During the creation of a submission to the Australian Senate I have been reminded of some of the aims and objectives the Disability Services Act.
Specifically that Disability Employment Services should “assist persons with disabilities to achieve positive outcomes, such as increased independence, employment opportunities and integration in the community'.
How best to achieve these aims?
Through the provision of full time, award wage work in community based settings - real jobs like yours (if you are so engaged) and mine. It is in full time employment that the maximum possibility to become independent and enjoy the things other workers enjoy occurs.
So why would you encourage less? Why would you reward small, part time and casual positions that don't reduce dependency? Why would you ignore the break up of full time employment into portions that do neither encourage independence or participation?
Beats me - but that is what the present system for measuring success in disability employment services does (and I have been writing about this now for more than 6 years.
It was 6 years ago that the then new funding body unveiled its methodology (the comprehensible bit) for assessing performance.
I have documented my question from that meeting: ' surely this system encourages service providers to break full time work into part time since 2 part time jobs appear to beat 1 full time? Why wouldn't service providers turn full time jobs into even smaller (the benchmark was and is as low as 8 hours employment a week) 'outcomes' in order to gain income and improve their apparent performance?.
The reply was classic: " I think we can rely upon the integrity of service providers"
Brilliant!
The whole thing has now been placed before a Senate review committee and I know that you should never hold an inquiry where you aren't assured of the outcome but nevertheless, perhaps we can see a return to measuring the achievements of programs like NOVA against the Disability Service Standards and the 1986 Disability Services Act rather than the present and highly distorted "Stars"
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Your Comments James from Sydney wrote on 7 Sep 2011 4:48:59 PM The problem is we have a government that is disinterested in genuinely looking after people with disability and doesn't care to ask what we might want.
Jsmall from Linden wrote on 8 Sep 2011 4:12:22 PM The people that manage this system should be held responsible for devaluing the ones they are supposed to care for. The department of employment should not subsidise business and especially should not do so by giving vulnerable people the impression that they are worthless. If a person can do the job then they should be paid by their employer. If the person cannot do the job then they need to be found more suitable work.
Deon from Wallsend wrote on 11 Sep 2011 11:37:43 AM Meaningful work measn getting enough to pay my bills. I don't want to work in a sheltered workshop I want a real job for as much as I am worth
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