  |
|
|
Community Stakeholders Forum Held
|
|
On May 4, 2007, the Toronto ABI Network hosted a forum to bring publicly-funded community-based ABI providers together to discuss how we collectively work with clients in the community and explore if we can be doing things differently to enhance our support for individuals with an ABI and their families.
Mr. Warner Clarke, Program Consultant with the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, opened the discussion by providing a historical perspective on the development of community ABI services across the province. He challenged those attending to consider whether there was a vision for how existing resources could be managed differently to allow for increased flexibility. He suggested that the following system challenges/opportunities may serve as a starting point for this discussion and future planning.
- Consider expansion of local capacity by:
- building service from bottom up, with emphasis on programs and services to support clients within natural support networks
- building on existing community support systems, rather than creating new ones
- looking at simple supports like extend-a-family programs to create in-home respite and family support.
- Manage emerging needs by targeting resources to create movement within the system.
- Consider releasing services from service models in order to better meet system needs.
- Distinguish between specialized and generic services (e.g., consider partnerships with developmental services and/or mental health programs to share expertise).
- The ABI service system in Ontario will need to fund intensive community residential support for about 6 persons each year with significant behavioural needs.
- The pressure to use funding to solve individual crises in the short term needs to be balanced by the need to develop services that will decrease crises in the long term.
Those in attendance participated in a facilitated discussion to identify ways of enhancing the ABI community services we collectively provide. Participants were asked to consider the following questions:
- What are the key priority issues/considerations to enhance community-based ABI services and supports?
- Given the current healthcare environment and Network resources, what are some key and feasible next steps that we should pursue to enhance the ABI community services we collectively provide?
- What would we collectively like to have accomplished by the end of 2007-2008?
The consensus reached through this discussion placed the focus of future work on:
- Determining the basket of services available, what are the gaps - consider capacity as well as availability.
- Investigating whether resources are being used most effectively and appropriately and evaluate whether there are opportunities to reallocate resources to expand the reach of services.
- Developing a process for identifying, tracking and advocating for hard to serve individuals.
- Review current follow-up services and processes to ensure appropriate access to therapy and support at the right time.
A small working group will be established to set priorities based on this discussion and develop a work plan of feasible next steps.
|
|
|
|
|
|---|
| |
