Theoretical And Ideological Underpinnings Of Disability Policy In Australia

Ideological support for the policy approach

Disability is a condition that occurs in the body of a human being which curtails the way an individual carries out his or her daily activities. Disability occurs in various ranges starting from the mild conditions to the severe forms which may stretch to injuries of the brain. Carers are individuals that are given the mandate of providing care to the extremely disabled persons. Carers are people who offer care to the disabled people and may include family members, friends or hired person specifically for this service. In addition to the help provided by family and friends, the government takes a bit of the responsibility by providing direct or indirect services to both the cares and the disabled persons (Baker, 2012). The government of Australia has provided a social policy that is aimed at protecting the individuals with disabilities and their carers. The social system that has been furnished by the Australian government is the policy on the national disability insurance scheme.

National disability insurance scheme is a system that was introduced in the country so that it could protect the social rights of the disabled persons. The policy was also developed so that it would ensure that the disabled individuals and their caregivers would receive all the support that they needed so as to lead a full filling lifestyle (Bigby, 2013). The ideological support for formation of the policy by the government of Australia was to improve the position of the disabled persons and their carers in the society. Also, the moral perspective of implementation of the theory was derived from the need by the wider community to promote the position held by the carers and the disabled socially. For instance, the disabled people and their caregivers have always been looked down by some institutions thus undermining their ability to participate in events affecting the larger circle outside their own.

The government also decided to come up with the policy because the economic position held by the disabled and their caregivers is very crucial in the country however many instances have been recorded whereby they are usually undermined. The scenarios are often experienced in the workplace whereby the disabled persons are accorded lower positions despite their qualifications in the institution about their abled persons (Fawcett & Platt, 2014). To counter this circumstance, the government came up with the national disability insurance scheme that was implemented to protect the participation of the disabled and their carers in upgrading their economic status and also that of the nation. About that stand, the policy is aimed at improving the way the disabled persons are given opportunities for involvement in economic activities.

Theoretical reasons for the policy approach

Also, an ideology that led to the Australian government to take the policy approach is the unfair treatment when they are trying to access health and education services in public institutions. Many of the establishments in the country are not disabled friendly because there are no special facilities provided for their use (O’Connor, 2014). Therefore, they are subjected to a difficult time while trying to get some services. In the health sector, they are not privileged to be offered with the health insurance policies and covers. Due to these problems, the government took a morality perspective of introducing the social policy that promoted an equal treatment that included the introduction of health insurances covers. Also in schools and other public institutions, the government took an approach towards the policy so as to make sure that the disabled people are provided with special facilities for instance reserved parking areas.

The policy approach was taken by the government so that it could assist the disabled individuals and their care providers to access social areas in their communities. It is clearly noted that the disabled persons are usually subjected to discrimination when they are trying to find proper housing facilities for themselves. Likewise, their caregivers are subjected to the same discrimination process in that the owners of houses do not allow them to reside in their apartment because of their relationship with the disabled persons (Thill, 2015).For instance, when a caregiver and a disabled person tries to purchase or rent a house they are treated unfairly by either not being allowed to reside in the dwelling or are asked to pay way much higher than their counterparts. The action triggers a feeling of loss of self-worthiness thus resulting in withdrawal from social circles.  To maintain sanity in how disabled persons are treated by house owners the policy was developed and implemented so as to ensure they are treated equally.

The Australian government put in place methods and ways to determine the needs that a disabled and their care provider need so as to help them lead full-filling lives, therefore it came up with a related policy aimed at protecting them from social unfairness. Typically the people who are disabled and their relatives tend to experience a sense of low self-esteem in that they cannot make appearances in social areas.  According to the classical psychodynamic, social theory, the government based its relevance in developing the policy approach (Soldatic, Van Toorn, Dowse & Muir, 2014).  The method provides a platform whereby the development of a person is elaborated and explained. The theory explains the three aspects of a person's awareness which include the pre-consciousness, consciousness and the unconsciousness. These three elements affect an individual's feelings and thoughts and dictate anxiousness or unhappiness of a person. The observation of this aspect by the government led to the implementation of the policy regarding the disabled.

