Message from the Chair
By Lois Hollstedt, C.M.

CLBC will mark an expansion of service in providing support to a new group of adults with complex needs when it begins to accept applications for the Personalized Supports Initiative (PSI) on February 1, 2010.

The PSI establishes a new set of criteria for adults who are currently not eligible for services under CLBC’s existing criteria. Adults with a diagnosis of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), plus significant limitations in adaptive functioning, may now be eligible for supports that help them maintain or increase their independence.

The PSI will be a unique approach to service that will strive to develop an individualized and personalized approach to meeting the needs of the adults who are eligible. This may mean help to coordinate existing supports, or to provide access to services such as supported living, respite, employment support, skill development and homemaker support.

Facilitators in CLBC offices throughout the province will work with adults and their families to confirm eligibility, assess needs, create individual plans for support, and coordinate existing or needed services. Individuals or their families interested in applying will find the application form and more information about the PSI on the CLBC website under What We Do > Personalized Supports Initiative.

The PSI marks the beginning of providing services to a distinct group of adults that have not been previously eligible through any ministry or agency program. This work could not have been completed without the dedication of cross-ministry and CLBC staff, families and members from the community living and disability sectors who provided their recommendations that set the direction and focus for the PSI. We thank them for their work, and for helping CLBC improve its services to this new group of adults and their families.