Internal oversight of services for disabled people and educational work

Social welfare managers in the capital region outside Reykjavík and Seltjarnarnes (in Kópavogur, Hafnarfjörður, Kópavogur, Hafnarfjörður, Garðabær and Mosfellsbær) formed a co-ordination group on services for disabled people when the portfolio was transferred to the municipalities at the beginning of 2011. It has met regularly since then. Among its tasks has been monitoring the service, as stipulated by law as a duty for the municipalities, the so-called internal control.

In light of the recent discussions prompted by the report on Kópavogshælið, the advisory group considers it appropriate to provide a brief account of how this oversight is organised. In the beginning – and indeed still – the municipalities monitored the service in various ways, but in 2013 a group of professionals was convened, tasked with finding ways to strengthen the oversight in a systematic and coordinated manner. The group drew up a quality assessment checklist for this purpose, which takes into account the relevant laws and regulations, as well as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The local authorities subsequently employed a joint member of staff, an experienced occupational therapist, to oversee the monitoring.

Assessments based on defined quality indicators

The officer has since consistently carried out inspections of homes for disabled people, short-break care facilities, supported employment settings and habilitation centres. The inspections are based on the quality indicators that were developed and consist of both announced and unannounced visits to the premises, interviews with managers and other staff, and, where appropriate, with the service users themselves. Staff also complete an anonymous questionnaire about the service. The findings from the inspections are used to analyse the various aspects of the service, identify areas for improvement, and formulate action plans for remedial measures. Emphasis is placed on the fact that the monitoring is not only for oversight but also to provide professional support and guidance to managers and other staff. There are plans to strengthen this internal oversight with an additional post, partly due to the increase in the number of homes for disabled people in recent months.

Varied educational activities

Therefore, it is
adding that the same municipalities have, since 2011, maintained a wide-ranging
Training for staff working with disabled people within
their website. A joint education committee organises courses for this purpose.
On average, 16 courses have been held per year, each attended by 20-40 people.
its turn. For example
Topics of the courses include a discussion of the ideology that
Services for disabled people are based on, as well as on the subject matter of the United Nations Convention
on the rights of disabled people. Then, at least once a year, coercion is discussed, along with ways to identify it and
Avoid compulsory measures in the service. A full-day course for new
Staff meetings are usually held twice a year where, for example, disabled people say
from their experience and circumstances. First aid courses are held regularly,
along with a variety of other educational activities designed to increase and enhance knowledge
of staff. This is considered
educational work as a necessary and important part of prevention and quality work in
the department, not least to support and guide unskilled people in their work
his/hers.

Consultative group of directors of social services in Kópavogur, Hafnarfjörður,
Gardabær and Mosfellsbær.