Sixth Annual Federal Policy Forum on Inclusion

On Wednesday, December 2, 2015, People First of Canada and the Canadian Association for Community Living will be hosting the Sixth Annual Federal Policy Forum on Inclusion. Along with the Canadian Autism spectrum Disorders and Neurological Health Charities of Canada, and in collaboration with the Office for Disability Issues – Employment and Social Development Canada, the event will be held at the Novotel Hotel in Ottawa.

The theme of this year’s forum is Closing the Gap in Access to Individual and Family Supports for People with Intellectual Disabilities, ASD and Neurological Conditions. Below are the focus and objectives of the forum.

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Focus and Objectives:

This forum will focus on the growing gap in access to needed supports and services experienced by people with intellectual disabilities, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and other neurological conditions, and their families. This group is particularly reliant on family and informal caregivers to meet their support needs.  Specific questions for this forum include: What are the support/service needs as expressed by the different communities? What are some examples of current federal activities in these areas? What are new and innovative ways in looking at the delivery of disability supports?

Community organizations, social/health professionals and governments are looking for innovative home and community-based options, which can help realize the obligations of Article 19 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to ensure that:

• Persons with disabilities have the opportunity to choose their place of residence and where and with whom they live on an equal basis with others and are not obliged to live in a particular living arrangement;

• 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;

• Community services and facilities for the general population are available on an equal basis to persons with disabilities and are responsive to their needs.

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The objectives of this forum are:

• To gain understanding about the nature and scale of need for supports and services for people with intellectual disabilities, ASD and neurological conditions and their families, and the policy implications given federal jurisdiction.
• To learn about innovative community responses to meeting diverse needs
• To dialogue about ways in which the community services system can be restructured to deal with changing demand for supports and services, and the changing demographics of intellectual disability, ASD and neurological conditions.
• To explore ways in which the federal policy and program framework invests in individual and family supports/services, and what options there might be for supporting a restructuring of community supports/services to better meet growing demand in an individualized, family-supportive, community-based and CRPD-compliant ways.
• To ensure individual and family voices and perspectives inform policy dialogue and development.

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Format:

As with previous Annual Policy Forums hosted by CACL and People First of Canada, the format will include a series of panels and plenary group discussion.  Panels are designed to include a perspective of lived experience of people with intellectual disabilities, ASD and neurological conditions and their families, research and policy expertise – from both community and government.