Step 1: Exploring and understanding housing needs and wants, and creating your housing plan

Step 1

Step 2: Reviewing housing options and locations

Step 2

Step 3: Financing the plan

Step 3

Step 4: Managing housing supports

Step 4

Step 5: Building a plan that will support change

Step 5

Step 6: Learning from others

Step 6

DSO housing navigators contact list

CONTACTS

Step 4: Managing housing supports

In this section of the toolkit, you will find the resources to help you recruit, hire and manage the supports that you need to help realize your unique housing model. You will find guides, websites and documents to help you consider things such as how to find supports, use contracts, know the labour laws, and seek legal advice to name a few. This information will hopefully give you the confidence to hire and manage your own support worker (s) if you choose to do so.

This section will help you find the information and resources to:

recruit, hire and manage your supports

Disclaimer: This online toolkit is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, technical, business or other advice and should not be relied on as such. Please consult a professional if you have any questions related to the topics discussed in this toolkit. Developmental Services Ontario (DSO) and its host agencies do not endorse any commercial product, process or service referenced in this toolkit, or its producer or provider. The DSO also does not make any express or implied warranties, or assumes any legal liability for the accuracy, completeness, timeliness or usefulness of any information contained in this toolkit, including web-links to other servers. All URLs mentioned in this document will link to an external website.

a. Recruit, hire and manage your supports

When thinking of an Individualized Residential Model, employing and retaining support staff is an area that takes a lot of time and energy. If you have never hired or managed people before then the idea of hiring your own support for your loved one may be rather daunting, but it need not be so. You may say that you don’t know the first thing about managing employees, but if you look more closely, you’ll find that you are likely managing and overseeing many people in your life on a regular basis.

Running a busy household takes many skills such as negotiation, mediation, effective communication and time management, not to mention, intuitiveness and good judgement when it comes to knowing what’s best for your family. You likely didn’t just pick your loved one’s school, day programs, dentist or doctor without doing some preliminary research. The same goes when you are buying a home, you don’t randomly choose the people who will be helping you make major life decisions. It’s no different when choosing the right support for your loved one. Just because it’s not in the guise of a business or agency, it doesn’t mean that you don’t have what it takes to recruit, hire and manage support staff to help with your own unique supported housing model.

When you first start to think about hiring, remember the key to choosing well is compatibility, much in the same way that one chooses a life partner or a roommate. Depending on how much support you require you are essentially inviting someone into your life, home, and into your loved one’s living space, so you will want to make sure that they are a good fit for all. Starting with people in your family member’s social circle, people they already have a positive connection with and people who have a background in support/social work would be logical to approach first. Don’t be afraid to get creative when looking for paid/unpaid supports, you could look towards younger active seniors in your community, college students and newcomers that may be looking for both affordable housing and employment, or for experience if unpaid in exchange for free or reduced rent.

You may decide to place an ad in Kijiji or other job search sites, use word of mouth, find a family support group to share a wanted ad with or through a professional agency. Be sure to involve your loved one who will be receiving the supports as much as possible during the hiring process.

Depending on the level of support required you may want to consider a blend of natural supports and formal supports. Staff can be independent providers, employees or agency staff (i.e. Community Living). Each of these options has different responsibilities, liabilities and risks. You’ll probably want to become aware of employment legislation, so look for more information online at Your Guide to the Employment Standards Act.

Once you have chosen your support staff be sure to use a contract for all staff that you employ, whether paid or unpaid, this will help you to maintain professionalism, accountability, and legal safeguards. You can find some examples of contracts and hiring tips at respiteservices.com. WSIB Ontario may also provide helpful information on the subject.

Resources

Here are some resources on managing housing supports that you can explore:

An Online Guide on Using FMS to Support an Inclusive Life
This guide was created by Inclusion Alberta and contains numerous short video clips of families sharing their experience with Family Managed Supports (FMS).

Community Living Ontario and Pooran Law launched the "Inspiring Possibilities: Legal Guide to Engaging Private Support Workers"

Empowering Ability: Personal Supports; Recruitment, Connection, and Community
This podcast covers 3 main support topics; recruitment, connection and community.

Hiring a Support Worker: A Guide for Ontarians with a Developmental Disability
This guide may help you or someone you know hire a support worker.

How to recruit, hire and manage support workers webcast
Webcast from Partners for Planning.

Managing Your Support Funding Guide: Help for families who are engaging someone to support their son/daughter/sister/brother
This guide provides tips for determining employment status, recruitment, interviewing, screening and contracting.

My Home My Community
My Home My Community is working to drive innovation in housing development and community supports, to ensure all people with intellectual and developmental disabilities have a home that gives them choice, freedom, safety, and inclusion in their community.

Professional Services Directory
For assistance in legal matters, consult the services of one of the professionals from the Professional Services Directory compiled by Partners for Planning.

Pooran Law: Resources and Tools for Families Engaging Support Worker
This website provides useful information and links related to the topic of hiring and maintaining support workers.

