Yooralla

Yooralla (officially the Yooralla Society of Victoria) is one of the largest non-profit disability services organisations in Australia, supporting over 30,000 Victorians living with a disability.[1][2]

Services

Yooralla employs over 2,100 staff throughout Victoria to provide community services including accommodation, respite, day services, therapy, recreation, education and self-advocacy to both children and adults. Yooralla also provides a range of assistive and communication technologies through their Independent Living Centre, located in Brooklyn, Melbourne. Yooralla's services are developed in partnership with people with disability and in many cases, their families and carers.

History

The Yooralla Society of Victoria was established in 1977 as a merger of the Yooralla Hospital School and the Victorian Society for Crippled Children.

Yooralla Hospital School (1918–1977)

In 1918, Evangeline Ireland established the Yooralla Free Kindergarten for Crippled Children, a school for disabled children. She was motivated by the discovery of a disabled child whose parents left her in a chicken coop while they were working.[3][4] It was initially housed in Fitzroy, but after a few months relocated to Carlton, eventually finding a more-or-less permanent home on Pelham Street. During World War II the school was evacuated to Mount Macedon. It eventually acquired several other properties.[5]

Victorian Society for Crippled Children (1935–1977)

The Victorian Society for Crippled Children was established in 1935 by Eleanor Latham, the wife of Chief Justice Sir John Latham. It was closely tied to the Yooralla Hospital School and the Royal Children's Hospital. After World War II it was renamed the Victorian Society for Crippled Children and Adults. It operated a number of residential hostels for disabled people, as well as recreational facilities and training centres.[6]

Abuse allegations

In November 2014, the Napthine government and the Victorian opposition both pledged to hold an inquiry into the state disability sector in response to an investigation by Four Corners and Fairfax airing allegations that Yooralla failed to act on warnings about a carer who sexually assaulted vulnerable clients.[7][8] Former National Disability Commissioner Graeme Innes has called for a national inquiry as the National Disability Insurance Scheme would expand the number of group homes for Australians with disability.[9]

In February 2015, the Australian Senate committed to holding a national inquiry into the abuse of disabled people in institutions and homes across Australia.[10]

In the period February to July 2015, KPMG conducted a review of Yooralla, on behalf of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).[11] The report found that Yooralla has systems and processes that are designed to ensure the delivery of quality and safe services for its clients.[11] It was also found that Yooralla had made significant progress, including major enhancements to work practices.[12]

References
  1. "Yooralla". Cerebral Palsy Australia. Archived from the original on 28 February 2014.
  2. Jenny Macklin. "Inaugural Yooralla Chairman's Award – Award to John Walsh AM". Australian Department of Social Services.
  3. Yooralla. "Yooralla". Federation Story. The year 1918 marked the birth of Yooralla after Evangeline Ireland established a free kindergarten for children with disabilities. Evangeline opened the kindergarten following her discovery of a child with a disability who was left in a chicken coop while her parents were working
  4. "Our history". Yooralla.
  5. Yooralla Hospital School for Crippled Children and Adults (1918–77), Government of Victoria. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  6. Victorian Society for Crippled Children (1935–77), Government of Victoria. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  7. Karen Michelmore (24 November 2014). "Calls for inquiry into Victoria's disability sector amid allegations care provider Yooralla failed to act on assault warnings". Four Corners. Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
    Yahoo News Mirror Archived 29 November 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  8. Nick McKenzie & Richard Baker (24 November 2014). "Yooralla chief Sanjib Roy Departs as the State Coroner looks into a death in care". The Age.
  9. Nick McKenzie (24 November 2014). "Abusive and corrupt staff employed by Yooralla despite warnings, leaked documents and whistleblowers claim". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  10. Violence, abuse and neglect against people with disability in institutional and residential settings..., Senate Community Affairs References Committee
  11. Unit, DHS,Groups,Community and Executive Services Group,Executive Services Branch,Communications and Media Branch,Community Services. "Funded organisation review Yooralla". dhs.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  12. Baker, Richard; McKenzie, Nick (30 September 2015). "Yooralla performs better after changes prompted by scandal". The Age. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
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