May 29, 2008
Premier Dalton McGuinty
Legislative Building, Queen’s Park
Toronto, ON M7A 1A1
Dear Premier,
OPSEU represents 8,000 people who provide supports to people
with developmental disabilities. We recognize that new legislation is long
overdue. Too many people with developmental disabilities are going without
the supports they need. We applaud the fact that you are making people with
developmental disabilities a priority, but we have three serious concerns
about Bill 77.
Most families who have a child with a developmental
disability want quality supports and services they can count on, as provided
by the community-based developmental service agency system. Most families’
lives are extremely demanding and they don’t have the capacity to manage the
many different types of supports and services their loved one needs. OPSEU
is worried about aspects of this legislation that will lead to the erosion
of the quality supports that agencies are now able to provide.
Our biggest concern with this bill is the creation of
individualized budgets through the assessment process. This bill sets out a
needs assessment of each person with a developmental disability and then
attaches a dollar value to the service needs of that person. Agencies will
then receive the funding that comes with that person for their service needs
and won’t receive the administrative/overhead costs that go along with
running an agency. Agencies will be forced to cut corners to cover operating
costs. Additionally, since the funding is tied to the client, the agency
becomes vulnerable as clients move on. Agencies will go without those
funding dollars while they work to fill the placement.
We are also gravely concerned about the creation of
third-party private brokers as outlined in this bill. As you know, there are
long waiting lists for services all across the province. After receiving an
assessment, families will have limited options. They can use their
assessment to access agency-provided services, but in most cases that will
mean staying on the same waiting lists they’re already on for many more
years or, taking the individualized funding.
Given the limited options for most families, they will have
no choice but to take the individual funding. Most working families will be
forced to turn to the newly-created privatized brokers. These brokers will
take an automatic cut off the top and then find the lowest bidder to provide
services. This provision in the bill opens the entire sector to
privatization and lowest common denominator service provision, as we’ve seen
in the competitive bidding process in home care. It doesn't work in home
care, and won't work in developmental services.
Lastly, we are very concerned that the assessment process
will lead to a loss of services to some people now receiving high levels of
support. This bill sets out to provide services to more people within the
existing funding dollars. It also legislates the assessment of everyone
with a developmental disability including those already receiving services.
The inevitable outcome of this assessment, given the goal of equalizing
services for everyone with a developmental disability, is the loss of
services for some already in the system, as was also seen in the home care
sector.
If Bill 77 goes ahead as is, it will have a hugely
detrimental effect on community-based developmental service agencies and the
quality of care they are able to provide. We ask that you work with us to
rework this legislation so that it addresses the above points.
I look forward to meeting with you or your representative in
the near future to discuss the details of the legislation. The people our
members work so hard to support do need improved quality of care, and those
who provide this service are the experts in how this can be provided. Please
talk to us.
Sincerely,
Warren (Smokey) Thomas
President
cc. Hon. Madeleine Meilleur, Minister of Community
and Social Services
Michael Prue, MPP, NDP Critic
Sylvia Jones, MPP, PC Critic
