Family Support Services
Caring for a family member with an developmental disability
can be an extremely challenging task, especially considering
the minimal support that has been available in the past.
Through our Family Support Services, DCLS, in cooperation
with the Ministry of Children and Family Development, provides
access for individuals and their families to comprehensive
support. DCLS is committed to offering high-quality services
that meet individual needs and reflect family values and
expectations. Services include support groups, respite care,
transition planning and providing information and advocacy.
Delta Family Alliance - Many parents are
overwhelmed with the feeling that they are alone with the
worries and responsibilities of caring for their developmentally
disabled child. In response to this need, DCLS has organized
the Alliance as a support group open to all families of
adults with developmental disabilities and of children in
transition to adult services. At meetings held every three
months, family members share concerns and information, make
friends and build a strong network. The support group circulates
information on how to access available services, community
resources and funding, provides group advocacy and advice
on dealing with government bureaucracy. Participants provide
input for future meetings, such as guest speakers they would
like to hear. Our workshop on Transition Planning and our
Delta InfoFairs received very positive feedback and we are
planning more for the future.
The Delta Family Alliance coordinator, Mary Lou McNabb,
has served the Society for years, as a volunteer working
with Theatre Terrific, running a social night for the individuals
we support and working as an ICN contractor since 1990.
Mary Lou is also the mother of a woman with special needs.
Please contact Mary Lou at
or 604-418-5056
to ask to be placed on our e-mail or regular mailing list.
Respite care and in-home assistance: DCLS
supports families who decide to look after their adult disabled
members at home. The Respite program provides temporary
relief for the families of adults with developmental disabilities
who live at home, allowing the primary care provider(s)
to "take a break" from time to time. Respite support can
be as brief as one overnight stay, or as long as 3 weeks.
Our goal is to place the individuals we support with highly
qualified respite care providers who share their interests
and enjoy similar activities. Most people who want to become
a care provider through our Family Services initially begin
as respite providers. There are about 40 active respite
care providers on our Family Services Team. Approximately
50 individuals and their families are supported through
our Respite Program.
Caregivers may be chosen by the family or provided by DCLS,
which carefully screens and monitors all respite care providers.
In most cases, care is provided in the respite care provider's
home. Caregivers are paid a daily rate that varies according
to the needs of the person they support. Families pay a
small per diem user fee for this service.
DCLS has provided extensive in-home support services so
that an individual might continue to live with his family
in his own home.
Transition Planning: Life transitions
can be frightening, especially for people leaving school
and entering a workplace or leaving their family home to
live elsewhere. DCLS is available to assist individuals
and their families through transitions. Through effective
planning, lifestyle changes can occur calmly and successfully.
Do You Want to Become a Care Provider?
What to consider in making a decision to provide
respite or permanent care?
Prospective care providers should give thoughtful consideration to,
and seek information about, assuming the role of professional care providers.
Providing 24-hour care to another person requires an individual with unique
characteristics. It is not a role that everyone can successfully assume.
For those who are suited, family care becomes a lifestyle choice that can be
extremely rewarding. A compatible placement enriches their lives and the lives
of their family members. Family members need to decide what supports they would
need, and what adjustments would be required. Your family should also recognize
its strengths and its limitations. What type of person would be most compatible
with your family? What personality traits, hobbies, interests, energy levels and
routines would that individual have, in order for a good match to be made?
Basic Requirements
Prior to approval to provide services through the ICN program, we require:
- Current First Aid Certificate (Emergency First Aid for Residential Adult Care,
or SOFA).
- Criminal record check (DCLS will reimburse for this fee).
- Completed application form.
- Completed home study.
- Doctor's certification.
- Signed Declaration of Confidentiality form.
- Signed Release of Information form.
- Signed Release of Information for Ministry of Children & Family Development.
- 3 letters of reference.
- Experience and/or training in a relevant field.
- A valid driver's license. You may obtain your driver's
license abstract (free of charge) from the Motor Vehicle
Branch. You must send the Administrative Services department
a copy of your driver's abstract that outlines recent
driving infractions annually. Any changes to a contractor's
driver's license status must be reported to the Manager
of Family Services immediately.
- Successful completion of the care provider's Competency Questionnaire.
When obtaining or updating these requirements, please forward the documentation
to the Manager of Family Services.
Care Provider Selection
Upon approval as a care provider, you will be placed on the Respite care provider
list. Approval does not in any way guarantee that you will be providing respite
services to us, nor does it guarantee that you will be a permanent care provider.
Historically, we have not maintained a waiting list of individuals needing to be
placed. What we have is a database of "active" Respite care providers.
It is from this database that care providers are typically selected. When an
individual makes the decision that Family Services is their preferred residential
option, we begin to search for the right placement for them. The individual's
Personal Support Network is involved in the selection of a suitable home.
They are given an opportunity to meet with the family, gather information, check
out the home, location, family values and any other information they feel they need
to enable them to support the individual in making an informed decision. Once a
care provider's home has been selected and the individual has moved in, families
and other members of the Personal Support Network are encouraged to connect with
the care providers on a regular basis.
Our expectation of the care providers is that they be committed
to develop and nurture a positive relationship between themselves
and members of the individual's Personal Support Network.
This is an important aspect of their role. Living in a family-care
home is very different from living in a group home. It is
a natural environment that is not contrived. In a successful
placement, an individual quickly becomes an important member
of the home. For the family of the care provider, it is
a life style, rather than a job. They do not go to it everyday,
and then come home to their own lives. It is their life.
It requires total commitment from all family members, and
for some, a significant change in their lifestyles. As natural,
or "home grown" members of families develop relationships
that are distinct within their own family dynamics, and
at the same time intertwined with each other member, so
do new members coming into that family. They develop their
own distinct relationships and place within the family structure.
Care providers play an important role themselves within
the individual's Personal Support Network.
Care providers are matched with the specific needs, interests and preferred lifestyle of the individual
requiring support. There are many factors involved in selecting an appropriate placement for an individual.
The factors include, but are not limited to :
- Family constellation
- Location and layout of the home
- Availability
- Experience of the care provider
- Family dynamics
- Hobbies
- Gifts, talents and interests
Selected care providers may need to make modifications to their home to meet the
individual's specific needs and challenges. In many circumstances, these modifications
may need to be in place before the individual moves into the home.
For additional information about DCLS's Family
Services, please contact Cheryl-Anne Hendy, Family
Services Manager, at 604-946-9508.
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