Should Group Homes for People with Developmental Disabilities Have Family Councils?
Official title: Resident and Family Councils Act – PDD consultation
Why This Matters
Have a family member in a group home? This law gives you a formal voice. Councils let families raise concerns about care quality and work directly with staff on improvements. Without inclusion, families of people with developmental disabilities would have had fewer rights than those in other care settings.
What Could Change
The decision was made: PDD residences are now covered under the Resident and Family Councils Act. Residents and families at any licensed group home with 4+ people can form self-governing councils. The government also created a simplified toolkit to make the process accessible for people with developmental disabilities.
Key Issues
- Should group homes for people with developmental disabilities be included in the Resident and Family Councils Act, or exempted?
- What implementation considerations are needed for these residences?
How to Participate
- This consultation is now closed. Engagement was held through telephone conferences, face-to-face meetings, and webinars in February and March 2018.
What Happened
Based on feedback from residents, families, guardians, and service providers, PDD residences were included under the Resident and Family Councils Act when it came into force on April 1, 2018. The input also led to the development of a simplified toolkit for residents and families to ensure accessibility, and informed operator education sessions conducted before the act came into force.