Professor Vivienne Riches

Prof. Vivienne Riches,  BA, Dip. Ed., MA(Hons), PhD, MAPS, TAE40110 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment is a registered psychologist and clinician, consultant, and an experienced researcher, lecturer and teacher in disability, special education and mental health. A Director with the Australasian Society for Intellectual Disability (ASID), and ASID NSW, and an Advisory Board Member for the A21 Campaign (Abolishing Human Trafficking), Vivienne was inducted into the Disability Employment Australia Hall Of Fame in 2013 in recognition of an outstanding contribution to Disability Employment. Other awards include the 2011 ASID Journal Australasian Research Prize for the article Transforming staff practice through Active Support, Journal of Intellectual & Developmental Disability, 36(3): 1–32.

Vivienne joined CDS in 1998 and has worked on a number of projects, including:

·       Assessment and classification of support needs: eg Development of Support Needs Classification Instrument for ACT Community Care1999-2001; Development of support needs classification instrument –– Linkage Project - Australian Research Council (with G Llewellyn, J. Chan)2002-05; Construction of Disability Services’ Support Needs Profiling Tool: Ensuring Equity in Individual Funding for Victorian Department of Human Services, 2012.

·       Devolution of institutional care into community living: eg Development of an evaluation framework and initial evaluation of the Life Without Barriers Host Care Program, Life Without Barriers, 2006; O’Brien, P. & Riches, V.C. Evaluation of MINDA Demonstration project: Real Lives Real Places, Minda Inc.SA, 2011-2012

·       Forensics and behavior support: eg Analysis of Specialist Support Services in NSW, 2001, NSW Department of Community Services; Evaluation of Sexual Offenders Support Project, 2000-2002, NSW Department Of Community Services; Evaluation of DSQ Innovative Support and Housing Pilots Disability Services Queensland, 2005-2008; Developmental Psychiatry Clinic(DPC) Review, Family & Community Services & The Children’s Hospital Westmead 2013; Risk Assessment Practice Guidelines. Developed for ADHC Statewide Behavior Intervention Support, Department of Family & Community Services2013 ; ADHC Behavior Support Policy review and update Clinical Innovation and Governance, Ageing Disability & Home Care, Clinical Innovation and Governance, Ageing Disability & Home Care, Department of Family & Community Services 2014.

·       Vocational training and employment: Towards a Fair Support Measurement Research Project for ACE Employment 2007-2008; The construction of Disability Services’ Support Needs Profiling Tool. Funded by Department of Human Services (DHS)Victoria 2009 -2011; Expert Assessment of Working Definitions of Moderate Intellectual Disability (RFQ 26570). Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations,2011; Provision of specialist advice on revising Table 9: Intellectual Function of the Tables For the Assessment of Work-Related Impairment for Disability Support Pension. The Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FAHCSIA) 2011; Nova Employment Inc, 2014; Enhanced Employment Outcomes, Nova DES, 2015-16, Person centeredness in Employment settings, Sunshine 2013; Person centeredness and employment training, 2014-16.

·       Transition from school to work: The transition from secondary school to adulthood: Experiences and Life outcomes for youth with an intellectual disability and their families.ARC Linkage grant, 2009-2014;Nova transition To Work (TTW) Evaluation; Consultancy for Ministry of Education Singapore, Special Education Branch on the School to Work Prototype, 2012-2016.

·       Person Centered Active Support: Active Support Train-the-Trainer Project Disability Services Queensland –Implementation and evaluation of phase 1 in SE Queensland, 2007-2008; 2010; Train The Trainer’ Active Support for Northcott Disability Services, 2011; New Zealand, 2012; ADHC Specialist Supported Living clusters, 2013; FACs ADHC Community Access Directorate, 2015-16; Independent Living Centers, Seoul, South Korea, 2016.

Research interests include mental and emotional health and well-being, trauma informed care, vocational training and employment, transition from school topmost school for people with disability, community living, Person Centered Active Support, social and interpersonal skills; positive behavior support and forensics; and classification and assessment of support needs.

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