06 Dec Advocating for sustainable funding to support individuals with developmental disabilities and their families

Empower Simcoe, along with other organizations in the Developmental Services (DS) sector, is advocating for sustainable funding for organizations that support individuals with developmental disabilities and their families.   Empower Simcoe CEO Dr. Claudine Cousins recently met with Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte MPP Doug Downey, Barrie-Innisfil MPP Andrea Khanjin, and Simcoe-North MPP Jill Dunlop to discuss the critical need for an increase to base funding, including Passport and Special Services at Home for people and families supported by Empower Simcoe and the Developmental Services Sector across the province.

The DS sector, funded by the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services (MCCSS), is facing critical challenges. Organizations that rely on MCCSS funding have not benefited from any significant cost-of-living increases from the Ministry over the past 30 years. While costs have increased substantially during this time, organizations have continually been required to do more with less. Since the pandemic alone, costs for necessities such as housing expenses, transportation, and program delivery have increased by over 16%, with no additional funding to offset the added costs.

“Historic funding disparities have led to significant wage discrepancies in Developmental Services, as compared to health, education and long-term care. Developmental Services simply cannot compete with these other sectors, which are offering higher wages and consistently drawing workers away from people, families and agencies in DS,” says Empower Simcoe Chief Executive Officer Claudine Cousins.   “We are advocating for an immediate 5% boost to the agency’s core funding, and index future DS sector funding to inflation.”

Empower Simcoe receives $40 million of funding annually from MCCSS to serve approximately 2,600 individuals in its various programs. Each 1% increase in the cost of living is a $400,000 reduction in our ability to provide essential services. From 2020 to 2023, the Bank of Canada reported an inflation rate of 16%.  This is equivalent to a $6.4 million funding cut, or 183,000 hours of support. For many, even one fewer hour of support from a developmental services professional can have serious consequences for themselves or others.

Empower Simcoe has been offsetting revenue through fundraising and one-time grants, but this is simply not sufficient to sustain operations on an annual basis.

Empower Simcoe is asking the community to share their social media posts with the hashtag #5tosurvive and to tag their local MPP. “It is important that our politicians know that our community believes in sustainable support for people with developmental disabilities, who are one of us,” says Dr. Cousins.