In 2021, the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services unveiled their 10-year plan for Developmental Service (DS) sector transformation, called Journey to Belonging: Choice and Inclusion. Although the plan is light one details, some of the core tenets include providing people with funding that is suited to their needs, flexible, and responsive. These are high-level details that we support as part of our Mission, Vision, and Values and, as the plan progresses over time, we are excited to see how the Ministry will structure these concepts.
We are committed to staying informed, to engaging in open dialogue, and to being responsive to the evolving landscape of developmental services. Our optimism is tempered with a realistic understanding that the journey will be a learning process, one that requires patience, collaboration, and a shared commitment to the people we serve.
At this stage, professionals working in the Developmental Services sector (like you) should take the time to learn about Journey to Belonging (J2B) and be open to receiving updates as they are available (the official government link is below). From what we understand, the Ministry is still open to shaping and refining how J2B might look, and is actively consulting with people families, advocacy groups, and agencies like ours. The next 5-10 years in our sector will represent a shift in how people apply-for and receive support, and what it means to have more control over their lives and services. We've been administering individualized funds for decades at this point (through our family supports department), so CLW happens to be uniquely well-positioned for the changes in store.
For more information on the Journey to Belonging: Choice and Inclusion initiative, please visit the Ontario government's page: (https://www.ontario.ca/page/journey-belonging-choice-and-inclusion). Note that there is a plan language version also available.
On a related note: Over the past several months, we have been hard at work developing a new strategic plan that incorporates some of the known (and unknown) elements of J2B. We are looking forward to unveiling that plan very soon and to making sure that everyone connected with CLW has a voice and role to play. Stay tuned for more updates on J2B and our strategic plan very soon.
