The Disability Royal Commission has published a new research report to improve services, supports and programs for people with disability from culturally diverse backgrounds. Towards best-practice access is mentioned in the report.
The Disability Royal Commission has published a new research report to improve services, supports and programs for people with disability from culturally diverse backgrounds.
The Towards best-practice access to services for culturally and linguistically diverse people with a disability report was written by researchers from the Social Policy Research Centre at the University of New South Wales and the National Ethnic Disability Alliance.
The study concludes that ‘good’ practice for services involves three key elements, including the involvement of people with disability from culturally diverse backgrounds at all stages of developing, implementing and managing services.
It makes three recommendations for changes at a system, organisational and individual level.
Towards best-practice access to services for culturally and linguistically diverse people with a disability – Research Report
Transcript
The Disability Royal Commission has published a report written by researchers from the University of New South Wales and the National Ethnic Disability Alliance.
The report looks at providing accessible services for people with disability from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds.
The researchers reviewed many reports and papers. Then they consulted with 84 people about ways to improve services, supports and programs for people with disability from CALD backgrounds.
These people were from:
-
government services
-
service providers
-
disability organisations.
What did the study find?
The study found that:
-
many organisations have policies or programs that support the inclusion of people with disability and people from CALD backgrounds. But these policies do not often work together. Often these policies or programs are not implemented properly, and are not adequately checked or evaluated.
The study also found that:
-
Services supporting people with disability do not collaborate with each other. When services are not coordinated, they are not inclusive.
What does the study recommend?
The study says that for services to be accessible for people with disability from CALD backgrounds, ‘good practice’ needs to occur at three levels:
-
system level – for example the Australian Government should provide information in different languages and ensure laws protect people with disability from CALD backgrounds
-
organisational level – for example organisations should have people with disability from CALD backgrounds on boards, they should build trust with communities, and employ people from diverse backgrounds
-
individual level – for example individuals should learn how to work with interpreters and understand how to work with people from different backgrounds.
What does the study conclude?
The study concludes that ‘good practice’ for services involves three key elements:
-
an understanding of and engagement with intersecting experiences of people with disability from CALD backgrounds
-
involvement of people with disability from CALD backgrounds at all stages of developing, implementing and managing services
-
continuous monitoring and improvement to adjust systems so they can respond to the needs of people with disability from CALD backgrounds.
More information
To read the full research report, visit our website. Go to the ‘Policy and research’ section and click on ‘Research program’.
www.disability.royalcommission.gov.au
Source
Image Source