The policy approach was aimed at improving the development of a person through an introduction of acts that promote the relationship between the persons with disabilities and the care providers. The policy provides a platform whereby the caregiver is provided with a suitable environment so as to care for their dependent (Walsh & Johnson, 2013).When the relationship between the two parties has been enhanced the development, and the improvement one's attitude towards life is restored in the two people hence, they can easily engage in social activities in their societies. The theory provided the government with this insight and therefore as a result of the gathered information, the approach of a policy that is to fulfill the desired outcome was developed.  The information regarding the realization of self-being in the disabled persons and their care providers derived its relevance and importance from the psychodynamic theory the personality development aspect.

Secondly, another theoretical support that led to the elaboration of the national disability insurance scheme was derived from the psychodynamic theory the other aspect of the theory is the ego. Ego is defined as the part of an individual's mind that is responsible for dictating how one handle and how they feel about themselves. It is the aspect that promotes a positive outlook on the self-consciousness and identity of a person (Williams & Smith, 2014).In the right societal surroundings, a disabled person can quickly adapt to positivity in their life, therefore, improving their self-identity. When one rediscovers themselves, then they are in a position to determine what is of benefit in their life and also can start appreciating life to a larger extent. In that regard, the theory built a policy that is aimed at improving the ego of the persons that are disabled and their caregivers.

The theory that emphasizes the development of the ego of the disabled person issues insight in the policy relating to disabled persons and the aim of the policy is based on improving the performance of the disadvantaged individuals and their caregivers by providing ways through which they can achieve the objective. When a person realized that they are valuable, then their self-esteem is raised hence improving their public participation (Johnson, 2015). Increased public involvement of the disabled individuals and their caregivers will continuously impact on the society because people will learn to appreciate the abled differently hence improving cohesion in the society. Improved relationship between the two parties increases the chance of the policy implementation to be efficient and fruitful.

Superego is also an aspect that formed a theoretical support during the disability and carers policy. Superego is the ability of a person to derive pleasure from what they engage in and from the success they obtain from certain activities. When an individual who is disabled is allowed to participate in activities that they like without being curtailed by certain factors, then the outcome is usually appealing to the caregivers (Liz et al., 2012).Also in the case of caregivers when they are allocated the work of providing care then they can provide the service to the maximum and even in return derive a lot of pleasure and happiness from work. When care providers and disabled persons can get satisfaction from their places of work the theory shows that they develop a sense of reflection about what they do hence improve their performance thus increasing their public appearance without fear of discrimination.

The aim of the development of the disabled and the carers policy is to promote the wellbeing of the disabled in all aspect starting from their psychological aspect to their physical forms. The approach towards the policy was introduced because many disabled persons are not comfortable in carrying out activities that appeal to them or the fear of lack of appreciation (Rowstone & Prideaux, 2012). Also, the caregivers do not fully engage in their service provision because they are not appreciated by other people or the government but on the contrary are discriminated against the work they do. However to revert this behavior the government borrowed some information from the theory of psychodynamics and used it to develop national disability insurance scheme policy. The policy maintains that the parties related to disability be allowed to engage in the activities they like without hindrances so as to increase their superego which entails improving the appeal they derive from the success of their work. An increase in the move towards the pleasure derived from success by disabled and carers provides a platform where they can easily relate and deal with the outside society comfortably.

According to my view, the policy of national disability insurance scheme is one that has much relevance to the day to day activities of the people in the society.  The disadvantaged persons in our environment need a lot of care and love. Therefore, the morality of humanity should lead us to provide care to the disabled persons in our societies. Human service workers should be involved in intense training and skill development so that they are in a position of dealing with the needs of the disabled person. For instance, a human service worker is supposed to learn that a disabled person needs to be taught to how to do things on their own being accorded all the patience and humility (Humber, 2014).When a disabled person is taught how to deal with their issues, they start appreciating life and gaining a positive attitude towards their condition hence being able to work with the society around them. The instance a human service worker recognizes the impact of the service they deliver, and then they are in a position of improving the condition of the disabled persons.

