Accommodation Models For Offenders with Intellectual Disabilities

Illustration: (Visions and Realities) Australasian Society for the Study of Intellectual Disability.

AUSTRALIA: (NSW) My name is James Condren, for many years, I lived in institutions. I have been in lots of trouble with the law and went to gaol. But now I have not been in trouble for a long time. I live in my own flat. I am a Director of New South Wales Council for Intellectual Disability (DADHC).

DADHC has helped me to get my life back on track. A magistrate in Wollongong put me on a good behaviour bond on condition that I accept support and guidance from DADHC. The Disability Trust advocated with DADHC and they offered me a service.

I got a DADHC worker named Kim Moller who helped me with stress management. Whenever something stressed me, I wrote it in a diary instead of doing something that would get me into trouble. I met regularly with Kim to talk about the things in the diary and good ways to deal with them and to avoid them happening.

I also wrote out a work program each week for my work for groups such as Council for Intellectual Disability, Justice Action and self-advocacy. We had worked out that I often got into trouble because I was bored.

This program was overseen by a Committee including me and people from DADHC, the Disability Trust and my church.

The committee met every 3 months until the bonds were finished. I had not breached the bonds.

I have now completed a mentoring course at Justice Action and I have become the Disability Caseworker there. We are still fighting for me to have access to NSW Prisons but hopefully I will get access shortly.

At the Council for Intellectual Disability, I am on the Board and do lots of work on issues like criminal justice and employment.

I also do some work for the Criminal Justice Support Network as an Educator. I speak to new recruits who are training to become Court support/Police Support workers for people with disabilities. I give them a picture what it is like to be on the wrong side of the law and ideas on how to do their job well.

This forum is really important because it can help to keep other people out of gaol. I am now very happy to open the forum and I hope you enjoy the event.

At the Coalition meeting on 8 March, we had a very wide-ranging and stimulating discussion about appropriate accommodation models for offenders with intellectual disabilities.

It was more an open exchange of perspectives than a discussion that sought to reach a clear consensus. As well as many of our usuals attendees, we had present a number of service providers and professionals with extensive experience on this issue - Mary Ellen Burke, Meredith Martin, Phil Hugill, Cheryl Moore, Phillip Petrie.

Also, Andrew Meehan who has done research on accommodation for offenders generally.

NSW Council for Intellectual Disability (CID) will give a detailed response to the NSW Department of Ageing, Disability and Home Care (DADHC) discussion paper before the closing date of 29 April 2005.

In light of that, the Coalition can consider whether it wants to raise its own submission, endorse the CID submission, or leave it to members to raise individual submissions.

If anyone feels a different process would be better for dealing with this issue, please say.

Update on other issues

Corrective Services follow up - Attached is our letter to Minister Hatzistergos flowing from our last meeting and subsequent discussions I had with Anne Langford.

There have been positive developments in additional staffing forthe Disability Services Unit, both for the special units at Long Bay and for work in prisons around the state. (After the November forum, we also wrote fairly general letters to other relevant ministers. Let me know if you want copies.)

Forum on March 17 - We had a diverse audience of about 90 at the forum which went well. I attach James Condren's wonderful opening speech. I am gathering everyone's presentations and shall then email the rest to you.

Proposed forum with Institute of Criminology - We were talking about having this in August - September. But, I now find that there are various other seminars/conferences on offender issues around that time. (See those on attached info sheet on the Coalition. Also, the Australasian Society for the Study of Intellectual Disability, (ASSID) conference in Auckland in October will have big offender focus.)

So, I'm thinking we may be better to delay ours to late November or February 2006. Any thoughts on this?

I have tentatively spoken to Susan Hayes and Bill Glaser about speaking at this. (Bill is the leading Australian psychiatrist in relation to working with offenders with intellectual disabilities. He also runs a course on offenders with intellectual disabilities at the Uni of Melbourne; he is much more than just a psychiatrist. He would probably talk about a dual diagnosis service they have developed in Melbourne.)

NCOSS post release support campaign - Julie, James and I attended a meeting at NCOSS to discuss a possible campaign for government to lift its game on this issue, both generally and in relation to people with intellectual disabilities. We were supportive of the idea and NCOSS is putting together a strategy paper with a view to another meeting soon.

