
March 2, 2017 · 0 Comments
The following letter from Dr. Helena Jaczek, Minister of Community and Social Services, was submitted for publication in response to reports that Community Living Dufferin is experiencing a financial crisis due to a lack of provincial funding:
Re: Community Living Dufferin in crisis
My vision is of an Ontario where people with developmental disabilities can live as independently as possible and be fully included in our communities. As a ministry, and as a government, we are actively working on the transformation of the developmental service system.
I have great respect for families who care for their adult children with developmental disabilities, as well as the agencies in the community that provide services and supports.
We have made an unprecedented investment in community and developmental services in Ontario – providing $810 million over three years into the system to reduce waitlists, encourage modernization and innovation, and enable overall better service for adults with developmental disabilities. The provincial developmental services budget has doubled over the past 12 years and will reach over $2 billion annually this year.
There has recently been a letter-writing campaign circulating around that claims Community Living Dufferin is “in desperate need of funding”. This is simply not true. Since 2004, this agency has seen their funding increase by approximately 74%, going from $3,874,584 for 2004/2005 to $6,736,244 in 2015/2016.
In addition, this agency benefitted from the 2014 investment of $180M over three years that went to support the salaries of front-line workers in developmental services agencies across the province. This means Community Living Dufferin has received $755,187 over three years, which has benefitted nearly 100 front line workers at this agency.
The ministry’s Assistant Deputy Minister and Regional Office staff have spoken to this agency’s Executive Director. The Executive Director has now publicly stated the agency was not aware of this initiative prior to its release, and has corrected some inaccurate claims regarding base budget increases.
Despite all of this, we know that more work needs to be done, and the ministry will continue to work with all agency partners who provide services for those with developmental disabilities to explore options that support the greater social inclusion of people with developmental disabilities and that will strengthen services across the province.
To learn more about what we’re doing to improve the developmental services system, you can visit the ministry’s website at: www.mcss.gov.on.ca/en/mcss/programs/developmental/improving/index.aspx.
The Hon. Dr. Helena Jaczek,
Minister of Community and Social Sevices