Transforming Community Living Services
This
proposal is respectfully submitted to the Minister of Children and
Family Development by individuals with developmental disabilities and
their families, families of children with special needs, care
providers, professionals and friends.
We
believe the time has come to transform the system of services and
supports for people with developmental disabilities and their
families. We envisage a system:
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in
which individuals with a disability are full citizens of their
communities,
| which
honors and encourages their contributions,
| which
places trust in the capacity of individuals and families to lead
their own lives effectively . . . to meet the challenges they
face . . . and to develop their own support system,
| that
changes dependence on government into a community partnership of
the public, private and civic sectors. |
BC
families and communities have always accepted their collective
responsibility to care for each other.
We have pioneered creative responses to our social obligations
in the past and we want to build on that success.
With
government we want to share responsibility to usher in a system of
supports that strengthens families and builds resilience in
individuals; a system that builds capacity in our communities.
We
want to partner with government in restoring the prominence and
leadership that has built BC’s reputation as a caring community.
We
want to be part of a province that ensures
a good life for everyone with a disability.
Policy
Objectives
|
Take
government out of a direct role in providing community living
services to children with special needs and adults with a
developmental disability.
| Creation
of a new governance structure for the delivery of supports to
individuals with disabilities and their families – the Community
Living Corporation of BC.
| Review
all policies and regulations with a view to removing all barriers
to individuals, families and communities finding their own
solutions to the challenges they face.
| Provide
funding to help individuals, families and communities meet their
own needs through the choice of Individualized Funding and Direct
Funding to Families.
| Encourage
new sources of funds into the disability services system and
acknowledge those contributions within the tax system (i.e.
community, corporate and family).
| Enable
government to meet budget and staff reduction targets and use the
resulting savings to redirect funding to individuals and families
waitlisted for support. |
Governance
– the Community Living Corporation of BC
|
A single provincial governance structure based on a Part 2 Federal Non-profit Corporation built on the model of the Canadian Blood Services (or similar non-profit corporation model) – the Community Living Corporation of BC which ensures:
| Government
maintains ownership of corporation including funding and standards
(Ministers of Children and Family Development, Human Resources,
Education, Health and Finance are members) and appoints Directors
but the corporation’s Board of Directors controls operations,
enforces standards and manages funds.
| Regional
representation based on five macro regions that is linked to the
provincial structure (one member of the Regional Advisory Body
must be appointed Director of the corporation) but limited to an
advisory capacity only, and further limited to volunteer
involvement only.
| Local
representation based on two to four local advisory bodies (15 in
total) linked to the regional bodies but limited to advisory
capacity and volunteer involvement only.
| Assumes
complete responsibility for all services to adults with a
developmental disability and children with special needs.
| Offers
individualized funding and direct funding to families and
integrates it into a system with increased flexibility and
portability at reduced administrative costs that is focused on
providing sufficient support to allow people to meet their own
needs.
| Works
with the non-profit service providers in a partnership to jointly
oversee the development of innovative, flexible support options
and alternative individual and family support delivery models.
| Supports
the initiatives by aboriginal communities to develop and deliver
community living services. |
Funding
and Expenditure Objectives
To reduce the cost of providing community living and related services by twenty percent (20%) over three fiscal years (from April 1, 2002 to March 31, 2005) by:
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reducing the costs associated with government-level management and administration of contract services,
| reducing the costs associated with payment, administration and monitoring of funds flowing to direct services at the community level,
| streamlining existing community-level services to reduce indirect (administrative/management) costs, and,
| providing funds directly to individuals and families to allow them to address their own support needs. |
To employ the savings generated to meet the growing waitlist for services.