Glossary of terms

Adult Protective Service Worker (APSW) – An APSW can meet with the person regularly to inform about community supports and ministry-funded services. They can help the person identify his/her strengths and needs and assist with developing problem-solving and life skills, like budgeting and learning to use public transportation.

Affordable housing – A housing that costs less than 30% of a household’s before-tax income. This definition is applied to all forms of housing; private housing is considered “affordable” if it costs less than 30% of a household’s before-tax income. Affordable housing relates to all forms of housing: rental, ownership and co-operative ownership, as well as temporary and permanent housing. Affordable housing may be provided by the private, public and non-profit sectors.

Affordable rental housing – A housing where the total monthly shelter cost is at or below the region’s Average Market Rent (AMR) by unit type. The AMR is set by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation on a yearly basis.

Application for Developmental Services and Supports (ADSS) – Collects general information including medical conditions, capabilities and background. It also includes a section called “Getting to Know You” which gathers information about a person's likes and dislikes, as well as their dreams and future goals.

AROHA – An incorporated entity which ensures that the person’s voice is heard, and that available resources and supports are used to keep with her or his wishes and needs—now, and into the future, after parents are no longer available to help their loved one.

Assessor Summary Report (ASR) – Using the information gathered during the completion of the ADSS and SIS® interviews, a DSO Application Assessor will prepare an ASR that summarizes the key findings from the entire DSO application package.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) – An organization that provides mortgage liquidity, assists in affordable housing development, and provides unbiased research and advice to the government, and housing industry.

Co-housing – An agreement within a residential building (apartment or home) where each unit has access to a shared or common space. The common space typically includes kitchen facilities, a dining area, laundry facilities, and even recreation space.

Community circle – Brings two or more people together around someone who wants help to make a change in their life. That change can be anything – from getting out and about more, expanding social life or living more independently in the community.

Community housing – A housing that is created with government support to ensure that it is more affordable for low-income households. Government assistance can be provided in various forms, including funding, free or reduced-cost access to land, access to lower mortgage rates, etc.

Crowdfunding – A process that usually involves approaching social networks (friends, family, acquaintances, social media contacts, etc.) to request a donation towards the cost of a venture or cause. In this case, you may ask them to contribute to some of the costs associated with your housing plan.

Developmental disability – According to the Services and Supports to Promote the Social Inclusion of Persons with Developmental Disabilities Act, 2008, a developmental disability means that the person has the prescribed significant limitations in cognitive functioning and adaptive functioning and those limitations,

originated before the person reached 18 years of age;
are likely to be life-long in nature; and
affect areas of major life activity, such as personal care, language skills, learning abilities, the capacity to live independently as an adult or any other prescribed activity.

Developmental Services Ontario (DSO) – The access point for adult developmental services funded by the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services (MCCSS) in Ontario. There are 9 DSO agencies located across the province; serving individuals in different counties and regions.

Direct funding program (MOH) – funding that is provided by the Ontario Ministry of Health (MOH) to eligible persons with support needs related to a disability and/or health condition, where the person, someone they appoint, or a third party on their behalf, manages the funds to pay for services and support. Examples include Family Managed Home Care and Self-Managed Attendant Services. Please note that this definition applies specifically to this toolkit only.

Disability Tax Credit (DTC) – A non-refundable tax credit that helps people with disabilities and those supporting them to reduce the amount of income tax they may have to pay.

DSO application package – If an person is eligible for ministry-funded adult developmental services, he/she will be asked to attend 2 meetings to complete an application package (ADSS and SIS). Once the application package is completed, a DSO staff person will create a report that summarizes the person’s support needs (ASR). He/she will receive a copy of these documents and they could be useful to reference when building an individualized housing plan.

DSO eligibility – To apply for adult developmental services, funded by the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services (MCCSS) through Developmental Services Ontario (DSO), a person with a developmental disability will need to prove that he or she has a developmental disability, lives in Ontario, and is 18 years old (a person may begin the application process as early as 16 years of age).

Employee – A person who is employed for wages or salary. ‘Employees’ are employed and paid by an ‘employer’. Employers are responsible for deducting Canada Pension Plan (CPP) contributions, EI premiums, and income tax from their employees wages. Employers must pay these deductions along with their share of CPP contributions and EI premiums, to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).

Family Managed Home Care – A new model for home care delivery in Ontario that is available in each LHIN. This model provides flexibility and choice to families, they can set a schedule that best works for them. They are required to hire and recruit their own workers: employees, independent contractors, or agency staff.

Formal supports – People who have a paid relationship with the individual, either through government funded resources or private funds. They might be support staff from a local agency, a swimming instructor, a teacher, etc.

Generic supports – Services and supports which may be applicable to and accessed by any member of the general public. These services could include, but are not limited to health, dental, vision care, housing, home care, social services, recreational services, employment supports, educational services, etc.

Good neighbour – In this intentional community, good neighbours provide a natural safety net, just like a typical neighbour would. They create community within the building and provide friendship and natural supports to other residents in the building.

