Ministry ready to address challenges outlined in ombudsman’s report

In the Ontario ombudsman’s recently tabled report on situations of crisis involving adults with developmental disabilities, he chronicled situations in which the needs of those individuals and their families were not being met and, indeed, situations that were entirely unacceptable.

I was among those appalled by the stories highlighted in the ombudsman’s report. I have thanked the ombudsman and his office for their thoughtful investigation, and I am fully committed to working with our partners in the developmental services sector and my cabinet colleagues across government to address all the recommendations in the ombudsman’s report and find longer-term solutions to crisis situations, particularly with respect to residential supports for those with urgent and complex care needs. We will be reporting back on our progress on the report’s recommendations every six months.

While we know there is much work still to be done, there has also been real progress since the ombudsman’s investigation began nearly four years ago. I have seen significant changes since I became community and social services minister, and I know my ministry has taken several important actions to address the type of situations identified in the report. In fact, the ombudsman himself stated in his press conference last week, “I can’t say I’ve ever seen a ministry try harder to do the right thing and get things right.”

In 2014, the provincial government made an unprecedented $810-million investment over three years to expand support for adults with developmental disabilities.

As the ombudsman noted in his report, this investment is providing new direct funding to more than 7,200 adults and their families to date. Part of this investment will provide new residential supports for approximately 1,400 of the highest needs adults with developmental disabilities by next year. In fact, in the first two years, more than 800 high-needs adults have already transitioned to new residential supports.

My ministry also introduced a consistent provincewide urgent response process in 2014 to help individuals and families that require immediate supports. This process has already helped more than 1,100 people find urgently needed supports, including the majority of those mentioned in the ombudsman’s report.

In a relatively short time there has been great progress in moving towards Ontario’s vision of full community inclusion for adults with developmental disabilities. Over the past decade, all institutions have been closed and we are now funding community-based residential supports for 18,000 adults with developmental disabilities.

Adults with developmental disabilities and their families can still face challenges and barriers in accessing the services and supports they need, and I am committed to continuing to work to make real changes for them. This week, we will be making changes that cut red tape for adults with developmental disabilities applying for ODSP — they will no longer have to prove their disability twice to be eligible for ODSP. Families receiving Special Services at Home funding for children under 18 with a developmental disability will also no longer need to re-apply every year for funding.

It is only through our continued collaboration across sectors, strong partnerships and shared solutions that we can put in to action the changes necessary to address the challenges outlined in the ombudsman’s report, and enable safe, fully inclusive communities for Ontarians of all abilities.