March 2, 2006
Dear friends,
When our government made our September 9, 2004 announcement about the planned transformation of the developmental services sector, it was driven by the changes – and challenges – that we were seeing in communities across Ontario.
We knew we had to put the developmental services system under a different kind of scrutiny – with a focus on coming up with practical, long-term solutions that would make it fair, accessible and sustainable for the future.
So in September 2004, we marked a turning point for Ontario’s developmental services sector.
We committed to completing the journey that started 30 years ago as we began moving from institutional to community-based services. We committed to significant, long-term investments in stronger community services. And we launched a major review of our developmental services system.
Since we began our transformation work, we have spent a lot of time getting input for our plan, validating some of what we’d already heard and asking people on the front-lines – individuals with a developmental disability, their families and service providers – about their perspective on where we needed to go.
My parliamentary assistant on disability issues, Ernie Parsons, has dedicated the better part of the past year to talking with families of individuals with a developmental disability to learn more about what needs to be changed in Ontario’s developmental services system, and to better understand the kinds of challenges families face on a daily basis.
Mr. Parsons’ report is a reflection of his discussions with hundreds of people from across Ontario who have an interest in developmental services. We hope it will be one of several useful tools as we shape the future of developmental services in Ontario; a future that is focused on achieving the best possible results for Ontarians with a developmental disability.
We will keep you informed as we move forward with the transformation, and hope you will participate in our public consultation this spring on the government’s transformation plan.
Thank you for your ongoing commitment to people with a developmental disability in Ontario.
Sandra Pupatello
Minister of Community and Social Services