Scott Lynda: Intellectual Disability (Compulsory Care and rehabilitation) Bill — In Committee Third Reading 
Scott Lynda: Intellectual Disability (Compulsory Care and rehabilitation) Bill — In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:612;Page:9584] 
Dr LYNDA SCOTT (National—Kaikoura) 
: 
 Part 3 discusses needs assessment and care and rehabilitation plans assessment and care and rehabilitation needs care and rehabilitation plans and case conferences. The purpose of it is to ensure that when somebody with an intellectual disability ends up before the courts or has behaviour that looks like they may end up before the courts—they may engage in what is considered criminal behaviour breaking the laws of the land even though they do not understand the implications of that because of their intellectual disability—assessment care and rehabilitation needs can be met. The behaviour of a great many of those people can be managed if appropriate care and support is put around them. Often people get angry only when they cannot understand what is happening in their environment and they are frustrated. Appropriate management of behaviour can be achieved. 
In this bill originally there were two groups: those who had committed an offence and had broken the law and the non-offender group. It was felt that people like David Stephens were in the non-offender group initially and if a care plan had been able to be put around him then and if he could have been contained in a secure environment then he would not have gone on to the offender group. We had a lot of representation from disability groups on this issue. They stated that they did not feel we could put in that sort of obligation and take away the rights of somebody who has an intellectual disability just because we think they might have behaviour that will cause them to break the law. It was felt that that was unacceptable and that was taken out. But it has not stopped the needs assessment and care and rehabilitation plans being able to be implemented for people whom we think may develop in that way and not be able to be managed in a normal community environment. 
The purpose of a needs assessment has been that every person who is a care recipient under an order under the Criminal Justice Act because they have committed an offence will have a care plan decided by the people who will be caring for them. That involves talking to the caregivers and also to the families involved in the person’s care. A needs assessment looks at the behaviour a person has had what is driving that sort of behaviour and what one can do to provide a care and rehabilitation plan. We did have a debate before about whether “rehabilitation” is the right term because rehabilitation means to a lot of people the individual changing behaviour whereas actually rehabilitation plans are more about changing the behaviour of people around someone with an intellectual disability so that they do not get into a lose-lose situation and so that they do not get into a corner where their only out is to hit somebody. The reason we need specialised carers to be able to look after people who have an intellectual disability and also have committed an offence is that they need to know how to manage anger. They need to know how to manage someone who is frustrated who may not be able to communicate and who will act out if they are unhappy. There does need to be those people who are specifically trained to be able to manage this type of care. 
I am pleased to say that this bill was a National Government bill when we were in Government and it had money with it. Those 24-hour intensive care plans and the training of care professionals have all happened because of National. We put the money with this bill to make sure that we did not just lump a whole lot of compliance costs out there into the community for those that are already caring. We put in money to develop services. The one thing that has not developed fast enough—probably because it has taken 4 years for this bill to reach this point today—is inpatient care. We do not have the inpatient care facilities—the really secure facilities. I know there was one being built at Porirua Hospital to contain people who have an intellectual disability and severe behavioural abnormalities that bring them before the courts. I believe that the Mason unit in Auckland is also having one developed. It is important that we get on with those because although small in number there are those with an intellectual disability who do absolutely wreak havoc—as we see if we look at the Ryder case—in the community.