An external review of British Columbia's home-sharing program for adults with developmental disabilities says the government needs to increase funding to the Crown corporation in charge if it wants to deliver safe and timely supports.
The 203-page report released by the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction is the latest call for more money for Community Living B.C. after a 54-year-old woman with Down syndrome starved to death while in a home-share arrangement in 2018.
The external review report was commissioned Social Development Minister Sheila Malcolmson in June, and says home-sharing has become the default form of community living by the Crown corporation, but that it's unlikely the program alone can be scaled to meet increasing demand.
Key features of home-sharing have been weakened over the years, the report says, namely individual planning and co-ordination, the matching process, and the development of key relationships and informal community supports.
Florence Girard was living at a home in Port Coquitlam, B.C., when she died weighing only 50 pounds and the woman whose house she shared was convicted of failing to provide the necessaries of life.
An inquest into her death heard that funding was not adequate to attract and retain home-share providers and a jury recommended that their compensation be increased and those running the program also be paid more.
The Ministry of Social Development said in a statement that it and Community Living BC "will work with partners to implement changes that enhance safety, support choice and maintain accountability."
The report that was released Tuesday says work has been done to make improvements since Girard's death, while calling for a detailed review of the corporation's budgetary requirements.
It recommends working with the Treasury Board to increase funding "to a level sufficient to deliver quality services in a safe and timely manner."
"Even the best system of monitoring and safeguards cannot protect against vulnerabilities created by an underfunded system," it says.
Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito
