Ombudsman says Ontario failing to provide proper housing, care for people with developmental disabilities

Ontario’s watchdog says the province has fallen behind on creating a proper system of housing and care for people living with developmental disabilities.

Tuesday, an Ombudsman report was released, detailing how vulnerable citizens are still languishing during lengthy and unnecessary hospital stays.

Paul Dubé, Ombudsman, says his investigation into dozens of complaints shows that many people with complex needs are deteriorating without the appropriate housing and support staff.

He adds provincial ministries are not collaborating to fill in gaps in the system and that hospitals are left carrying the load.

“They are (hospitals) watching people deteriorate in their care because they don’t have the resources or the ability to give them what their complex needs require, “ Dubé said. “People working in the developmental services sector are looking for options.

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Dubé made the comment this morning while revealing the details of his report.

The report calls on the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services and the Ministry of Health to be proactive and plan accordingly to prevent hospitalizations, adding they become unnecessarily long and costly.

It goes on saying the longer the hospitalization, the more difficult it is to find a service agency capable of helping individuals transition.

The report made 24 recommendations including a joint forum of stakeholders for better planning, more funding for supportive housing, better recruitment and retention of staff, and better data collection.

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Tuesday, Premier Doug Ford was asked about the government’s plan for vulnerable people.

“We need to build more homes, especially for adults with Autism, “ Ford said. “We need to take care of them, we have that responsibility as a government to take care of people like that. We have a tremendous amount of money to build these facilities.”

Megan Linton, advocate and writer with Disability Justice Network of Ontario said the report calls for an expansion of supportive housing.

“But what we’re seeing from Doug Ford’s government is just the growth of large-scale congregate settings that directly oppose the decisions and specifications of the Journey to Belonging and other developmental services and policies that kind of guide towards a more just, and inclusive and socially just alternatives to those large scale institutions,” Linton said.

Today’s report says that the province’s ministries have accepted all 24 recommendations including that they report back to the Ombudsman every six months on their progress.

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