International Research/Contemporary Developments in Disability Services

The papers below comprise a significant programme of work undertaken by NDA to explore contemporary developments in disability services. The work focuses on four core areas (1) residential provision for people with disabilities (2) employment services for people with disabilities (3) the configuration of disability services internationally and NDA's policy advice paper on disability services in Ireland, (4) our last area looks at the issue of how to build the capacity of non-paid supports in the community and improve the participation of people with disabilities in mainstream activities.

1. Residential provision for people with disabilities:
   • Moving to Community Living: a review of literature on quality outcomes and costs of deinstitutionalisation in Europe.
   • Models of Residential Provision for People with Disabilities: a review of existing residential models for people with disabilities.
2. Employment services for people with disabilities:
   • Employment Policy & Practice for People with Disabilities in three international jurisdictions: the United Kingdom, the United States and Norway (see related files below)
   • Sheltered Employment Services in the United States: Policy and Practice (see related files below)
   • NDA's 2009 Policy Advice Paper on Sheltered Employment Services.
3. The configuration of disability services internationally and NDA's policy advice paper on disability services in Ireland:
   • NDA's 2010 policy advice paper to the Value for Money and Policy Review of Disability Services in Ireland
   • A series of papers exploring the configuration of disability service provision in selected international jurisdictions (England, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Scotland and Victoria, Australia)
   • Synthesis Paper summarising the key learning from the selected jurisdictions and from NDA's recent research in this area more generally.
   • A Review of international outcome measures in disability service provision.
   • A series of invited presentations on international resource allocation models
   • Resource Allocation: the introduction of individual budgets as a resource allocation system for disability services in Ireland: a discussion paper
4. Promoting natural and community supports for people with disabilities
   • A Review of literature on natural community supports
   • Living in your own home with a disability - the experiences of people with disabilities of support from their community
   • Exploring the use of natural community supports in promoting independent living among adults with disabilities in Ireland; survey of service providers