CLBC, agencies farm out disabled adults on Craigslist, Advocate can’t intervene
A long list of ads has been running for months on Craigslist, some offering “Free Rent!” and salary to anyone willing to share their home with people with developmental disabilities ("You get to live RENT FREE" - and collect a salary! - "no special training or experience required!").
CLBC is forcibly moving adults who can't speak up for themselves from group homes where they have lived happily in some cases for over 20 years and farming them out on Craigslist to students and other opportunists seeking free rent or a mortgage helper who won't talk back.
Unlike professionally staffed group homes, which are licensed, inspected and subject to independent oversight, home share contractors are not subject to any independent oversight. A series of reports commissioned by CLBC have confirmed that the potential for abuse and risks are significant and that such placements are not appropriate for all adults.
What's perhaps most alarming, however, is the lack of any independent oversight, investigation or reporting mechanism to provide the necessary checks and balances.
Just today, BC’s Advocate for Service Quality responded to growing community concerns by refusing to intervene or offer advice on the risks involved, stating that her mandate only permits her to offer advice to the minister in response to specific complaints about service quality if an individual files a formal complaint. She referred the concerns about CLBC's actions to CLBC's CEO, Rick Mowles. The Advocate for Service Quality answers to Minister Rich Coleman (the minister who ordered the cuts).
Read the Craigslist home sharing ads here
More about the group home cuts, forced relocations and other community living cuts here .
Public Forum on Community Living Cuts
- Date/Time: Monday, October 25, 2010, 7-9pm
- Location: Ukrainian Orthodox Centre (Auditorium), 154 East 10 th Avenue (between Main & Quebec Streets)
Wheelchair access: the venue and restrooms accommodate wheelchair users.
Parking : In garage (access at front of bldg) + outdoor lot on southeast side. Wheelchair access at front doors only. Also, limited street parking.
Co-presented by: British Columbia Association for Community Living (BCACL); BC Coalition of People With Disabilities (BCCPD); BC Government and Service Employees' Union (BCGEU); Developmental Disabilities Association (DDA); Moms on the Move (MOMS); United Community Services Co-op, BC FamilyNet
Moderator: Tim Beachy, United Community Services Co-op
Panellists:
- Jane Dyson, BC Coalition for People with Disabilities
- Faith Bodnar, BC Association for Community Living
- Alanna Hendren, Developmental Disabilities Association
- Dawn Steele, Moms on the Move
- James Cavalluzzo, BC Government and Service Employees' Unions
More information about group home closures, community living cuts and concerns about forced relocations on our Group Home Advocacy page
MOMS Open Letter: Questions re service plans for children with special needs
The following is an open letter that MOMS sent today to the Premier and Ministers Coleman and Polak, with copies distributed widely. We encourage families and other stakeholders to share their own views on this issue directly with the Ministers responsible and their MLAs:
MOMS Open Letter: Important questions re service plans for children with autism and other disabilities in BC
October 7, 2010
MOMS has recently been asked to circulate notices from provincial gov't officials and a private consulting firm about consultations (focus groups, advisory bodies and an online survey) to guide the development of the Pacific Autism Family Centre (PAFC), described by its proponents as a "community-driven" initiative to establish a "knowledge centre assessible to all British Columbians affected by Autism Spectrum Disorder and other developmental disabilities ."
Having confirmed that these consultations are not being conducted under the auspices of MCFD or the provincial government, MOMS has advised MCFD that we would only support and participate in official Ministry consultations governed by provincial requirements for accountability, due process and transparency.
The purpose of PACF and how the Province plans to utilize it to change the way children with special needs and their families are served in BC are questions whose answers continue to be vague, contradictory and ever-shifting. MOMS now has important new details, based on internal government discussions which highlight disturbing contradictions. Below, we've attempted to sum up key issues in the hope of persuading the Provincial government to establish a more transparent context for evaluating and offering advice on this plan than has been the case to date.