By Bea, Senior Social Worker, Royal Far West
"Cultural safety is a foundational piece to how we work with families around assessments.
For example, when we use the Vineland assessment for an NDIS application, we adapt and slow down the process to achieve greater cultural safety for clients. The Vineland assessment is used because it is a standardised and accepted method by NDIS. However, it is not generally considered culturally appropriate in remote Aboriginal locations. Here, we adopt a relational and adaptable way of working and a two-way team means we are still able to use this assessment, however we conduct it quite differently. We run the assessment over a few appointments and we work at the pace of the family, have lots of breaks and ensure understanding throughout with our two-way team model.
We prioritise ‘yarning’ over yes/no (closed questions) and talk a lot about strengths throughout to support emotional safety.
Sometimes we are limited in what is considered ‘credible’ evidence, but cultural safety is never an added bonus; rather a first order requirement. This way of working takes careful consideration, authentic connection and care. Whilst resource intense, our perspective is that a safe assessment is an accurate one, so why would you bother doing it without this level of care?"
