This Chapter will illustrate the application of the Framework through consideration of a current issue in the law as it affects persons with disabilities: the legal framework through which persons with disabilities receive supports in the community for needs related to activities of daily living, such as bathing, grooming, meals or taking of medication. Such services are sometimes referred to as “attendant services”.
This issue was chosen because although it is vital to the well-being of many persons with disabilities and is a recurrent topic of policy concern, the law in this area is under-examined. It is an area of the law that connects in a fundamental way to many of the principles that have been identified. It also illustrates a number of the key themes in this area of the law, including the “implementation gap”.
The intent of this illustration is not to provide a comprehensive description of this area of the law or to propose specific reform initiatives. Rather, the aim is to reflect on it in light of the principles and considerations that have been identified in this Report, and where possible, to discover some concerns and general directions for reform that arise from the application of these principles and considerations, with the intent to provide some foundation for further research and reform initiatives.
The evaluation is based on a review of the legislation, caselaw, government documents and relevant social science research.
Because this is not an area that has been subject to intensive scrutiny, there are a number of aspects where information is lacking, and further research is required to make a thorough assessment of the impact of the law on persons with disabilities. Should a thorough evaluation of the law be undertaken, further research on the implementation and effects of the law would be beneficial, and consultation with service providers, persons with disabilities and the groups that represent or advocate for them would be necessary to provide a more thorough evaluation of how this area of the law may affect persons with disabilities.
The law in this area affects both younger and older persons with disabilities, although the circumstances of the two groups tend to be somewhat different, as is briefly highlighted in the following section. The LCO’s sister project on the law as it affects older persons examined this area of the law from the perspective of older persons who are frail or who have disabilities.[375] This Chapter will focus on the experiences of younger adults with disabilities.[376] (This Chapter will not examine the legal framework for community supports for children. While an important area for review, it raises separate issues which would benefit from a more lengthy examination than would be possible within the scope of this Chapter.) The intent of these separate examinations is not to deny the areas of commonality between these two groups – indeed, there are several.[377] However, it highlights, as has been emphasized throughout this Report, the importance of paying close attention to diversity within the experience of disability, to the impact of the life course on the experience of disability, and to particular contexts within the experience of disability. It is within this kind of close examination that the principles take on meaning and the Framework allows us to evaluate laws, policies and practices.
There are many types of community support services that are vital to the lives of persons with disabilities. This Chapter focuses on services related to activities of daily living under the Home Care and Community Services Act (HCCSA)[378] and the Ministry of Community and Social Services Act (MCCSA),[379] while recognizing that this is one small (although vital) piece of a broader spectrum of services. It refers only briefly to the more recent Social Inclusion Act.[380] Many persons with disabilities will be arranging and receiving a range of services, often from a number of different programs and service providers, and this will affect their experiences related to attendant services. That is, it may be somewhat artificial to examine this issue in isolation from a consideration of other types of community supports, and it would be important, in a fuller examination, to consider in-depth how attendant services are related to other supports and services.
A. Background
1. The Importance of Community Support Services
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) identifies the fundamental importance of community support services in enabling persons with disabilities to live in and participate in their communities, and the central role that governments play in ensuring access to such supports. The CRPD provides in Article 19 that:
States Parties to this Convention recognize the equal right of all persons with disabilities to live in the community, with choices equal to others, and shall take effective and appropriate measures to facilitate full enjoyment by persons with disabilities of this right and their full inclusion and participation in the community, including by ensuring that:
(b) Persons with disabilities have access to a range of in-home, residential and other community support services, including personal assistance necessary to support living and inclusion in the community, and to prevent isolation or segregation from the community….
Supports in the community for tasks related to activities of daily living are essential for some persons with disabilities to maintain the ability to live in the community. A 2002 analysis of the continuum of care for adults with physical disabilities based on comprehensive consultations with stakeholders, individuals and informal caregivers concluded, “Self-managed attendant services were considered to be ‘the most important of all the services’”, despite limited access across the country, because of their close connection to autonomy and community inclusion.[381]
Without such services, the only option may be some form of institutionalized living. Institutionalized living is not only almost always a much less preferable option for individuals, reducing autonomy and social inclusion, it is much more expensive. Therefore, governments, including the government of Ontario, have invested in various types of community supports. Ontario’s Auditor General has noted,
The Ministry has recognized the dual benefit of enhancing home care services. Having people receive care in their homes whenever possible not only means better quality of life for the patient, it is also far more cost effective than housing a patient in a hospital, long-term-care facility, or other institutional setting to receive care. One CCAC we spoke to informed us that, for instance, personal support services can enable individuals who have moderate risks/needs to continue living independently in their homes. Not having these services could lead to deterioration in a client’s condition that could result in hospitalization or institutionalization.[382]
Access to such personal services can be essential to all aspects of participating in and being included by the community – to obtaining trai