ALERT

Last summer, the Ministry of Community and Social Services proposed a new regulation that would govern developmental services for adults in Ontario.

Consider the following scenario based on the consequences of this regulation becoming law:

George and Alice, two adults with developmental disabilities each need a place to live and disability supports. Their needs are identical and their families are in crisis. They are both at the very top of the priorities list for residential supports when the government of Ontario designates some new funding earmarked for residential programs.

George wants a group home and the Ministry allocates $80,000 per year to the agency that will operate his group home. George is successful in obtaining the supports that he sought.

Alice, with the help of her family and close friends, wants direct funding to plan and direct her supports. Alice's parents are highly committed. They are prepared to help her find an apartment or to contribute a down payment on a house for her. It turns out that Alice is not eligible for a penny of the new funding. Alice gets zero because the regulation clearly excludes residential programs from direct funding.

Here is what the Ministry promised-

1. "With the new Act, we can build a system of services and supports that is fair, so that everyone gets treated the same way". (Ref. 3)

2. The new legislation will ensure "supports are equitable and people with similar situations receive similar supports across the province". (Ref. 4)

3. Ontario's system of developmental services will be transformed "to create a more accessible, fair and sustainable system of community-based supports" and "to give families more choice and flexibility in how they care for their family members". (Ref. 5)

4. One of the "key features of the [new] legislation" is "direct funding options that would enable people with a developmental disability and their families to buy their own supports." (Ref. 6)

• Many families have already written to the Ministry of Community and Social Services (MCSS) to voice their concerns about the unfair Regulation that was proposed- "Families feel betrayed by Ministry's proposed regulation". This alert is about the need to write immediately to members of the Ontario Cabinet.

• The Cabinet of the Ontario government will vote on the regulation soon. The date of the vote and the text of the regulation that they will consider are secret. We saw the draft regulation but we will only see it again after the regulation becomes law. The draft regulation was unacceptable. Families have no assurance that the Ministry has listened to their concerns. The risks are high so we must take the opportunity to write to members of Cabinet before it is too late.

• The residential program is by far the largest one in the developmental services budget. Since 2004, the Ministry has allocated new monies totalling $366 million to residential programs and agency infrastructure that is primarily for residential programs (Ref. 7). In comparison, only $47 million of new funding has been allocated to Special Services at Home, and $26 million to the Passport Program. It is unjust discrimination to exclude equally deserving people from the largest program. For our position on equity, see Fair Access for Everyone.

• Families are deeply concerned about this huge equity issue. The consequences would be devastating for many years to come.

We must act immediately. We must write to members of Cabinet and ask them to send the Regulation back to the Ministry for revision if the Regulation excludes direct funding from residential programs.

Here's how to prepare an email to Cabinet members:

1. Save a copy of the following memo to Cabinet members in PDF format, so that you can attach it to your email. Here's the link: Attachment for my email

2. You may also wish to add other attachments to your email. For example, the comments that you may have sent to the Ministry last August regarding this matter.

3. The following link should get you into your email program, with the addresses of Cabinet members already inserted. We also inserted a cc: to the board of Family Alliance Ontario. Some text is already in the body. We suggest that you edit the message by adding your own words. It's important that you also include your street address to show that you reside in Ontario.

Here's the link to open your email program with addresses inserted: Email to Ontario Cabinet

If your email program doesn't open automatically with the link above, then you can copy and paste the information into your email from here: Information to insert in email

4. Consider adding the address of your MPP to the list.

Don't forget to attach all your documents before sending your email! And don't forget to include your name and street address.

Thank you for your many responses to this Alert!

Ontario Cabinet soon to vote on a new regulation for developmental services