approach to inquiry so results can be analysed and
compared. Sporting communities are about finding the best performance
of the players to achieve a desired outcome - to win the game.
The three models and how they relate to the community of the service
provider.
Communities are generally a mixture of the three types (Social,
Professional and Scientific). Social groups need to have the freedom to
socialise, but also need some order and structure to coordinate
activities and work within budgets etc. Work places etc. need formal
structures and environments to achieve the desired goals, but there
also needs to be some flexibility to allow for individual needs.
Scientific communities study, measure and analyse the behavior,
performance and the environment of the individual and the group, but
they also need to have some flexibility to allow for individual needs.
The least restrictive environment often refers to adapting the
environment to suit all members, so that they have an opportunity to
participate in activities, share experiences and be a part of their
community. How the environment is adapted will depend on it's
particular construct (social, professional or scientific), the amount
of adaptation that is needed to suite all members and how the members
are advantaged or disadvantaged through the adaption.An example of this
is in a classroom environment, where a person has a intellectual or
physical disability. The adaption is the inclusion of an aide to assist
the person has a intellectual or physical disability. How the adaption
advantages or disadvantages the others depends on the overall type and
the quality of the activities, the opportunity to participate in the
activities, share experiences and be a part of their community.
The service provider:
Any service that is provided by an agency, service group or
organisation that specialises in looking after the needs of people with
disability. The service provider may specialise in a particular area of
care (accommodation, recreation, education or employment), or provide
services that include all aspects of a person's life. They are
generally funded by the Disability Services Commission (DSC) and
contracted to provide the service within the policies of the DSC.
Characteristics of the service
provider:
... Has formal/informal shared goals,
beliefs, values, cultures, institutions etc.
... Is organised within a set of formal/informal beliefs, values,
roles, expectations and behaviours
... Hierarchical Structure
... Have ownership of their members
... Members have one or more roles
... There is some form of communication between members
... Have resources that are shared between the members
... Balance the needs of the service provider with the needs of its
members
... Share and draw on skills/resources where needed
... Often have communities, clubs, teams, groups etc. within the
community
You may say that these are the same characteristics as a community, and
I agree. Service providers are communities that are organised around
more formalised structures that are accountable to a governing body.
Other characteristics:
... Is accountable to a governing body,
committee or government agency
... Operates within a professional capacity in providing a service that
is not available in the wider community
... The service is structured around a particular model of care
... The activities of the service in supporting its clients is usually
coordinated by the service
... The activities of the members are usually highly organised and
structured around the service (set routines, set activities etc.)
... The larger the service the more resources the service needs in
supporting its own needs
... The wider community generally supports the activities of the service
... Members are:
1) Staff employed and trained to
fulfill the needs of the service provider
2) Clients that receive the service
3) Volunteers that support the staff in service delivery
etc.
(See
Disability
services role models)
Service role models are services that:
... Are successful in providing for the
needs of its members
... Have been tested in providing the best outcomes for the members
... Have a valued role within the community that it is a part of, and
the wider community
... Act as a model for other similar services
Services that look after people with high support needs are often
modelled around service models that are successful in providing for the
needs of its members.
Four broad types of service role models that support people with high
support needs could be described as:
... Full integration
... Partial integration
... Enclaves
... Segregated (isolated)
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