April 27, 2022

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As part of Budget 2022’s commitment to invest in communities, the Manitoba government is committing nearly $29 million toward supporting disability services and increasing wages of staff that provide them, Premier Heather Stefanson and Families Minister Rochelle Squires announced today.

“Our government is committed to reducing barriers and providing the necessary supports and services that empower children and adults with a disability to discover their talents, pursue their dreams and live independently,” said Stefanson. “Budget 2022 is about investing in our communities and we are proud to support Manitobans with disabilities and their families, and we look forward to continue working collaboratively with this sector to build a future full of hope and opportunity.”

The premier and minister highlighted investments in Budget 2022: Recover Together that will improve wages for employees providing residential and community supports to adults with intellectual disabilities, decrease wait times for accessing services for children and youth with disabilities and their families, and build additional capacity in the disability sector.

Community Living disABILITY Services (CLDS) providers supporting adults with intellectual disabilities will receive $10 million in new funding from Budget 2022 to increase front-line wages to a minimum-funded baseline rate of $15.11 per hour for direct services workers and $16.11 per hour for supervisors. The program will also increase service rates to day service providers by 2.7 per cent to support improved wages and their recovery from the impacts of the pandemic. These increases build upon the $2.5 million CLDS Labour Force Support Grant that was issued to the sector in March 2022.

“These important investments recognize the essential work performed by our front-line service workers and ensures adults with an intellectual disability are supported in living meaningful, inclusive lives in the community,” said Squires. “We recognize this is an important first step and will continue to engage with the sector in the months ahead to develop initiatives to further support and strengthen these critical services.”

To further support the workforce, the Manitoba government is providing funding in the amount of $370,000 to Abilities Manitoba to co-ordinate a CLDS awareness campaign to support sector recruitment and deliver essential training for sector staff to ensure CLDS participants receive safe services and support.

“These investments come at such a critical time for our sector,” said Margo Powell, executive director, Abilities Manitoba. “Recognizing the value of front-line staff and the essential role they have in providing quality supports is most appreciated."

An additional $5 million is committed to Children’s disABILITY Services (CDS) to improve access to services for Manitoba families. This increased funding will provide support to St.Amant to deliver case management services for children with autism as well as build additional capacity within the CDS service sector for children’s therapies.

“It is great to see the added investment to reduce waitlists and to ensure children and families have timely access to therapy and case management services,” said John Leggat, president and CEO, St.Amant. “We are grateful to see much-needed support for children and families and are already seeing positive outcomes from the respite home in Winnipeg.”

A number of other improvement initiatives supporting the disability sector and vulnerable persons in Manitoba are also underway:

• New Directions for Children, Youth, Adults & Families has been selected to receive $8 million for the development of the two-year Bridge Program for Children and Youth with a disability pilot.  The initiative will develop innovative service options to further support families and avoid the placement of children with a disability in Child and Family Services (CFS) care.

• The Out-of-Home Respite pilot, delivered in partnership with St.Amant, opened a home in Winnipeg in February. A second home located in Brandon is anticipated to open in May, providing an additional resource for families with a child with a disability that require short-term out-of-home respite options. 
• In support of recommendations stemming from the Vulnerable Persons Living with a Mental Disability Task Force, $100,000 has been provided to Inclusion Winnipeg to deliver person-centred planning training to the disability support sector.
• 120 Maryland Group has been selected to receive funding of $675,000 to develop a peer-support network for CLDS participants and families, and increase the use of assisted decision-making among vulnerable Manitobans.
• The Manitoba government has published the Vulnerable Persons Living with a Mental Disability Task Force Implementation Plan three-month progress update available at: https://gov.mb.ca/fs/vp-task-force-report.html.

For more information, visit https://gov.mb.ca/fs/clds.

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