September 1, 2016
The Minister of Community and Social Services Helena Jaczek responds to the Ombudsman’s report “Nowhere to Turn”. On the day the report was released, the Minister announced that all 60 recommendations were accepted and will be implemented.
(TORONTO – August 24, 2016) Ontario’s systemic failure to help desperate families who are unable to care for loved ones with developmental disabilities has left vulnerable people in dire and often dangerous circumstances, Ombudsman Paul Dubé reveals in his office’s latest report, released today.
In Nowhere to Turn, the Ombudsman reports on his office’s investigation of more than 1,400 complaints from families of adults with developmental disabilities who are in crisis situations, including being abandoned, abused, unnecessarily hospitalized and jailed.
The Ombudsman made 60 recommendations, highlighting an urgent need for greater supports, services, and more rigorous monitoring, all of which were accepted by the Minister of Community and Social Services.
The report details 18 cases of adults with developmental disabilities and complex needs who were left homeless, abused, abandoned, or inappropriately housed in hospitals, long-term care facilities and jails. One 24-year-old man lived for months in a long-term care home, where he injured one senior and was molested by another; another man with autism spent 12 years in psychiatric units. One woman who couldn’t remain in an abusive home was moved 20 times in 34 days; another was abandoned by an exhausted, ill relative after two of her other caregivers died.
- Read the full report
- Read the press release
- Read the facts and highlights
- Watch the Minister’s response
