People with a Disability

Abuse and Neglect of People with a Disability in Group Homes

The video Abuse and Neglect with a Disability in Group Homes is a heartbreaking, very sad that shows the extent of the rot in the society. It is hard to imagine that the very people that have been entrusted with taking care of persons with disabilities are the very people who abuse and assault this very vulnerable group. The conclusion that may be drawn from this video is that in most instances, abuse and neglect are perpetrated by people very close to us; the people who we look up to for help and support.

Having identified abuse and neglect as rampant issues in residential group homes, there are number of measures that could be taken to prevent this. For example, persons accommodated in such homes should be educated and empowered on recognition and prompt reporting of abuse and neglect. Secondly, it may be worthwhile increasing the amount of psychological support available to caregivers. This recommendation is based on the fact that as per the video, abuse and neglect of persons with disability are often perpetrated by caregivers and staff at residential group homes. This may be taken as a sign that caregivers sometimes feel over-burdened, which is why some of them may assault or abuse their clients as a way of venting out their frustrations. In regard to this, intense counseling programs and support groups could be offered to caregivers. Thirdly, there is need for the government to enforce stricter laws on the whole issue. Any case of abuse/neglect of a person with disability, whether actual or suspected, must be seriously addressed. This will solve the issue of victims being ignored because of the perception that there allegations cannot be bought. Lastly, regular home visits may help to prevent abuse and neglect in group homes because they provide avenues for residents to voice out any problems they may be going through (Howard & Brooks-Gunn, 2009).

Screening employees before hiring them to work with people with disabilities is a necessary step, more so having found that perpetrators of abuse in such settings are usually staff members. As the State Government of Victoria (2021, para.1) puts it, screening helps “to ensure that people who work with the National Disability Insurance Scheme do not present an unacceptable risk to participants”. Key aspects to check during screening include employees’ criminal records, records of misconduct in previous workplaces, as well as interviewing/observing employees to detect abnormal behavior patterns and personality traits.

Any suspected cases of abuse and neglect would be reported by calling the police. Based on the video by Gal (2017), the cycle of abuse and neglect in residential group homes needs to be broken as urgently as possible. One way of achieving this is to take stern action on any one found guilty of abusing people being taken care in group homes. At the same time, severe action should be taken on homes where repeated incidents of abuse and neglect are reported- they could be closed down.

References

Gal, D. (2017). Abuse and Neglect of People with a Disability in Group Homes. https://youtu.be/J8GJf9ZSxrE

Howard, K. S., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (2009). The role of home-visiting programs in preventing child abuse and neglect. The Future of Children, 119-146.

State Government of Victoria. (2021). NDIS worker screening check. www.vic.gov.au/ndis-worker-screening-check