McGuinty Government Improves Supports and Clinical Care for Adults with a Developmental Disability

Check against delivery

Thank you Speaker.

I rise today to tell you about the next step in our government's plan to transform and strengthen community-based services for adults with a developmental disability.

Our plan is guided by three key principles – fairness, accessibility, and sustainability.

First, Ontario needs a system of supports that is fair so that each person receives supports based on his or her needs.

Second, families need to know where and how to find services and those services need to be accessible more consistently and closer to home.

Finally, our plan centres around building for the future – creating a sustainable system that is not only strong and innovative but also affordable.

A key part of our transformation plan is a new specialized services strategy: a comprehensive $41-million strategy to strengthen community-based supports for adults who need more than just assistance with daily living; they also need the support of behaviour therapists, social workers, nurses and psychologists to help deal with mental health issues or challenging behaviours.

This is a long-term investment in supporting adults with a developmental disability who have some of the highest care needs.

A key part of our strategy is the new Community Networks of Specialized Care: community partnerships that will coordinate services for individuals who have very high support needs.

Ontario has a wealth of experience with specialized services.

But what was needed was better coordination – helping health care professionals, case managers, specialized treatment providers and community organizations to work together better and connect families to specialized services in the communities in which they live.

The networks will bring together professionals from a range of disciplines to provide clinical care, comprehensive assessments and case management for their clients: real wrap-around service.

And they will strengthen the entire specialized care community by leading research and teaching in our developmental services sector, sharing their knowledge with professionals and families alike.

I'm proud to say that the Community Networks of Specialized Care are the first of their kind in this sector. They will be collaborative systems – professionals working together to put Ontario at the leading-edge of services, leadership and expertise that will give families better access to specialized services closer to home.

The four Community Networks of Specialized Care will reach out to serve the entire province, and will be led by proven leaders in Ontario's community-based developmental services sector … leaders that have been selected by their peers to help Ontario stay at the cutting edge of developmental services.

Today I was pleased to announce the leadership of Ontario's Community Networks of Specialized Care.

• The Southern Ontario network – including Hamilton, Niagara and all of Southwestern Ontario – will be co-led by Bethesda and Regional Support Associates.
• In Central Ontario, network leadership will come from Surrey Place, Community Living Huronia's Pineview site and Guelph's Community Mental Health Clinic.
• In Eastern Ontario, Ongwanada and Prescott-Russell Services for Children and Adults will be the network co-leads.
• And in Northern Ontario, Algonquin Child and Family Services will be the lead agency.

Congratulations to all of these fine community agencies for being selected by their peers to undertake this important and exciting initiative.

Speaker, we know there is tremendous demand for such services right now in communities across the province.

Almost everyday families tell us they want to give input into the transformation of Ontario's developmental services sector. Well, let me tell you they want the same things I spoke about earlier:

• Fairness – so their family member can get the support they need, when they need it;
• Easy access to services – a system that isn't hard to understand and services that aren't hard to find; and
• Services that will grow along with their family member.

These are some of the themes my Parliamentary Assistant, the member from Prince-Edward–Hastings, heard in meetings with families and caregivers last year. He has prepared an excellent summary of the strengths and needs that should be considered as we transform services in this sector and I am pleased to table his report today.

In talking with families about the future, he also heard about the great work that continues to grow in our communities – great work on the part of strong community-based agencies who have caring, dedicated staff that are more committed than ever to helping individuals maximize their opportunities in communities across Ontario.

In fact, through the hard work of ministry staff, families and community-based service providers we have already helped 80 people successfully move out of our facilities and into new homes in the community.

Families of those former residents continue to tell us how happy they are with the increased opportunities and excellent supports available to their family members.

In the coming years we are going to have hundreds more people returning to our communities and we will have the services in place to support them.

And for those who have specialized care needs, our new Community Networks of Specialized Care will be there to support them and their families, not in an institution far away, but close to home, in their communities.

The networks will help us build a strong foundation of community-based services that will help make Ontario's communities stronger and more inclusive for generations to come.

Thank you.