CID lobbying - CID has continued to advocate in all the usual places. Juvenile Justice have done a positive revamp of their draft disability action plan. The mood in DADHC continues to be encouraging both in relation to its own services and the renewal of the Senior Officers Group - but we wait eagerly for further concrete developments.

2006 state budget - This will be a pre-election budget and so it is one where we could make some gains. I suggest that at our next meeting, we discuss priorities and strategies for the lead up to that budget.

A new member - Mindy and Chris have had a son named Solomon!! Congratulations, I'm sure, from all in the Coalition.

Next meeting

Please note that we have changed this to 18 May at 5.30, as our chairperson Julie will be away in June.

Thanks to you all for your continued enthusiasm and support. Any queries, comments or suggestions, please get back to me.

Coalition for Intellectual Disability and Criminal Justice
C/- NSW Council for Intellectual Disability
Level 1, 418A Elizabeth St, Surry Hills NSW 2010
Phone: (02) 9211 1611 or 1800 424 065 Fax: (02) 9211
2606

The Coalition

The Coalition for Intellectual Disability and Criminal Justice has been formed to advocate for systemic and legislative change in the service and justice systems so that people with intellectual disabilities have their rights respected and protected and have access to the support services they need if they are to have a fair chance to avoid trouble with the law.

The Coalition so far comprises the organisations listed below and various concerned individuals who take an active role in the Coalition. New members are welcome.

The Coalition meets approximately quarterly to consider and act on priority issues. For further information about the Coalition, contact the NSW Council for Intellectual Disability at the address above or mail@nswcid.org.au

Chiselling the Bars Forum

Tonight's forum was organised jointly by the Coalition and:
* The Law Society of NSW
* The Public Defender Office NSW
* The Criminal Defence Lawyers Association of NSW
* The Lawyers Reform Association

Forthcoming related events

Intellectual Disability and Forensic Issue, forum and workshop, 7 and 8 July 2005, Centre for Developmental Disability Studies, Ryde. For information, contact Leela on (02) 88780500 lpacheco@med.usyd.edu.au

Disability and the Criminal Justice System:

Achievements and Challenges, conference in Melbourne 13-15 July 2005. Organised by Australian Community Support Organisation, Department of Justice Victoria
and Office of the Public Advocate. Contact info@conorg.com.au or (03) 9509 7121)

An international congress on People with Disabilities and the Criminal Justice System in Brisbane in October 2006. This congress is being organised by Queensland Advocacy Inc in cooperation with the legal and disability sectors in Queensland and other states. Detail is available at Coalition for Intellectual Disability and Criminal Justice
C/- NSW Council for Intellectual Disability Level 1, 418A Elizabeth St, Surry Hills NSW 2010 Phone: (02) 9211 1611 or 1800 424 065 Fax: (02) 9211 2606.

February 9, 2005
Hon John Hatzistergos
Minister for Justice
Level 25
59-61 Goulbourn Street
SYDNEY 2000

Dear Minister,

People with intellectual disabilities and the criminal justice system

This Coalition has been formed to advocate for systemic and legislative change in the human services and justice systems so that people with intellectual disabilities have their rights respected and protected, and have access to the support services they need if they are to have a fair chance to avoid trouble with the law.

We enclose a copy of a letter we sent to the Premier following a major forum on this issue hosted by the Law Society of NSW.

Late last year, we met with Rhonda Booby, Acting Assistant Commissioner Offender Management, and other departmental officers who kindly attended a meeting of this Coalition to speak with us about progress with the new disability support wings (5, 6 and 18) at Long Bay and related matters.

We have been concerned that only one of the wings (Wing 18) is operational, notwithstanding that you officially opened the wings in May. At the same time, we see a high level of program staff as essential to the wings and would see little point in their being operational without this staff.

We were very concerned to hear at the meeting that very limited program input is occurring to date in Wing 18. However, we understand that some additional program staff are currently being recruited, both for the new wings and for the Disability Services Unit.

We applaud the work of the Disability Services Unit. We have very positive experience of it but, without a considerable expansion in its size, what it can do is very limited.

