This paper has been submitted to (Professor’s Name) by (Student’s Name) on 12th December 2018.
Services for Aboriginal and Torres Straits Islander
Description of the Services Currently Provided By the Agency
The Aboriginal Legal Service (ALS) offers legal representation and services to members of the Aboriginal community who are harassed by law enforcement agencies in Redfern. The organization was established in 1970 by Aboriginal volunteers and activists (ALS, n.d.). On the other hand, the Aboriginal Medical Services (AMS) provides medical services to the Aboriginal people in Redfern (Redfern Oral History, 2018). AMS was started in 1971 by Koori people whose main objective was to promote the health welfare of the Aboriginal members of the community. Initially, the founders – who comprised of lawyers, doctors, and other community people – operated a medical clinic that was ran in the evening hours every day.
The Historical Reasons for the Development of the Agency
The main reasons for the establishment of the AMS include;
- The discrimination of the Aboriginal people by the mainstream medical institutions (Redfern Oral History, 2018).
- Failure by the health facilities to offer adequate medical care to the Aboriginal people, thus, leading to an increase in the overall rate of their premature deaths.
- The need to provide culturally appropriate and accessible medical care to the members of the Aboriginal community.
The ALS was established in the year 1970, and some of its functions include;
- Offer legal advice and represent Aboriginal people who might be striving to get justice from the courts. Ensure that they have more insight on how to handle cases (ALS, n.d.).
- Enhance the continuous training of its lawyers to make them more competent in their duties.
How Cultural Issues Are Identified and Modelled In the Service Planning and Delivery
The ALS denotes that the essence of cultural issues cannot be underestimated, hence, they must be put into perspective in each case. As a result, the organization has created a database that consists of all the cases related to the Aboriginal people, which have been handled by the Australian courts (ALS, n.d.). In each of those cases, a discussion of the customary law or cultural practices that are relevant in the case are highlighted even in cases where the court may have failed to consider such aspects. Therefore, it would be rational to argue that while handling its cases, the ALS has to determine whether an individual’s cultural practices may have influenced by his/her actions. Hence, in such a scenario, the lawyers would be in a decision to prepare their defence from a client’s cultural perspective.
The AMS also strives to promote the cultural practices of the Aboriginal community. Firstly, the organization pointed out that the Aboriginal people have the potential to solve a significant number of the health problems affecting them. One effective way of achieving such an objective is by improving the family and culture days, an initiative that is funded by various Redfern organizations (Redfern Oral History, 2018). The program is used as a favorable strategy of advising the community members the need to live a drug-free life, hence, the rationale why they should not engage in substance abuse. Hence, it would be rational to argue that the members of the Aboriginal people are in a position to minimize their potential of suffering from ailments that are related to drug and substance abuse – such as psychiatric disorders – as a result of promoting their cultural practices.
How The Agencies May Improve Cultural Safety
Cultural safety may be defined as a case whereby an individual’s emotional, social, and even physical needs are well safeguarded, thus, leading to a case where there is no denial of identity among the societal members. As denoted above, the ALS ensures that a cultural background pertaining to a respective issue is highlighted while determining a given case. It is worth noting that there is a high probability that an individual may commit an offence as a result of influence from his/her cultural dictates. Therefore, it would be rational for the organization to come up with cultural training programs whose main objective would be to make sure that the lawyers have a comprehensive understanding of the Aboriginal people’s culture. As a result, they would be capable of identifying whether some of the allegations made against their clients may be linked to their cultural practices.
Apart from organizing for cultural days, the AMS should also come up with a committee whose main objective would be to inform about their cultural practices at all times. In such a scenario, the societal members would be in a position to learn about their heritage and expected a way of conduct at any time, hence, enhancing them to uphold their cultural values.
Funding of the Organizations and If They Are Still In Operation
The AMS is still in operation and was initially funded by the government through the Department of the Aboriginal Affairs (DAA) (Redfern Oral History, 2018). However, the department was abolished in the year 1990 and replaced by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission. The ALS is also operational and receives its funds from the Australian government.
References
ALS. (n.d.). Considering Aboriginality: Australian courts considering Aboriginality case summaries. Aboriginal Legal Services (NSW/ACT) Limited. Retrieved on December 12, 2018 from http://www.alsnswact.org.au/our-work/current-projects/considering-aboriginality/
ALS. (n.d.). Our history. Aboriginal Legal Services (NSW/ACT) Limited. Retrieved on December 12, 2018 from http://www.alsnswact.org.au/
Redfern Oral History. (2018). Family and culture days on Waterloo Green. Redfern Oral History. Retrieved on December 12, 2018 from http://redfernoralhistory.org/Peopleandplaces/Familyculturedays/tabid/266/Default.aspx
Redfern Oral History. (2018). Redfern Aboriginal medical service. Redfern Oral History. Retrieved on December 12, 2018 from http://redfernoralhistory.org/Organisations/AboriginalMedicalService/tabid/208/Default.aspx
