Institutions for persons with disabilities
fulltime employment. There is neither a balance between work and relaxation
nor work-related support for the specific disabilities of those concerned. For
example, the only task given to a fifteen-year old cognitively impaired boy
was to clean out the stables.
The clients are paid a mere pocket money for their work. The reason given for
this is the intensity of care that incurs cost. This was not really plausible to
Commission 3 because while the operator receives high daily allowances from
the Land for the care they offer, there still is no qualified personnel to care for
persons with disabilities.
Financial situation not
transparent
Furthermore, the facility is operated as a closed agricultural system in which
a non-profit limited liability company and an operations limited liability
company each hold a share. The non-profit company pays rent to the
operations company for the use of the farm and purchases food there, which
was produced through the work of the persons with disabilities, for daily use.
The founding of a non-profit limited liability company has proved to be a
suitable legal form for many social organisations. This is due to the many
advantages (including limited liability, tax exemption and tax relief). They
are legally required to use double-entry bookkeeping and adhere to accounting
practices. This legal form forbids that shareholders receive transfer of income
or payment of high salaries. It is not the commissions’ task to assess whether
or not the subsidies, which are provided by the Land Carinthia, are used in
conformity with the established contract and pursuant to purposes set forth
in the articles of incorporation, but it certainly falls within the remit of the
technical supervision.
In the second facility, which also operates a farm, Commission 3 considers that
it is primarily the residents who maintain the farm and perform the regular
tasks that may be required. Here again, the commission found a lack of
suitable care and individual support, which would have allowed the residents
to develop in line with their own expectations. When work and leisure time are
primarily geared towards operating requirements and all profits are pocketed
by the operators of the facility, it can be assumed that persons with disabilities
are defenceless to the exploitation of their manpower. Pressure was exerted
on the affected persons in many ways. This was evident amongst others in
the fact that the clients had to participate in morning and evening common
prayer. Those who were not awake in time in the mornings or were tired early
in the evenings were woken in order not to miss the ritual.
Punishment-based
treatment effects the
discontinuation of
therapy
97
A facility for persons suffering from addiction had no concepts for treatmentspecific care and therapy. Instead, strict rules are imposed on the affected
persons for the duration of their stay. Leaving the clinic is not allowed in the
first eight weeks after admission. In the event of a relapse, the affected person
must now undergo a four- to eight-week starting phase with “curfew”. Affected
persons who break the rules have to spend the night in the neighbouring
guesthouse at their own expense. The high rate of discontinued therapies
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