Henson Trust – A type of trust that can be a very useful tool to consider when planning for the financial future of a family member with a developmental disability. It is what is known as a discretionary trust, which means that it can be put in place to protect the assets of the person with a developmental disability while also preserving their ability to access government benefits, such as ODSP.

Household budget – A type of budget that includes things like rent, food, utilities, clothing, entertainment (all of those things that need to be covered by income sources like ODSP and employment).

Housing plan – A description of the person’s hopes and dreams and it answers the following information gathering questions: who, what, when, where, and how. For example, where would you like to live? Who would you like to live with? The goal of the housing plan is to bring the person as close as possible to his or her larger vision.

Housing vision – Provides the support team with a clear statement and overall purpose. It will provide the team with inspiration and help to motivate them. The vision will allow the team to “check-in” to ensure that everything is moving in the right direction.

Independent contractor – A person or entity contracted to perform work for—or provide services to—another entity as a nonemployee.

Individualized Education Plan (IEP) – A written statement of the educational program specifically tailored to meet a child's individual needs. Every child who receives special education services must have an IEP.

Individualized facilitation – A process that supports a person with a disability to think about the life they want and participate in their community. The process involves exploring passions and interests, creating a vision and goals. A person can hire an independent contractor to guide them through the process and to support them in taking actions towards achieving their vision and goals.

Individualized funding (MCCSS) – funding that has been available in the past as part of pilot projects or one-time initiatives to help finance individually tailored housing and support plans for people with a developmental disability. Whilst the plans may be managed by the individual and/or those supporting them, the funds generally flow through a ministry approved agency and are not managed directly by the individual or those supporting them. Examples of past initiatives include the Innovative Residential Model Initiative (IRMI) and the Innovative Housing Demonstration Projects funded as part of the Ontario Developmental Services Housing Task Force (both funded by the Ontario Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services). There is no process to request individualized funding through Developmental Services Ontario or the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services. Please note that this definition applies specifically to this toolkit only.

Individualized Residential Model – A person-centered housing model created specifically to address a person’s needs and desires for home.

Intentional communities – Take many forms and can generally be described as a residential community that is planned and designed to include a high degree of friendly association and social cohesion. In most cases, residents share similar values, goals, or beliefs.

Intervenor services – An individual who facilitates the interaction of a person who is deafblind with other people and the environment.

Microboard – An autonomous group of at least five committed family and friends who join together with a person who has a disability to create a supportive not-for-profit corporation.

Natural supports – Unpaid people in a person’s life. They may include family, friends, neighbours, etc. They sometimes include people who used to be formal supports (e.g. a former teacher), who have become friends over time.

Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) – One of Ontario's social assistance programs. ODSP provides income and employment supports to eligible Ontario residents who have disabilities.

Person Directed Planning (PDP) – A type of planning that assists persons with developmental disabilities to create a meaningful life in their community by identifying their life goals and finding community connections, services and/or supports with the help of their families and/or others.

Passport program – Provides funding that can be used to help adults with a developmental disability to participate more actively in their community and build and increase life skills.

Psychological assessment – A psychologist or psychological associate can conduct a psychological assessment to evaluate a person’s thinking, learning and behaviour; provide a diagnosis and/or make treatment recommendations. A psychological assessment is required in order to confirm the diagnosis of a developmental disability, and eligibility for DSO.

Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP) – A savings plan that can be set up for a person who is eligible for the Disability Tax Credit (DTC) to help save for their financial future and security. Anyone can contribute to an individual’s RDSP, until the end of the year in which the beneficiary turns age 59.

Secondary suite – A self-contained unit located within an existing residential dwelling (e.g. a self-contained apartment, located in the basement of a house) unit that could be for a family member or another individual with a developmental disability, or a person who provides support to the family.

Shared support – When two or more people are supported by the same worker or support person. Most commonly, supports are shared by individuals who live in the same home, building or community. Shared support can be a way of reducing the cost associated with hiring paid staff. There may be an opportunity for a person to share supports with a housemate or neighbour.

Special assessment – A fee that can be charged by condominium corporations and/or condominium boards, on top of regular monthly condominium fees. There are rules around when these fees can be charged, often they are charged to cover the cost of unforeseen expenses or to address issues related to under budgeting. When purchasing a condominium it is worthwhile to inquire how much money is in the reserve fund and whether or not there has been a special assessment in the last five years.

Support budget – A type of budget that outlines the costs associated with the support a person requires to be successful. These expenses could be related to technology or paid staffing support. The support budget can only be created when the person knows what he or she will be doing throughout the day and what supports are required to be successful.

Supportive housing – Affordable housing that is linked to supports that allow people to live independently in the community. Supportive housing can be beneficial for many populations, including those living with physical and/or developmental disabilities, seniors, and individuals living with mental health issues and/or addictions.

Supports Intensity Scale (SIS) – A unique, scientific assessment tool specifically designed to measure the level of practical supports required by people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to lead normal, independent, and quality lives in society.

Support team – A group of people a person has selected to assist them in achieving his or her hopes, dreams, and goals. Support teams are person-centred and built on relationships, trust and common purpose.