Second
Level Core Services Review
|
To
determine the best investment of government funds to reduce costs
in the longer term (home ownership, investment in non-profit
capacity v/s pri-care operators, etc).
| To
identify regulatory and practice/procedure issues that have
created barriers which prevent or penalize family or individual
contributions and determine the legislative requirements to remove
these barriers and to encourage contribution.
| To
determine the response necessary to maintain culturally
appropriate services.
| To
assess the future relevance of currently funded programs. |
Key
Considerations
|
3-year
mandate with option to renew with a 3 year commitment to core
funding.
| Cost
savings would be used to meet unmet needs of individuals and
families waitlisted for services.
| Increasing
choices and options by implementing Individualized Funding and
Direct Funding to Families as key component of transforming the
disability service system to a new way of “thinking and
acting” within a framework of citizenship and building community
capacity.
| Outcomes
management and evaluation imbedded throughout the system to tie
accountability around the quality of service and support to the
provision of funds and overall fiscal accountability.
| Recognition
of known costs – labour relations and collective agreement costs
associated with transitioning government services workers,
collective agreement costs at the community level as a result of
the Munroe Agreement and the known costs of Children in Care
requiring adult residential and day program services.
| Enact
legislation to create a welcoming environment for individual and
family contributions by changing the tax system (perhaps using the
TONI agreement) to recognize those contributions to
disability-related costs and to attract new sources of funds for
social services from individuals and corporations.
| Engage
key stakeholders (families, service providers, communities) in
meeting government budget reduction targets. |
Benefits
to Government
|
Puts
what could be a very significant political challenge with
considerable downside into a positive, leadership framework of
partnership between government, communities and families.
| Accomplishes
social service transformation with a consumer group that enjoys
popular voter support.
| Reduces
long term dependency on government funded programs.
| Creates
a prototype of new approach to delivering social services that
will create a template useful in other sectors.
| Continues
the legacy of progressive social policy begun with the closure of
institutions in the 70’s and 80’s but halted over the past ten
years.
| Meets
budget and staff reduction targets.
| Provides
progress and optimism on meeting the support needs of many
individuals and families currently on wait lists.
| Creates
employment for individuals with disabilities.
| Provides
both opportunity and encouragement for individual and family
contribution to costs of support/care.
| Reduces
the size of the public service.
| Enables
the participation of children with special needs and adults with a
developmental disability as full citizens of British Columbia. |
Appendix One – Governance Overview
[Note – Refer to Appendix Two – Organizational Overview for relationships]
Appendix Two – Organizational Overview
[Note – Refer to Appendix One – Governance Overview for further details]
Appendix Three – Goals & Objectives
To
complete transition of services from government and meet service and
financial objectives, the Community Living Coalition has identified
nine preliminary short term goals.
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Creating
the Community Living Services Corporation of BC |
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A
Plan to Transition |
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A
Labour Relations |
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Agreement |
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Communications and
Messaging |
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Establish |
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Transition
Services from Government to Corporation |
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Implement
Operational |
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Implement
Individualized |
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Means
and Opportunity |
To
create a policy and regulatory framework that encourages
rather than penalizes individual and family contributions to
the costs of services and supports. |
|
Partnerships |
To
improve quality, effectiveness and efficiency of services by
encouraging and building partnerships within the civic
sector amongst non-profit organizations and between the
civic and private sector between corporations and
non-profits. |
|
Individual and Community |
To
encourage individuals, families and communities to build
capacity through relationships with and around people with
disabilities. |
|
Community
Living Corporation |
To
create an environment within the Community Living
Corporation of BC that motivates employees to a level of
service commitment that reflect the corporations mission,
values and beliefs in everything they do. |
|
Effectiveness
and Efficiency |
To
efficiently manage the business of providing support and
service to return both a social and economic dividend to
Government. |
|
Encourage
and Acknowledge Contributions |
Using
the Tax on Net Income (TONI) Agreement, establish tax
system recognition of individual and family contribution to
disability-related costs. |
|
Innovation
and Best Practice |
To
stimulate innovation through collaboration, to strive for
continuous improvement and to be benchmarked as the very
best in community service delivery. |
|
Build
Social Capital |
To
accomplish our primary goals within a framework of policies
and practices that enhances community and builds civil
society in our province. |
