Laila OnuLaila Onu May 2009, Timisoara,

Romania (Experts training seminar)

May 2009, Timisoara, Romania (Experts training

seminar)

Overall picture of a complex service for persons with disabilities – from strategically thinking to internal procedures: Pentru Voi

Foundation

Romania: 30 December 2008Romania: 30 December 2008

PERSONS WITH DISABILITIESPERSONS WITH DISABILITIES

631 199CHILDREN: 59 247ADULTS: 571 952

PERSONS WITH DISABILITIESPERSONS WITH DISABILITIES

631 199CHILDREN: 59 247ADULTS: 571 952

NOT IN INSTITUTIONS613 924

NOT IN INSTITUTIONS613 924

IN INSTITUTIONS17 275

IN INSTITUTIONS17 275

CHILDREN59 164

CHILDREN59 164

ADULTS554 760

ADULTS554 760

CHILDREN83

CHILDREN83

ADULTS17 192

ADULTS17 192

Source: DGASPC

Persons with disabilities Persons with disabilities Romania, 30 December 2008

Source: DGASPC

Persons with disabilities in institutionsPersons with disabilities in institutionsRomania, 30 December 2008

Source: DGASPC

““Pentru VoiPentru Voi” Foundation” Foundation

• Established in 1996

• Accredited social services provider for persons with intellectual disabilities

• The social services are provided through a public-private partnership between “Pentru Voi” Foundation and the City Hall of Timisoara

• Social services are financed from the local budget

• 160 beneficiaries

• Advocacy and lobby

• Resource Centre

Core valuesCore values

• Social inclusion

• Respect

• Dignity

• Worth

• Self determination

• Equality

• The ethics of solidarity

Social servicesSocial services• Day centre “Together” workshops

115 service users works together with the social enterprise

• Day centre “Ladislau Tacsi” 43 adults with severe and profound intellectual disabilities

• Supported employment• Housing: protected homes

20 service users • Independent living• Family support services

in home & respite centre

““Pentru VoiPentru Voi” Protected Unit” Protected Unit

• Legal frame: Law 448/2006

• Authorized on 25 May 2007 by the National Authority for Persons with Handicap

• Partnerships with 30 companies

• At the moment, „Pentru Voi” Protected unit has 61 employees, persons with intellectual disabilities

• A new concept for Romania

• Lucas and Vardanyan define social

enterprise as “a strategy used by many NGOs

to expand their organizational capacity and to

ensure their financial sustainability;

their focus is not on generating private profits

but on promoting social welfare, such as

creating jobs for less employable people.”

The Social EnterpriseThe Social Enterprise

• Hibbert, Hogg & Quinn (2001) define social entrepreneurship in terms of using entrepreneurial opportunities for social purposes. When a profit is made, the profit benefits a certain underprivileged or disadvantaged group represented by the NGO.

• Mair and Marti (2006) define social entrepreneurship as “a process involving the innovative use and combination of resources to pursue opportunities to catalyze social change and/ or address social needs”.

• Lucas and Vardanyan define the “double bottom line” as being “assessed both on its capacity to create profit and to drive social change”.

The Social EnterpriseThe Social Enterprise

• a copy centre that produces brochures, posters, business cards

• an assembling group which make plastic parts for a German multinational company

• a bakery that manufactures and delivers delicious rolls

workshops

The Social enterpriseThe Social enterprise

• Working activities at Tacsi Day centre for persons with severe disabilities

• Handcraft workshop

workshops

•Tailoring

Mobile TeamsMobile Teams

• Employees of the Protected Unit who

work at the headquarter of the

companies

• Packing

• Cleaning

• Green spaces maintenance

• Workstation

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Numerical evolution ofNumerical evolution of"Pentru Voi" Protected Unit employees "Pentru Voi" Protected Unit employees

PERIOD OF TIME INCOME PROFIT

MAY - DECEMBER 2007 234,426 49,661

JANUARY – DECEMBER2008 758,163 152,619

"Pentru Voi" Protected Unit"Pentru Voi" Protected Unit *turnover and profit in Ron**turnover and profit in Ron*

Top collaboratorsTop collaborators

SupportedSupported EmploymentEmployment

• A service that facilitates competitive employment in integrated settings on the open market for individuals with intellectual disabilities who have traditionally been denied employment and who need ongoing support to perform their work.

