Yonge Street recently spoke with Chris Beesley, CEO of
Community Living Ontario, about Ontario’s supports for adults and children with intellectual disabilities. Beesley described a system burdened with bureaucratic barriers and chronic underfunding, seemingly more adept at producing waiting lists rather than producing supports.
Still, he was hopeful. With two provincial reports on the endemic problems on their way, Beesley described 2014, as "an absolutely pivotal year in Ontario in our sector."
And, it seems, Beesley was right. Maybe.
In an announcement made Friday, the Ontario government revealed plans to allocate an additional $810 million to developmental services. If the plans come to fruition it would mark, as Beesley puts it, the "largest single infusion into [the development] sector ever."
There's a lot of money on the table, but first the minority Liberal government will have to pass its 2014 budget, expected to be released sometime in the next month.
While the proposed money is not a miracle solution – Beesley lauds its potential to make a significant impact.
"It's great to see that government is paying attention that they're listening," he says. "Everyone from self-advocates, to agencies to families have been saying 'there isn't enough funding there isn't enough support there's people who are desperate'. So it's great to see that the province is prepared to do something about it."
The majority of the funding is earmarked towards eliminating waitlists for the province's two largest developmental programs:
Special Services at Home, which serves children, and the
Passport Program, which serves adults over 18. Both programs provide direct funding for people and families coping with developmental disabilities. Over 21,000 individuals and families are currently on lists for one of the two programs.
"The plan is to get the waiting list for children down to zero in two years, and the waiting list for adult down to zero in four, and everyone who applies in that time would also be helped," says Beesley.
"That theoretically solves one of the largest flaws in the system, that you've been receiving all these services as a child and suddenly you have nothing because you turn 18. It's not that your disability goes away, it's just that the system considers you an adult now so you're cut-off and have to reapply to everything again and get yourself on new waiting lists. And in the meantime, anything you and your family put in place in terms of support, like a residence or a worker you had to work with you, that's all gone. And then there's no timeline for when, if ever, you'll get the supports you need. But without waitlists, transition would be smoother and people would actually get supports they need."
The proposed investment, to be rolled out over the next three years, would also provide assistance to the more than 14,000 waiting for housing support, to those who need "support through important life transitions," as well as assistance to community partnerships and front-line workers.
And while Beesley sees the funding as a huge step in the right direction, there's still a ways to go, especially for those waiting for residential support. The new funding will provide funding "for urgent residential needs of 1,400 people" but there's currently 12, 000 on waiting lists for residential support. "It's great that they're building capacity," he says "but that's still a lot of people waiting for that support."
Ontario now spends more than $1.7 billion on developmental services. If approved in the budget, expected early next month, the new funding would boost total spending to more than $2 billion by 2016-17.
Writer: Katia Snukal
Source: Chris Beesley, CEO of
Community Living Ontario