Assistance Coming For Those Accessing Disability Support Program Funding, Supports and Services.
A two-year pilot project will help Nova Scotians with disabilities and their families better navigate Disability Support Program funding, supports and services.
“We are committed to transforming the system to ensure Nova Scotians with disabilities have the opportunity for choice and control over the support they need to live fully in community,” said Brendan Maguire, Minister of Community Services. “The key actions we’re reporting today are part of the foundation we’ll continue to build on as we support the disability community and remedy discrimination in our province.”
The community engagement project will see Inclusion Nova Scotia, a not-for-profit organization, working with people and families in the disability community to help them understand how the work under the Nova Scotia Human Rights Remedy impacts them.
The Province also issued a request for proposals today, July 2, seeking a long-term partner as it transitions to an individualized funding model. The partner will help clients manage their individual funding and choose programs, like respite, day programs or recreational activities. It will also assist them in securing the services – and paying the providers – needed to live in the community of their choice.
Support will be available by phone and through online platforms. The contract is expected to be awarded by the end of the year, with a target launch of February 2025.
The Nova Scotia Human Rights Remedy provides a framework to guide the government’s work to close large residential facilities for people living with disabilities and transition them to supported community living by 2028. Progress reports are submitted twice per year. Progress in the first year includes:
- transitioning 144 people with disabilities from institutions to supported community living
- supporting 304 more people through the Independent Living Support program, which provides funding for up to 31 hours of support per week
- introducing Independent Living Support Plus, a new program which provides up to 84 hours of support per week (or 12 hours per day) to those transitioning from institutions or hospitals to community living
- creating a new $300 per month disability support benefit for people on employment support and income assistance and those on the waitlist for the Disability Support Program.
Quotes:
“The human rights remedy allows us to envision and create a life for our daughter that surpasses anything we may have imagined just a few years ago. She can pursue a fulfilling life in her community with the right support. She recently moved into her own apartment and is becoming more engaged in her community. As a parent, it was hard to have her move out. But like her sisters, she deserved the opportunity, and the joy she expressed tells me it was the right time. I want Anna to have a life where she belongs, one she enjoys on her terms, and one where she is valued, just like her sisters.”
— Jane Gillis, parent and Vice-President, Inclusion Nova Scotia
“We are thrilled to launch this initiative with the support of the Province of Nova Scotia. This investment underscores the importance of community building and the need to ensure that families and individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities are informed and involved in the changes brought about by the remedy. The transformative changes of the remedy will require a change in mindset, understanding and advocacy of authentic inclusion of every Nova Scotian. We are committed to strengthening our connections, fostering leadership and empowering families to actively participate in shaping the support and services that directly affect their loved ones.”
— Thivjan Tharma, Executive Director, Inclusion Nova Scotia
Quick Facts:
- the Province is investing $500,000 in the two-year pilot program
- the request for proposals is a joint procurement with Seniors and Long-term Care, which will use the same service to support clients in its Home Support Direct Funding Program
- the human rights remedy consists of six interconnected key directions:
- a new system of individualized planning and support co-ordination to drive more person-directed and local community-based supports and services
- closing institutions
- building a broader system of community-based supports and services to support a home and life in the local community
- provincewide multidisciplinary support program with regional hubs including other clinical supports to support local options
- individualized funding as the basis of the transformed system with “backbone” support functions
- strengthening whole disability system capacity to enable transformation to a human rights approach
- the ultimate legally required outcome is the remedying of the discrimination for people with disabilities in Nova Scotia by 2028
Additional Resources:
Request for proposals: https://discovery.ariba.com/rfx/20150680
Inclusion Nova Scotia: https://www.inclusionns.ca/
Decisions, announcements and reports about the remedy: https://humanrights.novascotia.ca/remedy#progress
News release – Province Submits Annual Progress Report to Human Rights Commission: https://news.novascotia.ca/en/2024/06/03/province-submits-annual-progress-report-human-rights-commission
Source : Provincial Release
