Community-based Options Homes Review

The Department of Community Services will review its Community-based Options Program.

Community-based options include accommodation for three or fewer persons with a mental disability who are able to live in the community with some support or supervision.

Community Services Minister Peter Christie said the independent review will assess the current delivery of services to clients funded by the department in these settings.

"This is a report card on how we have done since 1996," the minister said. "This should address any lingering questions people may have about the program and provide government and the people of Nova Scotia with an analysis of the programs in place now."

The review will be conducted by Dr. Michael Kendrick, an international consultant specializing in mental health and disability. He is based in Massachusetts.

Specifically, the reviewer will:

• examine the current service-delivery framework for publicly funded clients
• assess whether the current model of service delivered offers the best chance to meet the needs of the client
• draw on best practices of similar services currently available in other jurisdictions and indicate whether any components of those services could be usefully incorporated into policy in Nova Scotia.
• provide comment upon whether the current interim standards which apply to community-based options should be incorporated in regulations.

There have been a number of changes in the program in recent years. In November of 1996, interim standards for the Community-based Options Program were introduced. These standards provide criteria that service providers are required to meet in order to receive provincial funding.

In February of 1999, the Department of Community Services introduced minimum training standards for direct-care staff working in facilities that are funded and/or licensed by the department.

Currently, there are about 1,800 people living in community-based options in the province. Homes range from family homes to fully staffed small facilities that provide 24-hour-a-day monitoring of residents.

The reviewer is expected to submit a report to the Department of Community Services by this summer.