425 Bloor Street East, Suite 110
Toronto, Ontario M4W 3R4
www.archdisabilitylaw.ca
(416) 482-8255 (Main) 1 (866) 482-2724 (Toll Free)
(416) 482-1254 (TTY) 1 (866) 482-2728 (Toll Free)
(416) 482-2981 (FAX) 1 (866) 881-2723 (Toll Free)
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ATTENDANT SERVICES
FACT SHEET #3
Community Care Access Centres
February 2013
This fact sheet is meant to help people with disabilities in Ontario who are looking for or getting attendant services. You will find general information here, not legal advice. For legal advice about your own situation, contact a lawyer.
Prepared by ARCH Disability Law Centre with funding from Legal Aid Ontario.
This fact sheet is one of several in ARCH’s Attendant Services series. ARCH publications are available free of charge, in a variety of formats. Go to www.archdisabilitylaw.ca to download publications.
Table of Contents
Page
3 What is a Community Care Access Centre?
4 What services do CCACs provide?
5 Where will a CCAC provide services?
6 Who can get services through a CCAC?
6 How do I apply to a CCAC?
7 What if my needs change or I need more hours of service?
8 What can I do if I am unhappy with the CCAC’s decisions or services?
9 How do I make a complaint?
9 Is there another way to solve problems with my services?
10 Useful contact information
What is a Community Care Access Centre?
In Ontario, Community Care Access Centres (CCACs) connect people of all ages with the care services and community supports they need to keep living at home. Usually, CCACs co-ordinate services that are then provided by other agencies.
When people can no longer live at home independently, CCACs help them to find information about living where their needs for care can be met, for example, long-term care homes and retirement homes.
CCAC advice and services are provided free of charge. They are paid for by the Ontario government’s Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.
An Ontario law called the Home Care and Community Services Act, 1994 sets out the rules about how CCACs must operate. Until the end of June 2010, this law was known as the Long-Term Care Act, 1994.
What services do CCACs provide?
If you are eligible, CCACs can arrange with other agencies to provide:
• Attendant services, such as help with taking a bath, washing, transferring, toileting, getting dressed, skin care, and other personal daily routines. The CCAC can also help train your attendant.
“Personal support services” is another name for attendant services, and attendants are sometimes called “personal support workers”.
• Homemaking services, such as cleaning the house, doing laundry, banking, shopping, and preparing meals.
• Professional services, such as physiotherapy, occupational therapy, nursing, speech therapy, social work, and diet advice. CCACs offer other professional services as well, for example, the services of a laboratory, pharmacy, and respiratory therapist.
CCACs can also provide information about other services that are available in your community.
In some cases, CCACs will provide equipment and medical supplies to people who get services through a CCAC.
CCACs also arrange for you to have “respite care” if you need it. This is a short stay for you in a long-term care home while your caregiver goes on vacation or needs a rest, or while you are recovering from surgery or illness. A short stay can be no more than 60 days at a time, up to a maximum of 90 days in one calendar year.
If you need to move into a long-term care home, CCACs can help by co-ordinating the application process.
Where will a CCAC provide services?
If you qualify for CCAC services, your CCAC will arrange for you to get services in your home. Services have to be scheduled ahead of time.
Children with physical disabilities can get services at school.
Who can get services through a CCAC?
To get services through a CCAC, you must be insured by the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP). In other words, you must have a valid Ontario Health card.
A CCAC can provide attendant services to you even if you are not able to direct your own care.
There are no financial eligibility criteria. In other words, getting services through a CCAC does not depend on how much your income is or what your assets are worth.
How do I apply to a CCAC?
There are 14 CCACs in Ontario. You will need to deal with the CCAC in your area. To find contact information for your local CCAC, call 310-2222 or you can search by your postal code at www.ccac-ont.ca. Anyone can call for information.
You will be connected with a CCAC “case manager”. The case manager will talk with you about your needs and decide whether you qualify for services. If you qualify, the case manager will make a “plan of care” showing which services you are eligible for and how many hours of each service you can get.
Your hours of service will be based on your needs, but there is a limit. Usually attendant services plus homemaking services must total no more than 90 hours per month.
The CCAC might also have to consider how many attendants and other staff are available when they set your hours of service.
CCACs may provide more that the maximum hours of service, for a limited amount of time, to people who are:
• on a waiting list to get into a long-term care home,
• in the last stages of life, or
• in extraordinary circumstances.
What if my needs change or I need more hours of service?
Talk to your case manager about your needs. Your case manager is supposed to keep in touch with you and adjust your plan of care as your needs change.
What can I do if I am unhappy with the CCAC’s decisions or services?
You can challenge the CCAC’s decisions by making a complaint if:
• the CCAC refuses to provide services to you,
• the CCAC provides you with services but then cuts back on services or hours,
• the CCAC stops providing you with services,
• you are unhappy with the quality of services you are getting, or
• your rights under the home care Bill of Rights are not respected. This Bill of Rights is the law. It says how you must be treated if you are applying for or getting services through a CCAC. For more information, refer to the booklet Home Care Bill of Rights by Community Legal Education Ontario. To find that booklet, go to www.cleo.on.ca/en/publications/hc-bor.
How do I make a complaint?
The law says that every CCAC must have a complaints process. They must give you a copy if you ask for it. Ask your case manager for a copy and follow the complaints process to get a decision from the CCAC.
For more details, refer to the booklet Home care complaints and appeals by Community Legal Education Ontario. To find that booklet, go to www.cleo.on.ca/en/publications/homecare.
Is there another way to solve problems
with my services?
If you have a problem with your services, a process known as “mediation” might help you to solve it. You work with a “mediator”.
A mediator is someone who acts as a go-between and helps the two sides in a conflict to talk about the problem. The mediator then suggests solutions that both sides can accept. Mediators have to be fair and not take anybody’s side. They do not make decisions.
The Ontario March of Dimes offers mediation services for people with disabilities. For more information, call them toll-free at 1-800-263-3463. In Toronto call 416-425-3463, extension 7725. You can also find information at www.marchofdimes.ca/mediation.
Useful contact information
Community Care Access Centre
Phone 310-2222
Website www.ccac-ont.ca
Ontario March of Dimes – Mediation Services
Phone 416-425-3463, extension 7725
Toll-free 1-800-263-3463
Website www.marchofdimes.ca/mediation
ARCH Disability Law Centre
425 Bloor Street East, Suite 110
Toronto, ON M4W 3R4
Phone 416-482-8255
Toll-free 1-866-482-2724
TTY 416-482-1254
Toll-free 1-866-482-2728
Website www.archdisabilitylaw.ca
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