HST 132-Chap 1

The KeyHinsburger, Dalla Nora, Tough

HST 132-Chap 1

Chapter 1

Safety First

Who does and agency/facility serve?

The individual with a disabilityAND

The community

Agencies were created by society in order to both serve people with disabilities and to serve the best interests of the community. Taxpayers have huge, and reasonable, expectations that the service we provide will meet both the needs of the individual and the needs of the community.

Serving someone with a disability alone in the community poses little or no risk to the community as a whole…adding sex offending behavior, however, does increase risk to and concern from the community.

The greatest single predictor that you will be a victim of a sexual crime is your proximity to a sexual offender…

How do we handle this increased risk to the community:Review who we provide services toNotify the board of the risk and put

measures in place in policy and procedure to mitigate the risk

Every plan must take risk seriously and include it in the individual’s plan

DATA, data, DATA, data, data….

We need to balance:The individuals needs for autonomy and

freedomWith the communities NEED for safety and

protectionWe need to complete a thorough

assessment of risks and needs and be able to articulate reasons and rationales for our treatment approaches

We need to know the goals and objectives for each person

Every person who makes a sexual mistake does so for a reason:We need to know those reasons and

understand the differences backwards and forwards

We need to know the context of the mistake (or offense)

The risk, though, is NOW:We need to protect potential victims firstWe need to know, prior to providing services,

potential areas of risk and potential areas of offense

We need a history, immediately, both written and from meeting with parents, caregivers, the person, and those with information

This history will include all known episodes of offense/mistake, the victim, the age of victims, the places, the dates and times, every situation documented or not, every detail, no matter how small, matters

Use the information from history and the meeting to look into environments:

Place the person in living and working environments that are the most safe for them and those around them

Look to reduce the risk of re-offenseOnce the person is in care, continue to take

detailed data to determine if the person is at risk of re-offense and access to potential victims

LIMIT ACCESS TO POTENTIAL VICTIMS!

Rights?A person has a right to ethical treatment,

including supervision and support so that they do not harm others or break the law

We are providing that supportIt is our obligation to provide supervision

and support in any environment or situation where re-offense COULD occur

Supervision is NOT punishment…it is support

Environmental risk factors:What is the roommates level of verbal and social skills?Are roommates able to say no and physically able to

defend themselves?Are there children or those at risk in the environment?What is the level of supervision?Are staff aware of potential risks?Does the person see potential victims?Is the person able to communicate with potential

victims unsupervised?Is the person able to access potential victims without

staff knowledge?Does the person have unsupervised access to phones?Much, much more….

Some considerations:One to one staffing to startSwitching bedrooms so the person is nearer

staff areasAdding a baby monitor to the person’s

roomAdding alarms to the doors and windowsTraining staff in grooming behaviorTraining staff in the specifics of this

person’s offending behavior and/or specific approaches with this person