The Ontario government is providing more money for staff and other resources to assist adults with developmental disabilities.

The $12.5 million was announced Helena Jaczek Minister of Community and Social Services  at Contact Hamilton.

“This targeted investment will make vital connections between people with developmental disabilities and the services they need in their communities,” said Jaczek.

The funding had already been announced in the Liberal’s 2017 budget released this spring.

A report by Ontario Ombudsman Paul Dube, released last year, found that people with developmental disabilities too often end up in institutions without the proper resources to meet their needs. It offered up 60 recommendations to overhaul the system to ensure people with developmental disabilities receive the support, care and protection they need.

His investigation, which began in 2012, found an inflexible ministry to respond to sometimes horrifying cases of neglect. The ministry has started to improve how it handles disturbing cases, but the system, Dube stated, remains “fragmented, confusing, and a complex assortment of hundreds of community agencies and local processes, impossible for many individuals with developmental disabilities and their families to navigate.”

The report also found that there are about 14,000 adults with developmental disabilities on a wait list for housing. It stated it would take over 20 years to eliminate the wait list if no other person was added to the list.

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