Preamble

The government wants to improve services and supports for adults who have developmental disabilities and their families. It wants services and supports to:

  • Be fairer, so that everyone is treated in an equitable way
  • Be flexible, so that people’s needs are addressed as best as possible
  • Be sustainable, so that the system will be here for the future

To make these changes, the government enacted the Services and Supports to Promote the Social Inclusion of Persons with Developmental Disabilities Act, 2008, and its Regulations.

Since July 1, 2011, access to ministry-funded adult developmental services and supports has been provided through Application Entities. These Application Entities are also known as Developmental Services Ontario to the public.

The Application Entities are the primary contact point for people who need information about services and supports in their community, and the single access point for people who want to apply for ministry-funded adult developmental services and supports in each of the ministry’s five regions.

According to the act, the ministry may develop policy directives and rules for the Application Entities that are enforceable by law. These policy directives provide instructions for the following work that the Application Entities do:

  • Providing information to the public about available services and supports and about the application process, including answering any questions or concerns about the application process and services provided by the Application Entities
  • Confirming eligibility for people applying for services and supports for the first time
  • Following the same process and using the same tools to assess everyone who is eligible to apply for developmental services and supports
  • Referring and connecting eligible applicants to available ministry-funded services and supports
  • Providing feedback to the ministry so it can continue to improve the system of services and supports for people with developmental disabilities

Policy directives for Application Entities assist in ensuring everyone who needs government-funded developmental services and supports can expect the same customer service from Application Entities wherever they live, and also to make sure that if they move from community to community, they will not have to repeat their stories each time.

Introduction

Application Entities shall comply with all Policy Directives in accordance with the Services and Supports to Promote the Social Inclusion of Persons with Developmental Disabilities Act, 2008.

This document sets out the terms of these Directives.

The director of community supports policy will review the policy directives for Application Entities as needed and will issue amended directives where appropriate, with reasonable notice provided to Application Entities.

Application Entities are the single point of access and primary contact point for information about ministry-funded adult developmental services and supports in Ontario in accordance with the act. These ministry-funded adult developmental services and supports are:

  • Residential services and supports
  • Activities of daily living services and supports
  • Community participation services and supports
  • Caregiver respite services and supports
  • Professional and specialized services
  • Person-directed planning services and supports

The application entity shall complete the application package with each eligible applicant as a required step to informing individual services and supports planning, and to facilitate referrals and service connections to available ministry-funded adult developmental services and supports where needed.

The application package is comprised of the Application for Developmental Services and Supports (ADSS) and the Supports Intensity Scale - Adult VersionTM (SIS-ATM).