We have also felt that it was important that the new disability wings add to rather than replace the existing disability units in NSW gaols. We feel this is essential in view of the high number of inmates with intellectual disabilities and the need for flexibility to respond to incompatibility issues and other variables.

Another important issue is women prisoners who are not catered for by any disability unit. At the meeting, we were pleased to hear of a positive step here - enhancement funding being made available towards addressing the needs of women inmates with disabilities.

We look forward to getting follow up information on the above issues and shall keep in touch with the Department about them.

The meeting with Ms Booby was focused on programs for inmates. There are also fundamental issues for offenders with intellectual disabilities in transition from gaol and access to bonds, parole and other non-custodial orders.

These issues are particularly important for this group in view of their finding it very hard to readjust when they leave prison and being vulnerable and mistreated in the mainstream prison environment (NSW Sentencing Council, Abolishing Prison Sentences of Six Months or Less, Final Report 2004, section 4.7.3).

The Sentencing Council favoured the development of a system of "justice plans" whereby community based programs underpin bonds for offenders with intellectual disabilities.

These plans would be developed by Probation and Parole and officers of the Department of Ageing, Disability and Home Care. This kind of cooperation already occurs to some degree but there is considerable scope to enhance it, including through improvement in skills in the Probation and Parole Service to work with offenders with intellectual disabilities.

In relation to transition from gaol, we would be keen to see enhanced transitional support for inmates with intellectual disabilities and development of community based transitional accommodation arrangements.

We seek ongoing action on these issues both within the Department, and in cross agency forums.

Yours sincerely,
Julie Hoysted
Chairperson

By JusticeACTION posted 24 March 05

Related:

Chiselling the Bars
Our first forum "Gaol as Community Housing?" highlighted the barriers to diversionary and non-custodial options for offenders with intellectual disabilities. This sequel will concentrate on how to make the best of things when you are helping a person with an intellectual disability who is in trouble with the law.

Gaol as Community Housing?
A Forum on Intellectual Disability and Criminal Justice

People with Mental Retardation in the Criminal Justice System How many people with mental retardation are in the criminal justice system? Based on the 1990 census, an estimated 6.2 to 7.5 million people in the United States have mental retardation. Various studies have suggested between 2 percent to 10 percent of the prison population has mental retardation. Denkowski & Denkowski (1985) found that about 2 percent of all inmates in either state or federal prisons have mental retardation (about 14,000 people). Another study conducted by the state of New York found similar results: between 1.8 percent and 2.2 percent of people with mental retardation were imprisoned (Sundram, 1990). Residential programs that house offenders with mental retardation support another 12,500 people who have been convicted, or suspected of, committing a crime (Noble & Conley, 1992).

Mental Illness and the Criminal Justice System
Violence and violent crime are commonly regarded by the public as the domain of the mentally ill (Australian Institute of Criminology, 1990). Public misconception about the true nature of mental illness, as distinct from personality disorder or behavioural disorder, frequently links extreme violence with mental illness. This misconception is enhanced by media depictions of the involvement of the 'schizophrenic' or 'psycho' in violent crime. The Victorian Government's health information website, BetterHealth Channel, gives the following content analysis:

Chiselling the Bars

A second forum from the:
Law Society of NSW
Public Defenders Office NSW
Lawyers Reform Association NSW
Criminal Defence Lawyers Association of NSW
Coalition on Intellectual Disability and Criminal Justice

SPEAKERS

Peter McGhee, Principal Solicitor, Intellectual Disability Rights Service
Doug Payne, Coordinator Behaviour Support, Southern Region,
Department of Ageing, Disability and Home Care
Kelly Fishburn, Forensic Casework Team Leader,
Department of Ageing, Disability and Home Care
James Condren, Director, NSW Council for Intellectual Disability
Anne Langford, Manager, Disability Services Unit,
Department of Corrective Services
Graeme Smith, Director, Office of the Public Guardian

CHAIR

Jim Simpson, Lawyer and Disability Advocate

5:30-7:30 pm Thursday 17 March
Common Room, NSW Bar Association
Basement Level, 174 Phillip Street, Sydney
2 CLE or CPD points for lawyers

For bookings and enquiries, contact
Jennie Pakula, Law Society of NSW
jap@lawsocnsw.asn.au 9926 0390

Our first forum "Gaol as Community Housing?" highlighted the barriers to diversionary and non-custodial options for offenders with intellectual disabilities. This sequel will concentrate on how to make the best of things when you are helping a person with an intellectual disability who is in trouble with the law.