Also, the human care should be in a position to appreciate thyself before providing any service to the disabled person. The caregiver should have the ability to enjoy the work they do despite the pay or lack of it.  Self-appreciation of the worker is one of the interventions that need to be implemented and taught to the employees so as to accomplish the aims and objectives of the policy approach.  According to studies, the intervention is the most crucial in the accomplishment of the policy that protects the disabled persons (Gidley, Hampson, Wheeler & Brereded-Samuel, 2010).When one offers service to themselves, and then they can easily provide the same to others. According to the stipulations of the policy, the human care service personnel should be provided with health care and other social services so that they can accomplish the need of the disabled person which is to become self-reliant and gain self-worth. Firmly I support the framework as it works right to the disabled persons who receive care from people who have accepted their jobs and derive happiness from offering services to the disabled.

Framework table (Hadarics, 2016).

Policy type	Intervention	Outcome
National disability insurance scheme	Campaign against discrimination of the disabled persons	Disabled persons able to access public facilities and amenities easily
	Campaign to ensure disabled person receive good care	Development of personality, ego and sub ego hence promoting social interactions
	Provision professional and quality education and training	Provision of high standard service care to the disabled persons
	Motivation of human service workers through wage payment and mental health examination	Improvement in work attitude hence providing fulfilling service

The education accorded to social human care deliverers has its roots derived from the Australian Association of Social Workers skill assessment docket and the segment that is responsible for dealing with the development of professional courses. Regarding the disability and the carer policy development made by the government, the officials tasked with the responsibility of maintaining order and rules in the policy. Therefore they are tasked with the activity of evaluating the abilities and skills of a social worker hence determining areas that need to be focused on so as to achieve the desired outcome on the disabled persons. After the skill assessment is carried out, the level of education and knowledge of a worker is observed, and in case there are gaps in the exercise then a development course that is professional is recommended. The process carried out of providing the human service providers professional courses is believed to have a positive impact on the disabled persons as well as the care providers (McAuliffe, 2014).

Also, a theoretical support that is offered to the education and skill development approach is offering recognized courses to the human service workers. When the service providers are given the right classes, then they are in a position to provide quality service to the disabled persons. According to AASW and ACWA associations, quality training provision is necessary for dealing with the service delivery process of persons with disability (Kerr, 2017).The AASW Board is responsible for providing social service education that caters for the service given for the self-realization of an individual hence promoting their self-worth and consciousness while ACWA workers receives training so that they can have the ability and understanding for achieving the development of disabled children in the society. It is evident that skill development and quality educational provision to the caregivers the disabled persons will be in a position to perform better and embrace life conditions with bold.

The approach taken on the policy regarding social workers gains ground from the theoretical notion that ethics can promote the performance and service delivery of the service providers. Ethics is a set standard of how people should behave and carry themselves in the workplace. Some of the service provision standards that should be considered are trustworthy, honesty, privacy among others. When a social worker is outlined for the importance of decent performance, then he or she will look after the disabled with all the honesty they require (Morley, Macfarlane & Ablett, 2014). Also, they will strive to get the trust of the people they are working for hence creating a good rapport between the two thus improving the pace at which improvement is to be noted in the recovery process. It is therefore important that the workers are asked to work with integrity so as to attain the goals of the policy of the disabled and the carers in the country.

The second approach of developing a sense of self-worth in the workers is a move that is supported by the theoretical perspective of increasing the observation of mental fitness of the workers.  It is important to note that when people are subjected to work in hard conditions such as caring for the disabled persons, they may develop mental related issues due to the phases they experience daily. It is critical to offer a counseling program for the workers to maintain their emotional and mental condition stability (Pawar & Anscombe, 2014). When such care is provided to the employees, they feel that their needs are also being put into consideration hence promoting the attitude of working. Once the worker is motivated by providing care, then the implementation of the disability and carer policy is simplified, and the outcomes are easily observed after a short period.

