BackThe Québec Ombudsman recently released a special report entitled Services Provided to Young People and Adults with a Pervasive Developmental Disorder: From Government Commitment to Cold Hard Facts. The report, submitted to the National Assembly, follows a first report released in October 2009 on services for children aged 0 to 7 years with pervasive developmental disorders (PDDs).
The Québec Ombudsman relied on a number of information sources to arrive at the findings in this special report and make appropriate recommendations. In addition to studying all of the complaints received from 2005 to 2012, it thoroughly examined various policies, action plans and other government documents, conducted a critical analysis of scientific studies on the organization of services for people with PDD and conducted individual and group interviews with experts and professionals in the field. Lastly, it assembled focus groups to fully understand the needs of people with PDD.
First and foremost, the Québec Ombudsman found that services for youth and adults with PDD, as presented in several policies, action plans and other government documents, are theoretically wide-ranging, comprehensive and provided collaboratively by the health and social services, education and employment networks. The government’s current service commitment is essentially to meet the primary needs of people with PDD and their families.
According to the Ombudsperson, Raymonde Saint-Germain, “the difficulty for those concerned is that the service offering remains theoretical; in reality, the promised services are relatively inaccessible. Significant gaps between the stated services and the services actually available were observed in each of the networks. In addition, service delivery varies considerably from one region to the next, particularly in the health and social services network.” This situation led the Québec Ombudsman to conclude that each government department and network needs to clarify and adapt the services that are actually available. In other words, they must inform citizens of the services they are actually entitled to expect.
The needs of people with PDD and their families vary and are often complex, so addressing them poses major challenges for all of the public service networks concerned.
Find the full version of the press release as well as an english summary of the report as download below.
