04/18/23

Challenges

Alison Churchill

CEOCommunity Restorative Centre

• The impact of disability cannot easily be separated out for people in contact with the criminal justice system

• Disability can result in criminalised behaviours• How do we fund service provision based on the

identification of needs relating to an intellectual disability only?

• How do we confidently state that one behavior is more related to the presence of an intellectual disability than another?

• How then can we ensure we are funding the true extent of need?

Separation of disability and non-disability needs

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• Concept is problematic for those in contact with the criminal justice system

• Many people have never had the privilege of choice & control over their lives

• Impairments affecting cognition impacts o understanding what a positive life might look like

• Lack of insight into behaviours

Notions of choice and control

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• Disproportionate number of mental ill / intellectual disability in criminal justice contact

• Prison increases a range of risks and compounds disability related cognition

• Prison increase likelihood of death, ill health, homelessness and challenging behaviours

• Needs within custody are inextricably linked to a person’s disability

The impact of incarceration

4Tuesday, April 18, 2023

• Mainstream services are a challenge to access and frequently denied

• ID is overshadowed by criminal history• Services often miss or misunderstand ID

issues relating to criminalised behaviour.• Self-determination is not likely to result in

access (e.g. lack of ID AoD services)• Human rights for people with an ID and

criminalised behaviours are rarely responded to fairly

Access to mainstream services

5Tuesday, April 18, 2023

• The proposed ‘Quality and Safeguarding’ sees risk as: – risk of poor quality of service– risk that a participant could be harmed

• Risk ignored as it relates to the risk to the community

• Ability of this risk to prevent access to goals• To ignore fact that criminal behavoiurs are co

sequence of disability is to shift care & responsibility to criminal justice system.

Conceptualising of risk

6Tuesday, April 18, 2023

• Pre-release planning should occur while the person is in prison.

• With the same worker supporting the person on release from prison.

• Through-care leads to greater: – levels of engagement, – sustained engagement– post-release success in increasing well being

• At this stage the maintenance of contact with a person by a service provider is not recognised as a critical element of support.

Importance of Through-care

7Tuesday, April 18, 2023

• Current funding results in recruitment of low skilled and casual workforce

• Support requires range of skills given complexity of histories, risks and needs– Disability– Mental health– Drug and alcohol– Offender rehabilitation– Criminal justice system

• Need for flexibility in response to issues to address fast paced change in needs

A skilled workforce

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All People With An Intellectual Disability

Are Worth The Investment

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