By CID and The Law Society posted 2 March 05

Related:

Gaol as Community Housing?
A Forum on Intellectual Disability and Criminal Justice

People with Mental Retardation in the Criminal Justice System
How many people with mental retardation are in the criminal justice system? Based on the 1990 census, an estimated 6.2 to 7.5 million people in the United States have mental retardation. Various studies have suggested between 2 percent to 10 percent of the prison population has mental retardation. Denkowski & Denkowski (1985) found that about 2 percent of all inmates in either state or federal prisons have mental retardation (about 14,000 people). Another study conducted by the state of New York found similar results: between 1.8 percent and 2.2 percent of people with mental retardation were imprisoned (Sundram, 1990). Residential programs that house offenders with mental retardation support another 12,500 people who have been convicted, or suspected of, committing a crime (Noble & Conley, 1992).

Mental Illness and the Criminal Justice System
Violence and violent crime are commonly regarded by the public as the domain of the mentally ill (Australian Institute of Criminology, 1990). Public misconception about the true nature of mental illness, as distinct from personality disorder or behavioural disorder, frequently links extreme violence with mental illness. This misconception is enhanced by media depictions of the involvement of the 'schizophrenic' or 'psycho' in violent crime. The Victorian Government's health information website, BetterHealth Channel, gives the following content analysis:

Unruly School kids locked away

QLD: TROUBLED Queensland school children are being locked in small rooms by teachers unable to cope with their severe, violent and aggressive outbursts.

Disruptive children are placed in small "cool-down tanks" and released only after they have calmed down.

The practice has been described by one parent as akin to solitary confinement.

To prevent injury to the special needs children during the "time out" procedure, rooms can be opened from the outside only and are smooth-walled inside to prevent children from injuring themselves.

The first of the rooms were converted from unused space such as storage areas around three years ago but purpose-built facilities are now being constructed around the state.

A department spokesman at first denied the existence of the rooms but later admitted they were in at least a third of the state's 40 special schools and 100 special education units.

The rooms form part of the Education Department's duty of care policy for the most violent or aggressive special needs children - usually those specifically diagnosed with behavioural problems, intellectual disabilities and autism.

"Time out is usually implemented when students risk injuring themselves, other students, school staff or members of the public and can be secured to ensure the student's own safety. They are only used as a last resort," the spokesman said.

Queensland University educational psychology lecturer Dr Deb Keen said while there was merit in removing children from areas of sensory overload there was a general movement away from the use of time-out procedures.

"It is a pretty typical parenting technique but it is seen as a form of punishment and the thought is moving to less punitive measures for the very small group of children who display it. It is a vexing area," Dr Keen said.

A teacher, who would not be identified, said colleagues were emotionally torn as they abhorred placing children in the rooms but recognised that safety of others was the first priority.

Education Minister Anna Bligh said providing an education for some children was a challenge with "some extreme cases very difficult for both families and staff".

By Jason Gregory posted 10 February 05

Prison boom will prove a social bust

Hardened criminals are not filling NSW's prisons - the mentally ill and socially disadvantaged are, writes Eileen Baldry.

The NSW Premier, Bob Carr, proudly announced last Thursday that this state has more than 9000 of its citizens in prison, a record number and one equal to almost half of all prisoners in Australia. Far from being proud of this, Carr should be deeply ashamed. The 50 per cent increase in prisoners over the past decade is a clear indication of failure on the part of government to deal effectively with serious social problems.

More than 50 per cent of prisoners have an intellectual or psychiatric disability. Most of these people cycle in and out on short sentences or on remand because there are few community services to help them stay out of trouble.

