• Message from the Minister
• Purpose
• The PDD Change Initiatives Project
• Project Vision
• Working Together
• Questions and Answers
  • What is the new way of the program?
  • Will there be changes to the help given to my family members?
  • How will I know what is going on?
  • Will there be chances for me to be involved?
  • When will the changes be done?
  • Where can I get more information?

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Message from the Minister

I am happy to be the new Minister of Alberta Seniors, the government department that supports both seniors and Albertans with disabilities. I have personal links to the disability community in our province, and it’s a very important priority for me.

As you may have heard, the Persons with Developmental Disabilities, or PDD program, is going through some big changes right now that will help us make Alberta an even better place for people with disabilities. I support this work. I want people, families, agencies, and PDD staff to know that I am dedicated to working with you to make the PDD program better.

The PDD Community Boards share my promise to have open talks. They want to talk to people, families, and agencies to share information and get input about the program. We all play a special role in making this program the best it can be. We want to hear from you. This is a rare chance to build on what we are already doing and create something special as we move ahead. I thank you for taking the time to help with this important work.

[Original Signed]

Honourable George VanderBurg
Minister

Purpose

This booklet is for people, families, and agencies. It will help with the community talks being held across Alberta, about the PDD changes. The meetings are meant to:

• Help people, families, agencies and communities to better understand the work that is happening. This work will help people with disabilities and the PDD program.
• Help us all understand the lives of adults with disabilities in their local communities.
• Help us figure out how these changes will affect adults with disabilities, and how the work PDD has started can best help people.

The PDD Change Initiatives Project

The Change Initiatives Project has been started to bring together the work from the Six Priority Actions and from the ideas of the 2011 PDD Administrative Review.

The project has 9 main areas:

1. Do things as one program
2. Make better agreements with agencies on how money is used/li>
3. Keep working on the PDD program and agencies being responsible/li>
4. Come up with a way to have information on all people with disabilities in one place/li>
5. Be clear on what supports PDD will provide and the best way to do things/li>
6. Start letting people know how the PDD program works as one (for example: one website)/li>
7. Put saved money into frontline services/li>
8. Help and build up use of FMS (Family Managed Services) a choice for families/li>
9. Make the help better for people who have many needs/li>

Teams have been created to lead the work in each of these areas.

Project Vision

Our vision is to have a PDD program that gets excellent results for the people it supports, works the same way across Alberta, and uses its funding the best way to help people be on their own and to be a part of their communities.

People (individuals) can get regular high quality, wellplanned help that makes their lives better, no matter where they live in Alberta.

Families all over Alberta get the information they need easily, have a link with PDD staff, and feel good about the quality of their family member’s services.

Service Providers (Agencies) have reliable funding and smoother processes to allow them to focus on the individuals they support.

Communities benefit from a greater level of help and have people with disabilities taking part in their community.

PDD Staff have clear roles that allow them to be more involved with people and families. The way they do things will also be easier, helping them to focus on the people they work with.

Working Together

The PDD Community Boards are planning to involve and talk with the main people in three steps:

• Step 1: Winter 2011/12 – Moving Forward (what we’re doing right now)
  • This step will focus on telling the main people about changes and vision for the future, and;
  • Getting the main people’s ideas.
• Step 2: Spring 2012 – Checking In
  • This step will get further ideas from the main people on how to start the changes.
• Step 3: Spring 2013 – Gauging Success (how are we doing?)
  • This step will respond to the comments and see what is going well and what is not.

Questions and Answers