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  4. AUCD Network Member and 2009 Ian Axford (New Zealand) Fellow Presents Research on Risk Management in New Zealand Intellectual Disability Services

AUCD Network Member and 2009 Ian Axford (New Zealand) Fellow Presents Research on Risk Management in New Zealand Intellectual Disability Services

Fellow Alixe Bonardi is a former LEND trainee and current Assistant Director of the Center for Developmental Disability Evaluation and Reserch at the Shriver Center

July 7, 2010

Sir Ian Axford and Fellow Alixe Bonardi in New Zealand
Sir Ian Axford and Fellow Alixe Bonardi in New Zealand

Alixe Bonardi, Assistant Director of the Center for Developmental Disability Evaluation and Research (CDDER) at the E.K. Shriver Center, a University Center of Excellence in Disability (UCEDD) at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, presented her final report on a study supported by the Ian Axford (New Zealand) Fellowship in Public Policy. Speaking at the New Zealand Embassy in Washington, Ms. Bonardi presented her report titled 'The Balance between Choice and Control: Risk Management in New Zealand Intellectual Disability Services' to an international audience with a wide ranging interest in public policy. Ms. Bonardi is a 2002 graduate of the Shriver Center's LEND program.

As a recipient of the Ian Axford (New Zealand) Fellowship in Public Policy, Ms. Bonardi and her family travelled to Wellington, New Zealand, staying for 6 months during 2009. Ms Bonardi was hosted at the New Zealand Ministry of Health and studied how risk management practices are applied in community based services and supports for people with intellectual disability. Her time in New Zealand was spent reviewing government policy and service specification documents, collaborating with Ministry of Health analysts and policy makers to examine health and service outcomes, and interviewing a wide range of stakeholders around the country.

The final report discusses New Zealand's progressive Disability Strategy of 2001, in the context of a supports system that is on balance 'risk averse'.  Attitudes towards risk and operational risk management practices are reviewed, along with strategies for effectively managing risk in the context of community based supports that allow for  maximum choice and flexibility in individual supports. 

Dr. George Jesien,  AUCD's Executive Director, participated in the respondent's panel, along with Paul Saucier, a 2002 Ian Axford Fellow and Director of Cutler Institute for Health and Social Policy Disability and Aging at the Muskie School of Public Service, and John O'Brien, a 2005 Ian Axford Fellow and the Director of Health Policy at the Center for Health Program Development and Management (CHPDM) located at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC).

About the Ian Axford Fellowships

Ian Axford (New Zealand) Fellowships in Public Policy were established in 1995 by the New Zealand Government to reinforce links between New Zealand and the US. The Fellowships provide the opportunity for participants to gain firsthand knowledge of public policy in New Zealand, including economic, social and political reforms and management of the government sector. Sir Ian Axford passed away in March of 2010. Additional information on the fellowship program is available here.