Mrs Lauren Jakeway1, Ms Claire Walker1, Mrs Laura Hollamby1, Nicholas Kakoliris
1Allora Options, Adelaide, Australia
Biography:
Lauren Jakeway, BCBA, is a Clinical Services Manager and Board Certified Behaviour Analyst with extensive experience supporting people with disability who present with complex behavioural, psychosocial, forensic, and trauma-related needs. Working within Positive Behaviour Support, Lauren specialises in person-centred, assent-focused approaches that balance individual rights, quality of life, and community safety. Lauren has particular interests in forensic disability, service-system barriers, trauma-informed practice, and ethical decision-making. Lauren's work focuses on improving support outcomes for individuals whose needs sit at the intersection of disability, mental health, and community participation.
Abstract:
Participants with intellectual disability, psychosocial disability, mental illness, offending histories, or forensic involvement often require highly skilled, coordinated community-based supports to minimise harm, enhance quality of life, and sustain meaningful community participation. Behaviour Support Practitioners working within Australia's National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) frequently support individuals whose needs sit at the intersection of disability, trauma, mental health, offending-related behaviour, and public safety concerns. While considerable attention has been directed toward assessing and managing individual risk, less attention has been given to the contribution of service systems to risk creation and escalation.
This conceptual practice-based analysis synthesises forensic disability literature and practitioner experience to examine a phenomenon commonly observed in community disability services: participants assessed as presenting complex or elevated risk are frequently declined by larger, experienced, or specialised providers due to workforce capability concerns, organisational risk appetite, perceived liability, or resource constraints. Consequently, support may shift to smaller or less experienced organisations with limited forensic disability expertise, reduced clinical oversight, and fewer opportunities for specialised workforce development.
This paradox raises important questions regarding the relationship between organisational decision-making, workforce capability, behaviour support implementation, participant outcomes, and community safety. Service decisions intended to reduce organisational risk may inadvertently increase participant vulnerability, service instability, workforce stress, implementation inconsistency, and broader community risk. The presentation concludes that provider risk aversion functions as an under-recognised systemic contributor to forensic risk and that strengthening forensic disability capability represents a preventative strategy that may simultaneously improve public safety outcomes and protect participant rights.