Improving quality and safeguarding project
Whaikaha has started a project to develop a new quality and safeguarding framework for the disability supports it commissions.
There are many ways that we check our funded services are delivering quality disability supports and are safeguarding disabled people and tāngata whaikaha Māori from abuse and neglect. Another name for this is a quality and safeguarding framework.
Our quality and safeguarding checks include complaints, critical incident reports, death reports, evaluations and peer worker visits. You can find out more about the current ways Whaikaha checks quality and safeguarding.
Whaikaha acknowledges there are gaps in the systems and policies to safeguard people and check the quality of supports. We aim to learn, improve and develop ways to address those gaps.
Whaikaha wants to improve our quality and safeguarding framework so that:
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There are better ways to check and improve the quality of disability supports and safeguard disabled people and tāngata whaikaha Māori.
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Disability supports are better at supporting disabled people and tāngata whaikaha Māori to achieve their good life outcomes.
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Our work aligns with Te Tiriti o Waitangi, Enabling Good Lives principles and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).
How you can be involved
Whaikaha has asked an external project team to gather the thoughts of the disability community and disability sector, do some research and to recommend a new quality and safeguarding framework. The project team are from Sapere Research Group external URL and Standards and Monitoring Services (SAMS) external URL .
The project will seek ideas from different groups, including:
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disabled people, tāngata whaikaha Māori, family and whānau
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disability support providers and the wider disability sector.
You can attend an online hui workshop: We are running a series of online hui workshops in 2024. People can choose what hui they would like to attend. Each session will be 2 hours long and will be facilitated by people from SAMS.
To register your interest in our hui email us at hui@sams.org.nz and we will send you information on the dates and times once they are confirmed. We will also publish the dates and times on the Whaikaha website and social media channels.
You can email your thoughts: hui@sams.org.nz.
Hui accessibility
NZSL interpreters will attend the online hui. The questions that will be covered are available below. Alternate formats of this material are in development.
If you or your family / whānau need additional supports to participate in a hui, please email us at hui@sams.org.nz.
What the hui will cover
The hui will focus on finding better ways to prevent, identify and respond to quality and safeguarding concerns, and better ways to help disability support providers improve what they do.
There are three main areas that will be asked about.
1. Your thoughts on quality
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What are easy ways for people to provide feedback about the quality of disability supports?
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What would make it easier to raise concerns about the cultural safety of disability supports?
2. Knowing how well disability supports are working
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What are other ways we can find out what is and isn’t working well?
3. Making a difference
- How does Whaikaha make sure we are making a positive change
- What else could assist disability support providers to provide high quality services?
What will happen with the things I say?
What you say at the hui or by email:
- Will be collected and kept confidential by the external project team.
- Will be summarised into an engagement summary report which will not identify anyone. The engagement summary report will be provided to Whaikaha and to anyone who would like to read it.
- Will be used to come up with recommendations for a new quality and safeguarding framework.
- Will not negatively affect the supports that disabled people receive.
Who is doing this work?
The project team includes:
- David Moore, Rebecca Rippon and Jamie O’Hare from Sapere Research Group external URL
- Gabrielle Baker (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Kuri) from Baker Consulting external URL
- Peter Wilson and Tina Lincoln from SAMS external URL
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Want to find out more?
If you would like to find out more about the project, you can contact either: