Yooralla

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

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 disabilities.[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]

From 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 4 March 2014.
  2. Macklin, Jenny (24 April 2012). "Inaugural Yooralla Chairman's Award – Award to John Walsh AM". Australian Government. Australian Department of Social Services.
  3. "The year 1918 marked the birth of Yooralla after Evangeline Ireland established a free kindergarten for children with disabilities". Federation Story. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016.
  4. "Our history". Yooralla. Archived from the original on 12 January 2014.
  5. "Yooralla Hospital School for Crippled Children and Adults (1918–77)". www.findingrecords.dhhs.vic.gov.au. 24 April 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  6. "Victorian Society for Crippled Children (1935–77)". www.findingrecords.dhhs.vic.gov.au. 24 April 2019. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  7. Michelmore, Karen; McKenzie, Nick; Baker, Richard (24 November 2014). "Calls for disability sector inquiry amid allegations over assault warnings". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 23 July 2020. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  8. McKenzie, Nick; Baker, Richard (24 November 2014). "Yooralla chief Sanjib Roy departs as the State Coroner looks into a death in care". The Age. Archived from the original on 24 November 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  9. McKenzie, Nick; Baker, Richard (23 November 2014). "Abusive and corrupt staff employed by Yooralla despite warnings, leaked documents and whistleblowers claim". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 12 April 2021.
  10. "Violence, abuse and neglect against people with disability in institutional and residential settings, including the gender and age related dimensions, and the particular situation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with disability, and culturally and linguistically diverse people with disability". www.aph.gov.au. Parliament of Australia - Senate Standing Committees on Community Affairs. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  11. "Funded organisation review Yooralla". dhs.vic.gov.au. 30 September 2015. Archived from the original on 21 March 2020. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  12. Baker, Richard; McKenzie, Nick (29 September 2015). "Yooralla performs better after changes prompted by scandal". The Age. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
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