Search results for ‘Subject term:"learning disabilities"’ Sort:
Results 1 - 6 of 6
Keeping out of trouble: alternatives to prison or hospital for people with learning disabilities who get into trouble with the law
- Author:
- THE IDEAS COLLECTIVE
- Publisher:
- The Ideas Collective
- Publication year:
- 2016
- Pagination:
- 18
This paper discusses approaches to stopping people with learning disabilities engaging in risky or offending behaviour that gets them into trouble with the law, increasing the availability of alternatives to prison or hospital and helping people resettle successfully following detention. People with learning disabilities are over-represented in the criminal justice system and are at risk of having poor experiences in the system and poor support to reduce re-offending. The paper gives some examples of good practice and sets out some initial ideas for systematic improvement. These include: early identification of children and young people with learning disabilities whose behaviour may cause them to break the law, and co-ordinated support to them and their families to change this behaviour; awareness and understanding in the youth and criminal justice and community safety sectors about learning disability and its implications for their practice, including how to make reasonable adjustment; routine provision across the youth and criminal justice systems of easy read information; and development of the market for support providers that are competent to work with people with learning disabilities who have committed offences or are at risk of doing so. (Edited publisher abstract)
Going straight
- Author:
- WILKINSON Steve
- Journal article citation:
- Learning Disability Today, 13(4), July/August 2013, pp.14-15.
- Publisher:
- Pavilion
- Place of publication:
- Hove
For offenders with learning difficulties re-integrating successfully into society after a prison sentence can be difficult, but with the right support, they can go on to lead a full life. This article looks at the type of specialist support that is needed: managing offence-specific risks; offence-specific training, so their person understands their offence and why it is wrong; and implementing person-centred support packages to help the person learn the social skills they need to function in a community setting. The work of Waymarks, one charity providing these services is then briefly described. (Original abstract)
Resettling prisoners with mental health needs or a learning disability
- Author:
- NACRO
- Publisher:
- NACRO
- Publication year:
- 2010
- Pagination:
- 80p.
- Place of publication:
- London
The successful resettlement of offenders is vital in order to reduce both reoffending and social exclusion. Yet meeting the often complex resettlement needs of offenders with a mental health problem or learning disability can be extremely challenging. This guide aims to give practitioners from a range of agencies and organisations a thorough understanding of resettlement issues and interventions so they can better help members of this group to successfully reintegrate into the community following release from custody. The guide seeks to emphasise that resettlement is not an abstract notion, but something which should be undertaken in consultation with the offender. The chapters of the guide mirror the reducing reoffending pathways laid down in the government's Reducing Reoffending National Action Plan looking at: accommodation; education, training and employment; accessing mental healthcare or learning disability services; drugs and alcohol; benefits, finance and debts; families and children; and attitudes, thinking and behaviour. The guide sets out good practice and guidance, as well as identifying a number of useful organisations which can assist further with the task.
Collaborative case report: participatory action research into using EQUIP to support community discharge
- Authors:
- TEARLE Shaw, S. Sam, HOLT Rachel R.
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Intellectual Disabilities and Offending Behaviour, 11(1), 2020, pp.23-34.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
Purpose: There is a need to evaluate an adapted Equipping Youth to help One Another (EQUIP) programme for people with intellectual disabilities and forensic needs. The purpose of this paper is to explore a service user’s experience of completing the intervention as part of their transition into the community. Design/methodology/approach: A collaborative case report was used. Following hospital discharge and completion of the adapted EQUIP programme, one service user with mild intellectual disability was supported to share their treatment experiences using participatory action research. Findings: Findings suggest that while the adapted community EQUIP group can support skills acquisition (e.g. problem-solving), discharge processes and community reintegration, professionals need to maintain a person-centred approach mindful of participants’ complex emotional journeys. Research limitations/implications: The design allows for tentative conclusions to be made about the service user’s journey and is not necessarily generalisable. Practical implications: There is a pressing need to develop the evidence base for interventions offered in the community to people with intellectual disabilities and a history of offending. This report provides some evidence that EQUIP can be adapted to support this population. Originality/value: This is the first coproduced publication exploring the experience of a service user with intellectual disability who completed an adapted EQUIP programme. (Publisher abstract)
Am I there yet? The views of people with learning disability on forensic community rehabilitation
- Authors:
- DAVIS Alana, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Intellectual Disabilities and Offending Behaviour, 6(3/4), 2015, pp.148-164.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
Purpose: Previously, diversion from the criminal justice system for people with learning disability and serious forensic needs in Scotland meant hospitalisation. More recently new legislation has meant that community-based rehabilitation is possible for this group. The purpose of this paper is to qualitatively explore the views of people with learning disabilities subject to these legal orders. This is both a chance to work in partnership to improve services and also to make the voices of this potentially vulnerable group heard. Design/methodology/approach: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten participants subject to a community-based order. All participants were male. Ages, index behaviour, and time spent on order varied. The data was transcribed and analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Findings: The main themes which emerged from the data were a taste of freedom, not being in control, getting control back, loneliness, and feeling like a service user. Participants described positives about community-based rehabilitation but also a number of negatives. Practical implications: Participant accounts suggest that the current community rehabilitation model has some shortcomings which need to be addressed. Suggestions are made for improvements to the current model relating to: achieving clarity over the role of support staff and pathways out of the system; increasing opportunities for service users to voice concerns; empowering staff teams via extensive training and supervision; and directly addressing internalised stigma to promote community integration. (Edited publisher abstract)
Understanding and treating offenders with learning disabilities: a review of recent developments
- Authors:
- TAYLOR John L., LINDSAY William R.
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Learning Disabilities and Offending Behaviour, 1(1), April 2010, pp.5-16.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
This narrative review first presents and discusses recent developments relating to offenders with learning disabilities, looks at the historical association between crime and low intelligence, and then investigates the evidence concerning the prevalence of offending by people with learning disabilities, and their recidivism rates. The authors summarise research concerning service pathways for this population, and outline progress in the development of actuarial, dynamic and clinical assessments of the future risk of offending. Secondly, the paper focuses on a review of the evidence for, and recent developments in, the treatment of offending behaviour (anger and aggression, sexual offending and fire-setting), utilising broadly cognitive behaviourally-based approaches. Finally, the authors propose future directions for research and practice innovation.