The incidents and the never-ending abuse of the vulnerable in disability services of all kinds – the need for Cameras in Disabilities - and the Childcare research (Israel and International Childcare and education policy) on cctv cameras in their Centres -
We need actions not just words from those who are providers in disabilities and all about business when the centre of all this should be care as more people keep being harmed and even die…yes even under NDIS system.
 The latest news on Bill shorten saying that there were 8000 incidents of harm in residential care of those with disabilities is no surprise – yet they say only 20,000 disabilities people live in those group homes. There also are the stats on those who attend day programs, and respite and there have been all in all over 7000 incidents of reportable harm for those ones going to these places as well.
These statistics have been known for a while and yet the government continues to ignore the need of our most vulnerable – rather tending to look at profits for disability providers – instead of standard of care that should be happening. These are human beings whose lives are put in the hands of providers we parents can just no longer trust. Because there are no real safeguards in place.
WE can no longer trust the providers or the NDIA quality commission because they allow our children to be harmed and do not do anything about it shrugging shoulders, just like the police saying oh well no camera evidence! Well at least put in the cameras at all these places then.
The article today on Bill Shorten’s comments on the harm in residential care places seems rather calculated and political rather than actually caring about what is going on. Its easy to ignore the need if you do not have a child or family member with a disability or you have not had to go through all that parents have had to endure for the last few years in fighting for their child’s funding and even fighting the lawyers the NDIS used against them. Unbelievable. Why make an organization to help those in disabilities and then make it too hard for anyone to be helped meanwhile paying all the admin people at the top their money for sure. Top dollar. These are hard hearted business people we are having to deal with. Why don’t you cut their money off if they do not do the right thing especially the providers? If they allow abuse, if they exploit the ‘participants’ which they have been caught doing time and time again. All the vulnerable precious ones get is an apology but no actions.
Noted in one of the articles on Bill Shorten’s comments is that (AAP Newswire 16th January 2022) A report by the NDIS after examining seven largest accommodation providers found that more than 1700 of the 8000 incidents of reportable harm involved a serious injury to a participant and that is just the group homes. More than 1200 involved neglect (why call it care?) while there were 960 cases of unlawful physical contact and 112 od unlawful sexual contact. How degrading how humiliating and traumatising for those who are most needy to be treated like this and the providers are getting top dollars for doing this ‘neglect and unlawful contact’. Most of the managers and CEOs knowing nothing about disabilities and wanting to know about what is happening under their noses to the innocent in their paid care.
We need university graduates trained in disabilities and educated to oversee those who work in the disabilities field and monitor them. We need to make disability work to be lifted to a career standard that workers want to do their best for. We need the basics for any business (since the government has turned disabilities into a business) such as health and safety officers to check and visit all these places of disability care especially residential. Those who violate health and safety should be fined and or charged for any assaults and taken to court. Stop all this coverup stop treating our children as if they deserve no care and no justice. How dare they treat them like this.
Noted in the article also (Newswire) that the Disability Australian president Nicole Lee said the figures were galling but could be even higher due to reporting pathway issues. She said “it is not a surprise at all… there are issues with reporting pathways for people with a disability to reach out for help to make reports to access the police…this is potentially just the tip of the iceberg”
These ‘issues’ she is talking about are to do with if someone hurts our disability child or adult child it is not taken up by the police due to lack of evidence. No cameras, cannot prove it. Police do not listen of take it up seriously enough. The providers are allowed to use cctv as long as there is a sign up in the room. Rarely do they have cameras. They are protecting themselves and not the vulnerable from harm. Even when it does get to court then the judges seem to drop the charges too due to ‘lack of evidence’ do we even mention how NSW is capped for how much you can sue people? Always about the money even the judges do not want to waste their court money on the poor helpless ones in care in disabilities and bring justice for them. Les miserables is good description for the parents trying to care for their children who have disabilities, the most vulnerable of all, even in this day and age.
Is Australia a third world country? NO. Is it a communist country where the children are put in orphanages to make money from them and soviet style prison fashion as in Ukraine that occurred and Russia. No. Australia is one of the wealthiest countries in the world and yet its greed and selfishness as a result leave those most needy, the children with disabilities who suffer much, leave them at the mercy of the monsters hidden and working in disabilities who never get caught, charged or sacked or imprisoned. Instead our children are in a prison of harm and fear, around them when we the parents have trusted the providers and been let down so much.
A recent article from Israel on the childcare system by the International Journal of Childcare and education Policy there looking at CCTV used in childcare (Meishar-Tal, Forkosh=Baruch, Levy and Shenkar 2022) talks about the cctv cameras could harm the ‘delicate’ relationship between childcare teacher and the workers under them, and the staff and the parents. Or it could enhance trust between parents and staff because of the transparency of having cameras. Education appears to be more delicate than disabilities.
There is no such delicacy in the disabilities system where the Managers bully the workers and the team leaders, and the workers bully those with disabilities and bully the parents of those with disabilities. NO delicacy there. Because they are not accountable like the childcare system is even here in Australia.
