Meeting the Disability Supports Challenge

The 1998 In Unison framework identified three objectives for the future development of disability supports: accessibility, portability, and an individual focus.

Accessibility
For supports to be accessible, they need to be affordable, available and appropriate for the needs of the individual. Across Canada, there are disparities in the availability of supports. Aboriginal people report a lack of supports tailored to their needs.

The complex array of disability supports programs and the variety of supports providers — including government departments, non-profit organizations and others — can also affect access to programs. Individuals often need to tap into a number of different programs to get all the supports they need. Matching individual needs with eligibility criteria that vary from one program to the next is also challenging. For some individuals, getting information about the range of programs available is the first step to gaining better access to disability supports.

The costs of disability supports also have implications for access. In 1991, 35 per cent of working-age adults with disabilities had non-reimbursed out-of-pocket disability related expenses (HALS, 1991).

Portability and Continuity
Portability — or continuity — means that people have continued access to comparable supports when they make transitions across life situations (such as from school to work) or geographic locations (such as moving from one community or province to another). When supports have continuity, people with disabilities find it easier to increase their social and economic independence.

Disability supports are often tied to eligibility for income support, employment or educational programs. This creates disincentives for people who want to make a transition. In addition, supports often are not portable from one province or territory to another, and sometimes even within a province or territory.

It is widely recognized that, in an ideal situation, the individual would receive the supports they need or funding to purchase them regardless of their enrolment in other programs.

Individual Focus
Supports that are provided with an individual focus are flexible, responsive to individual needs, and provide persons with disabilities with maximum control over their provision.

Many programs across Canada now provide some supports through a form of financing called self-managed or individualized funding. Through a variety of different arrangements, consumers are provided with the funding to manage their own supports, such as the hiring and management of attendant or respite services. Individualized funding allows greater self-determination, choice and control for the people directly affected by the service. It also allows for greater tailoring of services to meet individual needs.

The involvement of family and advocates in service provision can help increase the independence of the individual, especially for persons with developmental disabilities. Support to family caregivers can often prevent a crisis and the need for more expensive interventions.

Aboriginal persons with disabilities have observed self-management models and have expressed interest in developing similar systems. However, in Aboriginal communities, there is a lack of trained home care workers and attendants. Aboriginal people also point to the unavailability of respite care and a lack of services for children with disabilities in many Aboriginal communities.

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