Development of a sense of self-worth in the workers is also stamped by the theoretical framework that supports the provision of salaries and wages to the disabled persons. Family members and relatives of a disabled person are not subject to payment as they are interested in the recovery of their colleague. However, the employed social workers are employed by the state, therefore, are subject to receiving salaries and wages. It is evident that when workers receive some money at the end of their working period, they are motivated to work a little bit more for the next working period. A little motivation increases the productivity of the workers hence they provide maximum attention to the disabled persons (Hadarics, 2016). According to the policy, the employees are entitled to some cash which was put in place by the government so as to retain the workers and improve the total well-being of the disabled persons.

Conclusion

To conclude, disabled persons are those abled differently, and this condition may lead to an individual not being in a position to work. Carers are the persons who are either hired or not that provide care to the disabled persons. The government of Australia has taken a step forward in dealing with the negativity surrounding the disability issue. The government has introduced a disabled and carer policy known as the national disability insurance coverage. The policy is aimed at providing a friendly environment for disabled persons and their carers in the society. There are ideological perceptions that are intended supporting the policy, for instance, the cessation of discrimination in public areas such as churches, hospitals, and schools. Also, there are theoretical underpinnings that the government derived from the classical psychodynamic theory that provides insight regarding aspects of an individual for example ego, superego, and development of personality. Education and training relating to the importance of receiving professional and quality training leads to increased chance of achieving the objectives of the policy developed. Ethics, health checkup especially mental care and rewards in the form of salaries are necessary for seeing to it the disabled person and their caregiver benefits from the program. 

References

Baker, A. (2012). The New Leviathan: A National Disability Insurance Scheme. Sydney: Centre for Independent Studies.

Bigby, C. (2013). A National Disability Insurance Scheme—challenges for social work.

Fawcett, B., & Plath, D. (2014). A national disability insurance scheme: What social work has to offer. The British Journal of Social Work, 44(3), 747-762

Gidley, J., Hampson, G., Wheeler, L., & Bereded-Samuel, E. (2010). Social inclusion: Context, theory and practice. The Australasian Journal of University-Community Engagement, 5(1), 6-36.

Hadarics, M. (2016). Motivational and ideological underpinnings of welfare preferences in Eastern and Western Europe. Europe's Journal of Psychology, 12(1), 169.

Humber, L. A. (2014). Social inclusion through employment: the marketisation of employment support for people with learning disabilities in the United Kingdom. Disability & Society, 29(2), 275-289.

Johnson, C. (2015). 2. The Battle for Hearts and Minds. Abbott's Gambit: The 2013 Australian Federal Election, 35-48.

Kerr, L. (2017). Australian Social Policy and the Human Services. Cambridge University Press.

Liz, M., Ellen, M., Tompa, E., Christina, K., Endicott, M., & Yeung, N. (2012). A critical review of literature on experience rating in workers’ compensation systems. Policy and Practice in Health and Safety, 10(1), 3-25.

McAuliffe, D. (2014). Interprofessional ethics: Collaboration in the social, health and human services. Cambridge University Press.

Morley, C., Macfarlane, S., & Ablett, P. (2014). Engaging with social work: A critical introduction. Cambridge University Press.

O’Connor, M. (2014). The National Disability Insurance Scheme and people with mild intellectual disability: Potential pitfalls for consideration. Research and Practice in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 1(1), 17-23.

Pawar, M., & Anscombe, B. (2014). Social Work Practice Methods: Thinking, Doing and Being. Cambridge University Press.

Thill, C. (2015). Listening for policy change: how the voices of disabled people shaped Australia’s National Disability Insurance Scheme. Disability & Society, 30(1), 15-28.

Roulstone, A., & Prideaux, S. (2012). Understanding disability policy. Policy Press.

Soldatic, K., van Toorn, G., Dowse, L., & Muir, K. (2014). Intellectual disability and complex intersections: Marginalisation under the National Disability Insurance Scheme. Research and Practice in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 1(1), 6-16.

Walsh, J., & Johnson, S. (2013). Development and principles of the national disability insurance scheme. Australian Economic Review, 46(3), 327-337.

Williams, T. M., & Smith, G. P. (2014). Can the National Disability Insurance Scheme work for mental health?. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 48(5), 391-394.