Posts by Rosemary McDonald
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Voila!
Currently 1076 people receive a minimum wage
exemption permit under s8 of the Minimum Wage
Exemption Act.5 In 2001, under the DPEP Act,
approximately 5400 people were employed in
sheltered workshops. There are 136 employers
across New Zealand who employ people who
have a minimum wage exemption. Some but
not all, are business enterprises.
Rates of pay vary from just under the minimum
wage to less than a $1.00 an hour.2011.
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Access: Is New Zealand Fair and Square?, in reply to Sam M,
How do they get around our minimum wage laws?
http://employment.govt.nz/er/pay/exemptions/disabilitiesemployees.asp
last time I looked there were over a hundred 'businesses' exempted from paying the minimum wage to their disabled empolyees..
very hard to find the list....try ASENZ....
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Access: Disability abuse: it’s not OK, in reply to Hilary Stace,
Perhaps, there will be interest shown from our friends in MSN?
A great follow up story here. I actually wrote a MUCH larger comment last night, after doing a spot of google sleuthing...but I broke the PA preview function(ooops)...and had to edit rather savagely.
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Access: Social media, disability…, in reply to Angela Hart,
Yep....
and that is worth a million times more than any award handed out amidst glitz and glamour...
Funny how that goes....
(Alex's story mirrors the one of friends of mine....only their story began nearly fifty years ago.)
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I am reviving this thread in the light of the publication on the Misery of Health website of the Developmental Evaluation Reports of disability support services.
One of the organisations featured in Kirsty Johnston's work on abuse and neglect at the hands of disability care providers is Te Roopu Taurima o Manukau.
The abuses of some of those clients were uncovered when two Auckland-based patients made allegations against staff members in early 2011. The ministry would not release the full complaints to Fairfax NZ but briefing notes released under the Official Information Act revealed one man complained he was kicked, hit and choked, had hot water thrown on him, was sworn at and made to sit in the corner as punishment.
Staff videotaped him while they ''restrained'' him, the man claimed. He also told his legal representatives he was made to kneel in a garage for long periods with his nose against the wall.
A letter in early 2011 from two doctors at the regional psychiatry service revealed other patients had bruising, had spoken of assaults, were not being given medication, and were being exposed to risky situations where they had access to drugs and alcohol. Previous attempts to raise these concerns had gone unanswered.
The subsequent "Putting People First" report placed responsibility largely at the door of the Ministry of Health who...
...missed early signs of brewing trouble.
....the response to shortcomings in resident safety was slow. We accept that the Ministry
was working with the providers to bring their services up to a minimum standard but we question
whether the approach should have been allowed to go on for so long.Its been two years, and longer since the Ministry took an active interest in the quality of care at TRT and maybe its a bit unfair to expect years of mismanagement, inadequate care, culture of abuse and general don't give- a -damness to improve overnight...but you'd think that their next Development and Evaluation Report would have been a little more positive.
Systems, processes and documentation was not consistent across the services. In some cases resident incompatibility based on levels of need impacted on services.
There were staff vacancies in Hamilton and Canterbury. Recruitment of appropriate support staff is an issue. There have been 30 staff dismissals since January 2015, with five more pending. Some dismissed staff have sabotaged Te Roopu, making progress difficult.
there was a consistent theme in relation to maintenance not being complete
Lapses in Health and safety, infection control and general cleanliness of the houses was also a common theme. Health and Safety meetings have not been consistently held and Health and Safety Checklists had not been completed in some houses
Due to the significant changes that have been made at Te Roopu Taurima O Manukau Trust in relation to structure and staffing, there is still some support staff who are complacent, appear to have lost confidence and lack trust in the organisation. This culture and attitude within the staff has had an impact on the ability to deliver consistent services.
Attitudes and behaviours of some support staff demonstrate that there is still an abusive tendency evident, which is being dealt with.
It all makes for a pretty dismal read.
There is (another) new CEO who is ex HDC. A new Senior Adviser is also from the Health and Disability Commission...so maybe they will start 'putting the people first'.
For the sake of the clients I sincerely hope so, but I feel there is a culture at Te Roopu Taurima which is unlikely to change, largely because they have never really admitted they had any serious problems with abuse and attitudes towards their vulnerable clients.
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I see that conditions and care for the clients of Te Roopu Taurima have improved
not
.
There have been 30 staff dismissals since January 2015, with five more pending. Some dismissed staff have sabotaged Te Roopu,
Lapses in Health and safety, infection control and general cleanliness of the houses was also a common theme. Health and Safety meetings have not been consistently held and Health and Safety Checklists had not been completed in some houses. Hazard and incident reporting did not follow a consistent process.
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The agency and its nearly 700 employees serve as a hub, connecting clients - who range in age from infants to senior citizens - with services they need in order to be more included in the community and live more independent lives.
It is one of 21 regional centres run by nonprofits across California. According to the California Department of Developmental Services, the centres provide a range of services for individuals with disabilities and their families, including counselling and genetic counselling, family support, assessment and diagnosis, referrals to other agencies, early intervention for at-risk infants, training and education, legal and civil rights advocacy, and help connecting with community resources.
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Article on stuff....http://i.stuff.co.nz/life-style/well-good/74617749/Reddit-lights-up-with-insights-from-people-struggling-with-mental-illness
about a comment on reddit about mental illness that led to over 7000 further comments...this is treasure.
"Child with autism who was struggling with her difficulty making and keeping friends: "It's okay if I don't have any friends. Having friends makes you happy but it doesn't make you a good person. You know who was really popular? Hitler."
and
"What screws us up most is the picture in our head of how things SHOULD be." – Cooopz "
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Hard News: The Police Ten 7 State, in reply to BenWilson,
and the police give him a probing search to get him back for being a smartarse. During the rubber glove check for his journalistic integrity, they find that they can control his mouth.
Please, I beg you, warn the overly imaginative of us when putting images like this out there.
Two brain scrubs in a week. Bye bye last neuron....
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Hard News: A cog in the Mediaworks machine, in reply to Sacha,
the company had responsibilities to shareholders,
We should maybe keep a running total on how many times that line is trotted out...