The article may be biased toward what the childcare centres want – always using privacy as a reason to not have cctv – or the poor childcare workers need to be able to help child develop with singing and dancing and they complain that they cannot sing and dance with the kids if there is a camera on the article even noted. Well that’s a bit sad, I am sure they would get used to it. The only person seeing the footage are those checking on incidents of harm, the manager or parents or police. The poor childcare workers and teachers not feeling comfortable to dance and sing. Why do they need privacy? so they can be nasty if they want or hurt the kids if they want to? They want freedom to be themselves we want freedom from harm for our children.
What about the poor children in disability classes getting verbal and emotional abuse because the teachers feel free enough to do that (note previous article on Riverstone public school where the teachers were verbally abusing the little five year old, downs syndrome nonverbal girl, Portia, and revelled in it, now they have been caught and sacked). Even then the teachers (who appear very ignorant of disabilities – were they ever trained in disabilities at all? Did they have qualifications?) did not get charged, the charges dropped because verbal abuse is not a criminal act (9News A current Affair July 2019). Really? Even though the teachers’ abuse was caught out, it was not enough and handed back to the Education department. The teachers lost their jobs but the NSW department of Education and Minister Sarah Mitchell declined A Current Affair’s request for an interview.
The results of the research on CCTv cameras (Israel) in childcare showed implications on staff behaviour – some would be prevented from violent behaviour while others would still keep doing it – I say nevertheless it is better than no prevention or cameras at all. The article notes that childcare cameras encourage restraint of behaviour by staff which is experienced as embarrassment and inconvenience. They do not want to be embarrassed or inconvenienced by having cameras in the daycare centre.
Well I say let them be embarrassed or inconvenienced in disabilities by the presence of CCTV cameras because we the parents are inconvenienced and traumatised by our children being harmed by support workers in any disability centres or respite, or classrooms. We do not care about your embarrassment or inconvenience not when our children must suffer to spare you embarrassment of performing in front of a camera. Get over it.
From the study, the childcare centres said they worried it would affect their care centre routine. Why? These are all excuses, and petty at that compared to the trauma of our children being verbally abused, harmed or physically abused. Childcare is different to disability care but the principle is the same in that the children cannot defend or speak up for themselves. The childcare workers and teachers worry about not being able to sing and dance with the children freely in front of the cameras but will get used to it eventually the Article says. Oh please. Yes I guess there is no singing and dancing going on with the support workers in disabilities. It is not expected of them like in childcare. Rather more ranting and reactive behaviours and that’s the workers not even the clients.
Why cant they (disabilities managers and workers) just be nice or caring not act nice and caring and do the opposite? oh no we have to resort to cameras to protect our defenceless children I never knew they could be so cruel in disabilities until it happened to my own son. When he came home with a hit to the head the lies that followed blew up the bridge of trust forever. There was no shame guilt or even apology just coverup. They should be ashamed.
There is no trust between parents and disabilities providers anymore. Because of what they are allowed to do to our children. It is not as nice and caring as childcare. Childcare is more mindful of the parents. Disability care tries to control and bully the parents and the disability child to comply with what is demanded and pay the funding to that provider. It is so different.
IN the childcare article the centre workers complained that they would have to look at every bit of footage of the cameras if the parents thinks there is an incident. Well why not? Why should our children be harmed in childcare or disabilities and you complain about the inconvenience of having to look at the camera footage.
Even the Police Inspector I complained to after my son was hurt said the same thing when I said I wanted cameras in disabilities places - oh no some poor policeman will have to spend time looking at hours of footage to see what happened, no he said no. I couldn’t believe my ears. What you cant be bothered looking at cctv footage? Spare me these are crimes of violence we are talking about. Yes you can sit there and look at the footage, not just eat donuts and coffees, the police can do something productive toward solving crime in disabilities!
Noted in the childcare research article on CCTV cameras implications stated that cctv could be used as a tool to meet the need to satisfy parents (also give parents peace of mind in disabilities)
And as a tool for conflict management between parents and the childcare teacher. The same in disabilities – we are more straight forward if you hurt my child I will hurt you some way some how - yes cctv is a way of getting the truth and we need the truth never mind about the conflict it is a given. Lets not smooth it over it is to be addressed and faced.
It was further noted in the article (p14) “Regarding the original purpose of cameras installation, preventing violence and child abuse by caregivers, childcare educators do not express a firm opinion. They hold an ambivalent stand regarding the effectiveness of cameras in preventing violent occurrences. It may derive from the ambiguity in results of camera presence; despite having cameras on school grounds, violence still occurs (yes humans can be nasty and violent even teachers) and cameras do not necessarily prevent these incidents, but rather document them” Perhaps these educators do not have children of their own, or vulnerable disability children they worry themselves sick about everyday the children go to these places for care or respite
I say good for the cctv cameras. Let it be documented at least then we will know the truth of who put that injury on our child or adult child, who was cruel to them, who bullied them and who assaulted them. We need to know. If the cctv wont stop people hurting the vulnerable at least we will know that perpetrator and they can be properly punished and hopefully put in prison too! Otherwise the crime against our vulnerable children continues with no consequences for those who do it. At least with cameras those who harm our innocent ones will be exposed and face consequences.
Sign my petition for cctv cameras to be made mandatory in disabilities places of care and classrooms: change.org/disabilitycameras
All the best
Anndrea x