• There are a variety of ways in which supported employment services may be provided.

• These include individual placement, enclaves, mobile work crews and business arrangements.

Supported employment servicesSupported employment services• Supported employment - 33 employed persons

• Job seeking and job coaching

• Vocational training: 7 baker courses, 11 computer courses, 11 building finisher courses, 4 baker helper courses

• Specialized job training

• Individually tailored support and supervision

• Ongoing support and consultation to employers and co-workers

• Assistive technology

• Transportation

Quality standardsQuality standards• All service providers have to be accredited before starting

to deliver specific services. This implies that the service provider has met the minimum general quality standards.

• The general conditions for management and delivery of social services apply to all social service providers. They include being in line with the local government strategies, carrying out evaluations of the services provided, using individualised care plans, having qualified personnel, using tools to assess client satisfaction etc.

• In addition, service providers must use a ‘service delivery’ contract, which needs to be signed by the client. In this contract, the client’s rights and obligations are stipulated, together with the main steps necessary to achieve the objectives of the individualised care plan.

• There are also specific quality standards defined and set out in ministerial orders, for different types of specialised services: – Day centres

– Protected homes

– In home services

• Since 2008, the Social Inspection Service has the specific role of verifying if service providers are complying with the quality standards.

Absurd demandsAbsurd demands• One of the official quality standards requires that

we have a so-called “guest book”: every visitor at the protected homes has to sign in.

• When the social inspection visited our services, they noted in the report that we fail to respect this rule and recommended that we start a guest book.

• Each “protected home” should have a fence. Our protected homes are apartments in regular blocks of flats and of course they don’t have a fence.

Internal evaluationInternal evaluation• Apart from evaluation required by the

government, we have our own evaluation and monitor the quality of our services

• Users involvement is an important part of our internal evaluation process

• This year, we have introduced a questionnaire for families and service users asking for their opinion on the quality of our services

• It is done through interviews and focus groups with the service users

• Another internal procedure is that representatives of

service users take part in the weekly and monthly staff meetings, where they can express their concerns and make suggestions

• In a radio interview, one of our service users was asked: “What is the difference between “Pentru Voi” and the institutions in which you used to live?” Her answer was: “I finally found a place where I am valued!”

Internal evaluationInternal evaluation

ProceduresProcedures

• Manual of Procedures

• Examples:– Protection against abuse – Public procurement

Protection against abuse• Abuse includes all forms of physical and emotional

maltreatment, sexual abuse, neglect, and exploitation that results in actual or potential harm to the person’s health, development or dignity.

• Abuse implies excessive and wrongful use of power by persons in a position of power or trust

Subtypes

• physical abuse

• emotional abuse

• sexual abuse

• neglect and negligent treatment

• exploitation

Prevention• Structured day time table• Individual activity plan• Self advocacy movement• Training for the staff• Supervision and monitoring: video and audio• control mechanism• Social worker monitors and reports any

suspicious of abuse outside: family, work place, community

Major steps• Prevention and recognisition

• Reporting (it is mandatory that the employees informs the management about any abuse suspicion; the persons with disabilities are encouraged and assisted to report such acts)

• Investigation (according to the situation, it can be internal or it can involve other decision factors, like the legal institutions)

• Decision making and taking action

Guiding principles• The ground rules and the procedures are clear and

known by everyone in the organization

• Every incident is fully described in a register (what, when, who, with what consequences)

• “First do no harm” – in all the actions, we respect the privacy and the emotional health of the persons involved

>> Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts <<

Winston Churchill

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