Disability supports

POLICY OBJECTIVE The objective of the policy options proposed in this paper is to enhance both the supply and quality of disability supports throughout the country. [...] CURRENT STATUS Disability supports refer to the goods and services that enable people to live independently in communities and help them stay out of hospitals, group homes and long-term care institutions.1 These supports are considered essential to the 3.8 million Canadians — close to 14 percent of the adult population — formally identified in 2012 as limited in their daily activities due to a dis [...] The Saskatchewan Aids for Independent Living Program and the Assistive Devices Program in Ontario also make available a range of technical aids for those who qualify on the basis of the program criteria. [...] But the needs of the individual may not line up with the eligibility criteria of the available program. [...] The federal governments of the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand, for example, have enhanced the participation of persons with disabilities and the provision of disability supports through their respective national strategies.