Our community ! Understanding communities ! Dysfunctional communities ! Building better communities
  Understanding disability service organisations ! An alternative model ! Community research ! Community survey


The institutionalisation of deinstitutionalisation


Characteristicts of community care
Social Role Valorisation (SRV)
Deinstitutionalisation
Disability services
Disability and community
How does the community care?

What Are Institutions
Institution - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The role of institutions in society
Community care Vs Institutional (social) care
The institutionalisation of community care
Explanation of terms




The institutionalisation of deinstitutionalisation
Institutional (or social) care




"Institutionalised care for people with disability is alive and well in Western Australia"

Various disability groups and organisations promote themselves as promoting "community participation" or "community living", but what do they actually mean?
The goal of the current paradigm in the disability services is to include people with disability within a community.
This strategy is effective in providing local community supports for people with low to medium support needs.

People with low to medium support needs       ------> living community
                                                  ------> education community
                                                  ------> employment community
                                                  ------> recreation/social community

What generally happens is that if the person does not have the skills and resources, or each community does not have the skills and resources ...
... The person keeps the existing communities that he/she was a part of.
... The existing communities that the person is a part of are relocated with the person into the new setting.
... New communities are created that have the skills and resources to provide for the person's needs. These new communities may be a part of a service or organisation within the wider community, or within the wider disability community.

People with high support needs   <------ living community
                                                  <------ education community
                                                  <------ employment community
                                                  <------ recreation/social community

A person or group may also be disadvantaged in that there is no service (skills or resources) that supports their needs.
In remote areas where there are no services,
or where they do not fit the criteria of a service,
or where a service does not have the skills and resources,
they have to rely on their own networks and support mechanisms or others in the community for support.

If the person or group does not have any support:
may become isolated
may become a burden on their own community
may be placed in other services that are not appropriate to their needs
may be grouped together
may be labeled with the same characteristics
may have their rights taken away from them
may be seen as a minority group and therefore may be treated as a minority group
may be denied the good things in life that are available to others in the community

A lack of skills and resources in the community also means that the person may be seen as:
a sick person : the person is treated differently to others
a nuisance : takes up resources that are needed elsewhere
a troublemaker : is always trying to standup for their basic rights
an object of pity : the person can not look after themselves
subhuman or retarded : is not capable of making their own decisions

If fact some members of these groups are often placed in the same settings today (both literally and figuratively) that Goffman, Wolfensberger and others wrote about in the past.
Asylum seekers
Aboriginals
Aged
People with drug and alcohol problems
People with mental illnesses
People with high support needs
Etc.

Sometimes people are separated for their own good and in the best interests of their community ...
they are a harm to themselves
they are a harm to others in their community
The above can happen in any place at any time where a community does not have the skills and resources to look after the needs of its members.


Institutional (or social) care
Institutional (or social) care is inportant in, and integral to, the way a community functions. These institutions (Organisations and services) complement communities in allowing communities to better manage their own needs, Hospitals, schools and universities, nursing homes, churches etc all provide valued roles in society, However these institutions are used is determined by the values, cultures etc (institutions) of the society in which they are used.


Shows the relationship between the the skills and resources of the community,
 and the amount of support that can be provided within the community.
(See Community care Vrs Institutional care)




When providing the most appropriate care for people with high support needs ...
1) The community is not where the person is living, but where the person participates, shares experiences and has valued relationships with others.
2) People with high support needs (severe disability, aged etc.) will always need support structures as a part of their lives.
3) The amount of participation in a community (living, education, employment or recreation) is directly related to the skills and resources of the person, and, the skills and resources of the community that the person wishes to participate in.
4) Institutions are going to be around in one form or another whether we like it or not, It is the way that they are used that is the problem.
5) The institutions of a society towards a particular group determine the way the group participates in society.
6) The institutions of a particular government department, organisation, profession or service define the way the person is supported within that society.
7) Facilities that support people with high support needs do not need to be the nursing homes or prisons in the sense that they are today, but can become warm inviting community places that offer a range of services to the community, as well as be a part of the wider community within that society.
8) People with high support needs are a minority group in our society, and will have the same problems as other minority groups in being a part of society.


01/10/2010
Peter Anderson
http://www.psawa.com