How Ontario's services for people with a developmental disability have changed
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In 1876, Ontario opened its first institution for people with a developmental disability on the outskirts of Orillia. Residential institutions for people with a developmental disability were deliberately built in the country away from communities, because it was felt that the residents would benefit from cleaner air and open spaces. |
The Government of Ontario opened its first institution for people with a developmental disability in Orillia in 1876.
Knowledge about disabilities was very different back then. In those days, people with disabilities were viewed as patients, not citizens. Doctors believed that people with a developmental disability needed to be removed from the stresses and demands of everyday life. They counseled families to place their loved ones into institutions where they would spend their lives being cared for and protected. Institutions were deliberately built far out in the countryside away from urban areas, because it was felt that cleaner air and open spaces would be good for the residents. But this had the effect of isolating the residents from society even more.
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In the late 1800s and first half of the 20th century, the medical profession believed that people with a developmental disability needed to be cared for in institutions away from everyday life. In 1890, the Orillia facility had 309 residents. By 1902, that number had risen to 652. |
By 1960, Ontario operated 16 institutions for people with a developmental disability. More than 6,000 people lived in them.
As scientific knowledge changed, so did attitudes towards people with disabilities. By the 1960s, the community living movement, which was spreading across North America, called for an end to the institutionalization of people with a developmental disability. The movement focused on the right of people of all abilities to live in their local communities and have the same opportunities as everyone else.
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Today, people with a developmental disability live, work and participate in their communities.
Since 2004, Community Catering has been offering people with developmental disabilities employment and inclusion in their communities. Find out more about Community Catering. |
The change from the medical/institutional model of care to a community-based approach is what led the Ontario government in 1974 to transfer responsibility for services for people with a developmental disability from the Ministry of Health to the Ministry of Community and Social Services. The legislation which allowed this to happen was the Developmental Services Act. When it went into effect on April 1, 1974, the Ministry of Community and Social Services took over the care of approximately 8,000 residents living in Ontario’s institutions.
Between 1975 and 1986, Ontario’s network of community-based services grew rapidly. During that time:
- the number of people supported in the community went from 4,600 to over 25,000
- annual spending on community services grew from $10 million to $181 million
- Ontario closed five of its residential institutions.
In 1987, the Ontario government committed to closing the province's remaining facilities within 25 years — a commitment that has been supported by successive governments since then. Between 1987 and 2004, Ontario closed another six facilities and helped more than 6,000 people make the successful transition to community life.
By the time Ontario announced in September 2004 that the three remaining institutions would be closed by 2009, the government was spending more than $1 billion a year on community-based services to help people with a developmental disability participate in community life.
Learn more
Ontario’s services and supports for people with a developmental disability and their families
What the new legislation will do
Spotlight on transformation – a developmental services bulletin from the Ministry of Community and Social Services
Report on Consultations Regarding the Transformation of Developmental Services – February 8, 2006
Ontario Government Improving Support for Ontarians with Developmental Disabilities – September 9, 2004 announcement