A big public sector unions wants more money in the spring budget to hire front-line workers to boost services for developmentally disabled people.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents such workers, made the demand in the wake of a recent report from an Ontario legislature committee. The committee said services for people with developmental disabilities are inadequate in Ontario and there's little data to outline the scope of the problem,.

"Only adequate, urgently needed funding can address the critical and desperate situations that are outlined in the interim report," said Joanne Smithers, a developmental service worker with Community Living Guelph-Wellington and president of CUPE Local 4392.

In last Thursday's report, the select committee on developmental services detailed a system in crisis and a problem so big it's hard to track. The report is a lengthy summary of the committee's exploration of the lack of services for persons with developmental disabilities during weeks of public hearings at Queen's Park and across the province.

The report does not yet make recommendations ─ that's the final effort due in May ─ but it shows what the committee learned and where it's going. It explores the different levels of service between rural and urban Ontario; the lack of co-ordination between ministries and care providers and the apparent disappearance of services when people turn 21.

Smithers, who appeared before the committee, said the coming budget from Finance Minister Charles Sousa is the perfect time to address the critical issues raised in the report.

"By ensuring adequate funding, as a matter of urgency, for supports and services for people with developmental disabilities, the government could ensure that the system doesn't rely on families getting to a crisis point before services are provided."

There are more than 23,000 people with developmental disabilities in Ontario on waiting lists for help, including 12,000 families waiting for home care supports.

CUPE wants budget money for developmental services

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