FEEDBACK FOR MCSS RE FACILITY CLOSURE PROCESS NOVEMBER 23, 2005

The following is a collection of feedback & questions from across the province concerning the closure process. No effort has been made to categorize or edit the questions or comments, so there is duplication of some types of comments as a result.

? Lack of information regarding francophone clients
? Does the Ministry intend to purchase community health services through local CCAC’s?
? Does the Ministry intend to access community health services through the current resources available through CCAC’s? (Is there additional resources?)
? We want to get information to families & key support staff that will be supporting the moves i.e. Brochures & videos. Does the Ministry have lists that would assist with this? How can family members &/or facility placement planners make effective plans without full knowledge of what is out there as options & choices?
? ?Plans? for individuals were pulled from agency when time for planning was requested ? given to another agency
? Fire Code requirements to meet B3 are having significant impact on increasing costs
? Profiles missing key information or reliable information
? We have discussed at our regional planning table that some base funding will be put into areas on only a temporary basis. We have 38 identified to relocate to our area as an example. If this is the way we need plan it is a deterrent to making long term plans. The argument is some areas like Simcoe already have too much and other areas have too little. So you plan to take 38 people back but you can only keep property for the time they are alive and then some sort of switch will occur. How can agency planning be done with the thought that in a few years you?ll give up a large percentage of your base budget and lay off all the staff and infrastructure etc. This is not the answer to effective planning.
? Is there start up budgets for furniture?
? Community & health services ? we don?t know the needs yet of the individuals in the facilities so how can we know what community services are required?
? Wage issues must be discussed
? Locally all arrangements have been declared at each planning table in an overview format, allowing for transparency of activities. Would like to see this across Ontario as a condition of contract acceptance & to ensure transparency of Ministry activities
? Only 6 weeks into planning for our first person from HRC so not have anything to report other than the process is smooth to this point however have not begun to negotiate funding yet
? Our experience with working with the planners etc. from SRC has been positive. The planners themselves I have found to be very accessible, making the planning process fairly easy. The one suggestion that I feel would help the process is providing the agencies with the Individual Profile (not the personal plan) at least in the fiscal year prior to when the individual is scheduled for placement. This allows the agencies time to consider these people in their planning process. Other wise the time frame becomes very short for finding a suitable living arrangement. Apparently each facility has quotas for placement of individuals in each fiscal quarter that have to be met. These quotas make planning appropriate transitions very difficult. With our most recent placement, the time frame was 8 weeks from the family touring our agency, making a decision on the agency and the individual actually moving in. This makes for very quick planning.
? The information we received from Huronia on the two individuals we have been supporting seems, in retrospect, to have been quite accurate and misleading. Supposing the negative information was in any way accurate about how they were seen by staff in Huronia, they simply are not behaving that way now. I believe that this illustrates the need for effective “functional behavioural assessment” of challenging behaviour combined with “environmental analysis” of the most appropriate living environments, at least for persons with autism spectrum disorder. The quality of life of both these individuals is much much higher, but would not have been as good had we continued the controls/environmental restrictions that seemed necessary in Huronia, because that what was recommended for them.
? Is there any movement on ward closure dates i.e. we can plan as much as we like but house renovations etc. cannot be done on time if there is short notice such as June ?06 group from RRC.
? Getting the profiles in enough time so that we can actually meet and get to know the client – *** in late Oct got first profile for someone Ministry was hoping to move by mid-Dec
? Community clinical resources ? agency providing was only approached by Ministry in Sep ?05 & now if move to shift clinical resources to support process existing community agencies / clients will experience a reduced level of support &/or expertise (if backfill with new staff)
? Finding land &/or properties is extremely difficult, & associated high costs in urban areas
? Recruitment of staff is difficult given current wage levels, especially in rural areas or for high support programs
? Municipal By-Laws are inconsistent i.e. distance between group homes in some communities is 500 m while others have no such requirement, thereby allowing programs to be in near proximity for cost effective supervision & staffing support
? Need adequate transition costs to prepare
? Need letters of agreement with Ministry & early cash flow
? Ministry deadlines are leading to inadequate lead / planning time
? Process is good but the community feels that these people are taking their beds that they have waited forever for ? quite angry & there is talk about suing the government as a result
? Closure process appears to be going better than in the past in that info on individuals appears to be more detailed and accurate. Only negative I see is that families still have perception that they can choose the service provider for their loved one when in reality only a few agencies have capacity to offer services.
? We at *** have one person for sure, and possibly a second, scheduled to leave RRC in the first quarter of 2006-07 (a short 5-7 months away). As yet, we have little information about the individual and no idea of how or when the Ministry will be approving both capital and operating proposals (submitted with the 5-year Community Plan in October). I would suggest that the ‘timelines’ established in the initiative are totally out of whack, and need to be re-visited. There also remains the HUGE issue of addressing current community pressures and infrastructure, before taking any new people from the institutions. If we, as Agencies continue to ‘go along with’ the ministry’s plan – we have no hope of ever getting these issues addressed.
? MCSS needs to not only pay attention to, but act on, the community-based salary issue!!!
? How incorporate community pressures into the planning process ? raised the idea with a facilitator and received a surprised reaction
? Renovated a house with all urgency, including a bonus payment to contractors, & now have no referrals from the facility & little likelihood of any for another 6 months
? Ministry made a unilateral change in funding agreement with no discussion with agency
? Funds not received yet although client has been admitted & up front costs incurred
? Transportation concerns significant, especially Para transportation ? dd clients are being excluded from access because lack of medical condition to support its use
? Mixed messages from Ministry re funding for this ? some messages of ?can?t lease vans have to buy but other regions being allowed to lease? & ?cost of vans determined by Corporate to be $25K but actual cost more likely in $80K range?
? Have hired staff but no referrals yet & no operating funds to use them, so likely will lose recruits
? Cash flow concerns ? expenditures being made in good faith but funding not flowing even months after clients admission
? Organization with expansion plans being required by municipality to cover costs of all sewer services for new neighbourhood being developed
? No follow-up to the ?community planning meetings? facilitated by MCSS in the spring
? Lack of transitional funding to agencies or community planning groups despite announcement in many areas. One region did receive, but funds just allocated equally amongst all regional agencies
? Timelines for moves are contradictory with Minister’s pronouncement that ?individuals will only move when plans in place?
? Community plans that were beyond 4 years in length were rejected by Regional Office. Is there Ministry support for community plans or not?