SPD Fact Sheet

Transforming Disability Supports

Government is continuing to work on improving lives for people with disabilities and is committed to developing a roadmap for service transformation.

  • Dr. Michael Bach, Managing Director with the Institution for Research and Development on Inclusion in Society (IRIS) is supporting the government in a consultation process, in partnership with the community, in planning the transformation of supports and Disability Support Program.
  • A joint community/government committee consisting of community stakeholders, service providers, advocacy groups and government representatives has been brought together.
  • A report will be prepared outlining short, medium and long-term outcomes and benchmarks for guiding and monitoring the transformation process.

Continuing Care / Disability Support Program Project

The CC/SPD project is part of a commitment to supporting peoples independence and choice by developing options to begin transforming our services into a more person-focused, socially-inclusive and community-based model.

  • Department of Health and Wellness (DHW) and Department of Community Services (DCS) currently spend over $900 million on almost 40,000 seniors and persons with mental and physical disabilities.
  • The Continuing Care/Disability Support Program (CC/SPD) Redesign Project held sessions with stakeholders and service providers to solicit feedback on its discussion document, Putting People First.
  • The CC/SPD Project will present recommendations to government later this spring.

Deinstitutionalization

Premier Darrell Dexter committed to a shift away from the institutional model of care to a community support model in his State of the Province Address in Dec., 2012.

  • Support for living at home is increasing. Over the past few years, the government has:
    • Invested an additional $2 million so approximately 70 more disabled clients can live at home, in an apartment or with an alternative family, and another $1.5 million to expand access to day programs.
    • Expanded the Direct Family Support (DFS) program to enable 100 additional persons with disabilities to live as independently as possible.
    • The Community Transition Program, a partnership between Community Services, Health and Wellness and the Capital District Health Authority, opened in April to provide intensive support to 16 individuals in order to prepare them to move into a supported community home.

Provincial Housing Strategy

The government’s first Provincial Housing Strategy will support movement away from institutional settings by:

  • assisting with the renovation of homes to encourage adaptations that would enable a parent or disabled child to live with their family;
  • constructing more diverse mixed-market housing developments that include accessible units for persons with disabilities, and provide access to necessary support and services;
  • increasing community capacity to provide a full range of supports for persons with disabilities, by partnering with government departments, community organizations, and social enterprises.