Prison, the most unhelpful place to send a person with these problems, is being used as surrogate therapeutic housing. But of course prison is not organised to provide a healing environment and many are released in a worse situation than before they entered.

Parole officers and courts despair that many sent to psychiatric services, because they are clearly mentally unwell, return to court within days or even hours. Eventually they are sentenced to prison terms because there is no alternative.

The chairman of the NSW parliamentary committee on mental health in 2002, Dr Brian Pezzutti, noted: "Deinstitutionalisation, without adequate community care, has resulted in a new form of institutionalisation: homelessness and imprisonment."

The Productivity Commission says NSW spends the least per person of all the state governments on mental health. NSW is also below the average in supporting people with an intellectual disability, particularly those who have been caught in the criminal justice system.

Affordable housing in NSW, especially for those with disabilities, has slipped further out of reach. Fifty per cent of prisoners are homeless within nine months of their release. When this is combined with poor mental or intellectual functioning, most are unable to manage and end up back in prison. NSW has one of the highest rates of recidivism in Australia, with more than 7 per cent of people in prison having been incarcerated before.

NSW is also well below the average in providing supported housing and employment for people with a disability. Most prisoners come from, and go back to, a small number of disadvantaged localities where poor education, unemployment and poor access to services have been generational. These communities already have a heavy load of social problems to deal with without increasing the number of people returning from prison in need of unavailable housing, health and employment.

The fastest-growing group in NSW prisons is Aboriginal women. These women are not the dangerous, violent criminals Carr claims account for the rise in prisoner numbers. Most are on short sentences and have been in and out of detention since their youth, putting a lie to the argument that prison rehabilitates.

Women in general are the next fastest-growing group. Seventy per cent of the flow-through prison population - that is, numbers flowing in and out over a year - are on six-month sentences or less. Most have suffered physical or sexual abuse as a child and domestic violence as adults, and 90 per cent have alcohol or other drug problems. If the women are not supported to overcome these problems they will stay locked in the revolving door of the criminal justice system.

Tougher bail laws were touted as helping us all sleep more comfortably at night. But the remand prisons are not full of serious offenders, although of course there are some. A great many remandees are those who cannot meet bail requirements and are petty crime recidivists. Fifty per cent of people on remand are released in less than a month either because the court assesses they have served their sentence or they are found not guilty; hardly the hardline criminals the bail laws are said to be keeping off the streets.

The people of NSW have been sold a financially and socially expensive lemon. The Government continues to fuel fear of crime at the same time it allows social services to run down. More prisons are presented as the solution. NSW will reap a nasty harvest of greater social problems out of this shameful approach.

Eileen Baldry is a senior lecturer in the school of social work at the University of NSW.

See: Review of the Mental Health Act 1990

1. We contend that the wording of the objects unnecessarily contrasts civil and other rights with effectiveness of treatment. It does not have to be a matter of balance, and in fact we suggest that real care is consistent with rights, dignity etc. The use of the word "control" (in this Section and throughout the whole Chapter) repeatedly with neither qualification nor mitigation leads to a strong impression that all people with psychiatric disabilities are always in need of 'policing' and restriction. We disagree totally and consider this to give rise to prejudicial attitudes and actions by the public and professionals related to perceptions and assumptions of dangerousness and lack of capacity.

By Just Us 18 January 05

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Thousands march for disability protest

They cried. They cheered. They demanded - and they begged.

But the thousands of people rallying in front of NSW Parliament House one Wednesday wanted only one thing - a fair go for people with disabilities. About 2000 people from across the state converged on Macquarie St, Sydney, to protest against the State Government's planned cuts to disability programs due to be rolled out from January.

Beneath the hot midday sun they gathered - many in wheelchairs and walking frames - singing and chanting, and waving placards and pictures of sad blue faces. Together they called on the Government to reverse its decision to slash funding to many young disabled adults in post-school programs from January.

The Government announced in July controversial plans to overhaul the sector, which parents, service providers, clients and advocates say will cut up to half their day support services.

More than 200 people from the Illawarra joined the rally, which came just two weeks after a similar protest in Wollongong. Unanderra mum Eva Dorahy - whose 22-year-old daughter Lisa has Angelman Syndrome - fears Lisa will lose up to two days of support under the changes, leaving her family to pick up the pieces.

