Presentation by Aaron Fry (Manager Individulaised Supports Melba Support Services) at the My Home, Your Workplace...Disability & Sexuality Forum - Enabling people with disabilities to express and fulfill their sexual identity, needs and desires. Forum held on Wednesday 18 April 2012 Further information visit www.field.org.au

1. My Home, Your
Workplace…..

2. Who is Melba Support Services?
– Medium sized organization
– Mix of accommodation, day service and individualised
support models
– Accredited with the Council on Quality and Leadership
– Supports 160 people with an intellectual disability within
our core services
• Many of the people we support do not use words to communicate

3. Core Services
• Seven Community Residential Units
• Two day services
• 40 Individualised Support Arrangements (approx.)
• 6 Direct Payment Users
• Carer Respite service
Hosted Supports
• Two Family Governed projects
• One Service User Governed project (Nightlife)
• One sector resource project (Belonging Matters)

4. Council on Quality and Leadership
• For more than 40 years the Council on Quality and Leadership
(CQL) has been a leader in working with human service
organizations and systems to continuously define, measure
and improve the quality of life for all people.
• CQL assists communities, systems and organizations to help
people discover and define their own quality of life, measure
personal quality of life for individuals, organizations and
systems and improve the quality of life for people with
disabilities, people with mental illness and older adults
including the people, organizations and communities that
support them.

5. • In December 1999 Melba’s board decided to adopt CQL as
their quality accreditor.
• In 2004 we achieved formal accreditation with the Council on
Quality and Leadership and were subsequently re-accredited
in 2007 and validated in Responsive Services and Community
Life in 2009 and 2011.

6. Personal Outcome Measures
Personal Outcome Measures is one method that CQL use to
define the quality of the services we provide to the people we
support.
There are 21 Personal Outcome Measures developed which are
organised in three factors:
1. My Self: Who I am as a result of my unique heredity, life
experiences and decisions.
2. My World: Where I work, live, socialize, belong or connect.
3. My Dreams: How I want my life (self and world) to be.

7. 21 Personal Outcome Measures
1. People are connected to natural support networks
2. People have intimate relationships
3. People are safe
4. People have the best possible health
5. People exercise rights
6. People are treated fairly
7. People are free from abuse and neglect
8. People experience continuity and security
9. People decide when to share personal information
10. People choose where and with whom they live
11. People choose where they work
12. People use their environments
13. People live in integrated environments
14. People interact with other members of the community
15. People perform different social roles
16. People choose services
17. People choose personal goals
18. People realize personal goals
19. People participate in the life of the community
20. People have friends
21. People are respected

9. • Melba holds personal outcome interviews with each person
we support as a way to evaluate the unique characteristics,
needs, and desires of each individual.
• This then gives Melba and its staff the direction to take when
working with each individual so that we ensure that we are
delivering supports that are relevant and necessary for that
particular person.

10. Human Rights Check List
• Historically, people with a disability have not been afforded
the same basic human rights as the general population.
• Whilst there is an increasing level of recognition that
people with a disability should have the same rights as
those expected by the general population, the day to day
reality is that this is not yet the case.
• In order to ensure that we are aware of and working in line
with the basic human rights of the people we support we
have developed a human rights check list to ensure we
continually do what we say we do.

11. This check list includes, amongst other things, measures to ensure we are
respecting each person’s right to;
• Be treated with dignity and respect and to be valued for who they are.
• Feel physically and emotionally safe in all environments and situations.
• To have all information pertaining to them treated in a confidential
manner.
• Determine the activities and relationships (sexual or otherwise) that
make up their lives.
• Participate in the community in which they live to the degree that they
choose to do so.
• Have private space and time as desired.

12. • Freely express their opinions and concerns, without fear of
retribution, and to have those views respected and acted
upon as appropriate.
• Access and control their own money.
• Where a restriction of a person’s human rights has been
identified, the check list is sent to Melba’s human rights
committee where ideas and strategies to rectify the
restriction are discussed.
• Recommendations are then given to the individual and their
supports regarding the steps they should take to reduce the
restriction placed on that person.

13. Human Rights Checklist (Pg. 7)
No Questions Y N Comments
Relationships, marriage and family
People have the right to develop intimate relationships?
25
Probing questions and examples:
Am I able to develop my personal relationship with
another person?
Am I supported to have close personal relationships of
my choice?
Do I have space to speak / communicate with my
family/friends in private?
Owning property
26
Have I the opportunity to own things/possessions I want/need?
Do I own my own bed, TV, radio, hobby equipment etc.? Am I free to use them with
consideration to my housemates? e.g. radio/TV
Are my belongings covered by insurance?
Do I have an assets list of my belongings?

14. OUTCOME MEASURES INTERVIEWS CHECKLIST
Person:
Date:
Person being Interviewed:
Note: O = opportunity / + = Supports or Outcome is present F/C = further conversation
Outcome Supports
MY SELF present present
WHERE IS THE EVIDENCE FOR THIS OUTCOME & SUPPORT & the
RECOMMENDATIONS provided from the conversation and evidence.
1 People are connected to Natural
Support Networks – T&F
2 People have intimate relationships
3 People are safe
4 People have best possible health
5 People exercise rights
6 People are treated fairly
7 People are free from abuse and neglect
8 People experience continuity and
security
9 People decide when to share personal
information

15. Information Gathering Notes for Personal Outcome Measures 2005
Outcome Measures Probing Questions Individualized Supports Decision making questions
1. Intimate Who are you closest to? How do you learn about the Does the person have
Relationships person’s desire for intimate relationships?
Type & Frequency Is there someone you intimacy?
share your personal Is the person satisfied with
thoughts and feelings How do you know the the type and nature of the
with? person needs support to relationships?
develop or maintain
Who do have to talk to intimate relationships? If yes to both ,the outcome
when you need it? is present
If the person needs If no to both, is this due to
support, what has been
Is this enough for you? personal choice?
arranged?
If yes to personal choice
Are there any barriers that
then the outcome is
affect the outcome for the
present.
person?
How do you assist the
person to overcome the
barriers?
What Melba practices,
values and activities
support this outcome for
the person?

16. Data from our Personal Outcome Measures
Of the 160 people we support:
• 37 people have supports in place to have intimate
relationships
• 12 of the 37 feel that their outcome in this area has been met
• 123 people have no supports or outcomes present at this
stage

17. Limitations we have regarding supporting people with
an intellectual disability to have intimate (Inc. sexual)
relationships:
• Informed consent
• Peoples knowledge and understanding
• Limited Communication
• Family engagement - Differing views of family members
• Staff comfort levels and personal values
• Physical ability of the people we support
• Risk of confusion in regards to what is ‘appropriate’

18. Where to from here?
Continue to work with the people we support to
increase the supports and outcomes in the area of
intimate relationships by:
– Continuing our work on communication
– Continue training and information provision for staff
– Looking outside our service for generic supports (sex
workers?)
– Continue to engage with families and significant others
– Develop policy statements
– Learn from others organisation who do this better
– Keep talking about this topic