VICTORIA-Minister of Social Development Stephanie Cadieux announced that the Client Support Team to assist individuals and families concerned about services provided by Community Living British Columbia (CLBC) can now be contacted through the government website at www.gov.bc.ca.

Today's announcement follows a number of significant changes at CLBC and by government to improve the services provided to individuals with developmental disabilities.

These include:

• The appointment of a new Minister of Social Development, Stephanie Cadieux.
• The appointment of an interim CLBC CEO, Doug Woollard.
• In September, the creation of a Deputy Minister Working Group to examine how individuals with developmental disabilities and their families are supported by government ministries and how CLBC assesses and prioritizes needs.
• In October, a dedicated internal audit team began meeting with CLBC to report on a number of areas related to the service demand, performance management and cost analysis for CLBC. This is the same audit team that completed the recent BC Hydro audit.
• This week, a request by Minister Cadieux for an interim update from the board of CLBC for their vision for the organization and how they expect to achieve this vision. Due date is November 1st, 2011.
• The establishment of a Client Support Team to work with clients and families who do not feel that their service requests have been satisfactorily met by CLBC.

The Client Support Team is comprised of senior staff from the Ministries of Children and Family Development and Social Development and will work with families and individuals who are not satisfied with the services and support plans provided by CLBC.

Contact:

Susan Mader
Communications Director
Ministry of Social Development
250 387-6489