"The little that we have got they are going to take away. That's the sad thing. It's just not fair on anyone," Mrs Dorahy said yesterday.

The decision by the Carr Government to cut funding to disabled people is the greatest act of bastardry by (NSW Premier) Bob Carr and the Labor Party," he said.

"We should be helping and not hurting people with disabilities in this state."

The funding cuts are cruel and unfair!

Opposition Disabilities spokesman John Ryan said the funding for post-school programs should not be cut but allowed to grow as it had done for the past eight years.

Australian Services Union NSW president Sally McManus said the reforms would also lead to job losses.

Representatives from the National Party, the Greens and Democrats also addressed the rally - but no one from Labor faced up to the crowd.

NSW Disabilities Minister Carmel Tebbutt later spoke briefly to a small group of advocates, including Homelink convenor John Bilboe and Greenacres CEO Neil Preston.

Homelink is the association representing parents of disabled children in the Illawarra. A spokesman for Ms Tebbutt said the Government did not intend to cut funding but to give people long-term certainty, long-term programs and employment opportunities where possible.

Mr Bilboe and Mr Preston criticised Ms Tebbutt for failing to answer direct questions.

"From the parents' perspective the mood was black. We felt we were being slapped in the face once again," Mr Bilboe said. Mr Bilboe presented Mr Ryan with a petition bearing the signatures of 4500 concerned Illawarra residents, and Mr Preston said further action was being planned.

We are not prepared to go back to the dark ages. This has to be reversed," Mr Preston said. "We are hoping that the community sees that we shouldn't be taking money from people with disabilities. These people have had it tough all their lives (and) there is already more unmet need than we can cope with."

By CHANTAL RUMBLE posted 24 September 04

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Non-profit institutions are contributing $30 billion a year to Australia's economy. The Australian Bureau of Statistics has found about a third of that comes from volunteers who worked free for more than 550 million hours in 1999/2000.

NSW prisons - primary industry bailed up!
In many quiet regional centres around NSW there is a new primary industry shaping up. It has something to do with Bail but not with bales. The minister for Agriculture Richard Amery who also has the prisons portfolio is now committed to farming prisoners.

Robin Egan
Two thirds of fines are never collected because they go beyond the means of the defendants and because in lots of cases people do not see that they are responsible. Especially where people know their in the right and no fine ought to have been a penalty.

Queensland Disabilities Services: Bribie Island facility

QLD: In reference to your report about the Bribie Island facility, it is interesting to note the Minister's comments. Not only are adults with an intellectual disability being offered substandard services, they are tied to a system of funding which does NOT allow any real choices.

Any Endeavour client who has been a resident prior to the new funding arrangements (packages) finds themselves and their families and community advocates at odds with their service provider.

Recent allegations have ranged from restrictive practices to wilful neglect in regard to personal health and well being issues, and restricted community access and participation by the overzealous actions of management in penny pinching the fortunes of these clients who deserve better.

The recent publicity of the treatment of both young people and adults with a disability in respite and accommodation services highlights the major breakdown of the quality assurances that should be given to any human being who pays for a service funded by the State.

The Queensland Disabilities Services Department seem very happy to continue to fund any service provider without instigating the proper checks and monitoring that is necessary, especially when many clients cannot speak out for themselves.

There will be in increase in level of dissatisfaction felt and reported publicly by both clients, families and their advocates in demanding fair and equitable treatment of their complaints and the manner in which the DSQ have brushed aside, minimised and denigrated the clients in the same distasteful manner as the guilty service providers.

By Olivia MCM posted January 8 04

Related:

Beattie's 'shame' on foster children
Child abuse will be a major issue at the next Queensland election after a damning audit of the state's Families Department found a chronic failure to properly investigate abuse. Queensland Premier Peter Beattie yesterday admitted he was "shocked and ashamed" after most cases of child abuse in foster care were shown to have been mishandled.

Queensland punishes disabled children kept in cages
TONY EASTLEY: Still in Queensland, and there are disturbing new allegations about disabled children having suffered extraordinary abuse in private residential care facilities.