|
Citizens With Disabilities - Ontario
| |
Attendant
Service Quality Committee (ASQC)
Next
Meeting Sunday, November 29, 2009 at 1:30 pm in IDEAL Room
10
| |
Summary Notes
from Meeting Held November 15, 2009
On Sunday,
November 15, 2009, a group of individuals with a vested
interest on improving Self-Managed Attendant Services Program
for people with disabilities in Ontario met for a second time
in an online conference call.
The group, part of
Citizens With Disabilities - Ontario (CWDO), is known as the
Attendant Service Quality Committee (ASQC), Since June 2009,
the parent organization (CWDO) has been proud to be to be
Ontario's representative at the Council of Canadians with
Disabilities and actively promotes the rights, freedoms and
responsibilities of persons with disabilities through
community development, social action, and member support and
referral.
Topics
of discussion included:
- Research findings on attendant wages
- Action plan strategy to generate public and political
support
Attendant
Wages:
Further to the inaugural meeting in
October, a couple of the committee members provided an update
on some of their findings thus far relating to pay structure
and benefits of PSW's throughout the province of Ontario.
Figures which have been obtained indicate
current wages earned under the Direct Funding (DF) program are
low compared to other medical models. While DF managers
are required to pay an average of $14.65 per hour, wages in
other settings vary from $14.95 to $17.63.
Current
data also suggest earned wages in hospitals, nursing homes and
long-term care facilities are not good models to compare with
DF, Support Service Living Units and Outreach programs.
Presently, research findings are incomplete as information is
still being sought from different sources including unions and
such.
Action Plan
Strategy:
An action plan strategy was also
discussed in great detail and various members of the committee
provided valuable input on how to proceed in an effort to
generate positive change.
It was agreed that the
group needs to increase public and political attention to
these issues through a crafted campaign. All available avenues
are being considered including media, petition, letters to
various MPPs, members of the opposition, Minister of MOHLTC
etc. Legal advice/counsel is also being sought on a pro bono
basis to assist in the drafting of important documents
including letters.
Individual members of the
committee have agreed to prepare personal interest stories for
the media to share their struggles and challenges resulting
from high staff turnover relating to low wages, long waiting
lists, limited service hours, limitations in the hiring of
staff etc.
Members of the committee are
encouraging all individuals with disabilities to take part in
these online discussions. Valuable input and support is needed
to bring positive changes to the Self-Managed Attendant
Services Program.
Many DF managers are
continuing to experience serious challenges which are
ultimately affecting their independence and quality of life
relating to internal problems in the program such as lack of
funding, extensive waiting lists, to name a
few.
The severity of some of these barriers will
only continue to escalate unless users of attendant services
take a proactive role to address the vital issues at
hand.
Please join
us at our next conference call meeting to be held on Sunday,
November 29 at 1:30 p.m. IDEAL Room 10. A
reminder will be sent a few days before the meeting, but put
the date in your calendar now.
You can log in at 1:00
p.m. to sort out any technical difficulties before the meeting
begins.
|
How to
ParticipateTo join in, go to http://www.ideal-group.org/cwdo/. Follow the steps to download the
latest version of the free conference utility.
- Option 1 is for a PC.
- Option 2 is for a MAC.
After you finish downloading, scroll
down until Room 10 appears. Sign in with your name and city e.g.
Tracy Odell in Scarborough.
Leave the password area
blank.Click
login and you are in!If you are new to IDEAL, book a free
tutorial with Pat Seed at pat.seed@tbaytel.net. Pat will cheerfully and
patiently guide you step by step. We were all new at
this once! Or come
early at 1 pm for extra
help.
| |
|
Thank you, and hope to see you at the meeting.
Sincerely,
|
|
| |
