The Welcome and Planning Process

What this page says

  • Attend a Welcome Workshop series to learn about CLBC.
  • Your facilitator will take time to get to know you, your strengths, interests, and needs.
  • Your facilitator can help you plan or connect you to other planning support available outside CLBC.
  • Your facilitator can also help you connect to community and other ministries if necessary

There is a lot to read and understand when you become eligible for CLBC supports. It can be overwhelming. As a first step, CLBC staff work hard to provide information in a way that is easy to understand, to answer your questions and to build a positive relationship with you.

The Welcome Process

Once you begin the process of determining whether you or your family member is eligible for CLBC services, you will be provided information about upcoming CLBC Welcome Workshops in your area. These workshops provide information about adulthood, local community resources, planning options and CLBC services. If a series of Welcome Workshops is not available in your area, or if you cannot attend these workshops, a facilitator will be assigned to you who will meet with you and provide you with the key information provided in the workshops.

You can find printable versions of CLBC’s current Welcome Information here.

Looking forward

You may or may not have a clear idea of the supports that exist in your community, or can be provided by CLBC, that would help you or your family member. The CLBC Welcome Workshops and your facilitator can help you. The workshops provide information about the wide range of current provincial and community programs. , These workshops can help you start thinking and planning about skills and interests, taking part in local clubs, sports teams, and opportunities to build new friendships and maybe take classes at college or university. At the same time, there are range of CLBC services that may be available to support your goals, based on disability-related needs and available funding.

CLBC encourages everyone to start by thinking about your interests and life in your local community. Planning can:

  • Help you to better prepare for life transitions and consider next steps
  • Help CLBC to better understand your strengths and needs
  • Coordinate opportunities for a person’s life with “important others”
  • Create ways to respond to life’s transition points and to deal with the unexpected

Working together

Facilitators try to learn from you and respect your knowledge and expertise. They work in collaboration with you to explore opportunities to help individuals achieve greater control in their lives. They want to create a team approach rather than a “doing for you” approach. They will work with you to plan in ways that can include connecting to community and requesting CLBC-funded services that best match your strengths, interests, and needs.

Supporting individuals with multiple needs

In some cases, the people CLBC supports also have significant health and/or or other support needs. In such cases, your CLBC facilitator will work with you to identify those needs, and work with Ministry of Health / regional Health Authorities, or other relevant ministries, to help coordinate supports. Every circumstance is unique, so your facilitator will help find and explain the best approach for you.

Learn more about planning