The Minister’s draft regulation on Quality Assurance Measures under the Services and Supports to Promote the Social Inclusion of Persons with Developmental Disabilities Act (2008) calls for every service agency to promote social inclusion, choice, and independence. Person-centred or person-directed planning (PCP/PDP) is central to achieving these outcomes. In spite of being adopted by many jurisdictions, evidence outlining the dimensions and effectiveness of PCP/PDP is still limited. As a consequence, there is no real way to determine and measure whether service providers are engaging in PCP/PDP, or whether they are adhering to its principles. In a climate where funds are limited and resources are scarce, the ability to demonstrate the effectiveness of services becomes all the more important.

This project aims to develop an understanding of the process of PCP/PDP and identify a set of relevant and valid indicators to measure its effectiveness within developmental services in Ontario. It includes the following objectives:

1. To understand what PCP/PDP is and how it is operationalized.
2. To understand how consumers, families, and service providers experience the PCP/PDP process.
3. To define indicators relevant to the assessment of the process of PCP/PDP.
4. To determine which data are available in Ontario to assess PCP/PDP (based on the previously defined list of indicators)
5. To identify research needs to strengthen our understanding of PCP/PDP.

Literature reviews will be completed to gather current scientific evidence and provide the foundation for understanding the principles, key elements, and process of PCP/PDP. A review of available evidence of effectiveness and outcomes of PCP/PDP will also be conducted. A survey will be conducted with service organizations to better understand the PCP/PDP approaches used in the province. Case studies of existing PCP/PDP teams will be used to inform on the way in which consumers, families, and service providers experience the PCP/PDP process. Pilot studies will be conducted to test the feasibility of the recommended indicators of the PCP/PDP process.

Lynn Martin, Investigator & Project Co-lead, Lakehead University
Hélène Ouellette-Kuntz, Investigator & Project Co-lead, Queen’s University
Virginie Cobigo, Investigator, Queen’s University
Ivan Brown, Investigator, University of Toronto
Members of the MAPS Local Advisory Committees and the Consumer Committees

Person-centred or person-directed planning is planning that is based on what is important or meaningful to the individual, and the mechanism through which choice, social inclusion, and independence is promoted. In spite of its importance of PCP/PDP to the lives of individuals, practice, and policy, evidence of its effectiveness remains scarce.