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Province set to spend $41M to help disabled
CP 2005-05-18 02:39:13
TORONTO -- The Ontario government will announce today a plan to spend $41.1 million to create 390 new spaces
for developmentally disabled residents to live in the community, CP has learned.
"This is part of our plan to improve access to services for Ontarians with a developmental disability no matter
where they live," Community and Social Services Minister Sandra Pupatello says in the announcement, a copy of
which was obtained by CP.
The new spots are necessary to compensate for the planned closure of Ontario's remaining three institutions in
Orillia, Smiths Falls and Chatham, which currently house about 1,000 residents and are slated to close their
doors by 2009, putting more than 2,000 people out of work.
The 390 spots will be made available across the province and include 90 spaces for so-called high-need
individuals, with 24-hour care for both short-term and permanent care.
There will also be 55 spaces in group homes and support for 245 developmentally disabled individuals who live
in their own home but still require care.
The investment is in addition to $70 million the province set aside last year to create new homes for those
residents slated to leave the provincially owned institutions over the next four years.
In addition, the government is also planning to set up four regional community networks of specialized care that
would provide service, training, and teaching across Ontario, starting in September.
Each network would include a team of professionals to help treat patients, including behaviour therapists, social
workers, nurses, and psychologists. They'll also work closely with community agencies.
The networks are designed to ensure people have better access to services close to home, Pupatello said.
Funding over the next three years will also help recruit and retain professionals in this field.
Since 1987, 13 of the province's 16 institutions have closed and 6,000 residents have been integrated into the
community, part of ongoing government efforts that began in the 1980s to move developmentally disabled
adults from large institutions into a more flexible community setting.
Family members have expressed fears that the community services necessary for developmentally disabled
adults to live simply won't be available when the institutions close.
Living in the community gives people more options, independence and choice, the government has said.
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