The Development of a Disability Action Plan for a Correctional System – The Challenges and the Lessons Learnt

Peter Persson - Corrections Victoria

David Arblaster – Diversity Unit, Department of Justice

ACSO 3rd Forensic Disabilities Conference

September 2007

Pre 1 January 2007

Getting There but First …the Final Result

Outline

Context About Corrections Victoria Disability Action Plans Template

Lessons learnt Process Environmental Analysis Governance Development Implementation

Context

About Corrections Victoria

Corrections Victoria is part of the Department of Justice, which also includes courts and police

Corrections Victoria manages:• 53 Community Correctional Services locations• 11 public prisons & oversees the contracts of 2 private prisons

• Prison population – 4,100• Offenders on Community-Based Orders – 8,000

Context Disability Action Plans

Victorian Government requirement for all government departments to develop DAP’s

Department of Justice Disability Action Plan 2005-2008

Few examples nationally and internationally of DAP’s in a correctional setting

Context Disability Action Plan Template

Organisational environment and a favourable climate for implementation (Innes 2006)

1. Senior management commitment2. Develop a formal Disability policy3. Promote sense of ownership4. Allocate Action Plan implementation responsibilities to specific individuals5. Allocate priorities and ensure careful financial management6. Don’t over-commit7. Integrate Disability Action Plans with other plans

Lengthy development and consultation process

Long term enterprise

Lessons Learnt:

Process

Lessons Learnt:

‘Environmental’ Analysis

Template for scan e.g. Mark Moore’s Strategic Triangle

Social Policy hooks

Low priority in Government agenda

Lessons Learnt:

‘Environmental’ Analysis

Criminological trends (Garland 2002)

Forensic Disability Specific (Rockowitz 1989)

• Definition of the Population• Relationship Issues • System Issues• Offender Issues

Challenge in having to access to expertise (Correctional, disability, other) and decision-makers

Possible solutions - working group (experts) and project board (decisionmakers)

Lessons Learnt:Governance

Increased operational involvement

Structure of the organisation is a factor (centralised easier – decentralised harder?)

Lessons Learnt:Governance …continued

Join it to a theoretical basis

Need a vision

3 levels of the Plan What have we got now/quick fixes

Medium term goals

Vision – inclusion and equity

Lessons Learnt:Development

Natural tendency – least resource intensive solution

Interplay between social policy, human rights and finite resources

Lessons Learnt:Development …continued

Consider the scope and content of plan – this drives ‘who’ the key players are

Risk management – a double edged sword?

Lessons Learnt:Development …continued

Lessons Learnt:Implementation

Guard against the relaxation factor

Importance of quick ‘wins’

Key operational champions to advise on roll-out

Lessons Learnt:Implementation…continued

Key operational champions to advise on roll-out

Get the “plan” out of head office

Need to ‘test’ and ‘re-test’ assumptions

Conclusion

Environmental analysis important Long term proposition (one plan after another)

Use templates or previous plans (HREOC)

Vision Governance

Implementation Development

Test-Retest

The Far Side of Forensic Disability

The Development of a Disability Action Plan for a Correctional System – The Challenges and the Lessons Learnt

Peter Persson - Corrections Victoria

David Arblaster - Diversity Unit, Department of Justice

ACSO 3rd Forensic Disabilities Conference

September 2007