A program that helps youth with developmental disabilities and their families navigate the services and supports they need as they transition to adulthood will soon have a much wider reach in British Columbia.

The Services to Adults with Developmental Disabilities (STADD) program will expand its Navigator program to cover the Fraser region during 2016-17. Navigators work with government and community partners to connect youth between the ages of 16 to 24 years with appropriate services and supports in their community. Navigators can help individuals identify goals – like where to live or find a job – and help them develop a plan to achieve them.

The STADD program will also have a Navigator in the Granville Youth Health Centre in downtown Vancouver. Additional Navigators will provide a virtual service to select rural and remote communities in the North, Interior and Vancouver Island regions to support individuals and families who are not located close to an existing STADD site.

The Province launched the Services to Adults with Developmental Disabilities program for youth in 2013 in four B.C. communities. Partner organizations include the Ministry of Children and Family Development, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Social Development and Social Innovation and Ministry of Education; Community Living BC and delegated Aboriginal agencies as well as school districts and health authorities.

Since the Navigator service launched, over 850 youth and families have been supported by Navigators in communities including Surrey and the areas of Nanaimo-Courtenay, Kamloops-Merritt and Prince George-Haida Gwaii.

Quick Facts:

• The Services to Adults with Developmental Disabilities (STADD) program was designed based on extensive consultations with individuals with developmental disabilities, their families, service providers and advocates.
• The Navigator program also includes a secure, web-based system to share information and keep track of planning, activities and achievements in one place. 
• Youth or their families can find out more by talking to their local Community Living BC contact, school staff, Ministry of Children and Family Development social worker, or call 1 855 356-5609.
• Community Living BC is a key partner, funding supports and services through service agencies for adults with developmental disabilities and their families in B.C. As of January 2016, CLBC has responsibility for providing transition planning supports for older adults with developmental disabilities (55+).
• The Services to Adults with Developmental Disabilities (STADD) program is an integrated approach to providing cross-government services and supports and came out of the Deputy Ministers’ Review of CLBC in January 2012 to improve services for people with developmental disabilities.

Learn More:

More information on the Services to Adults with Developmental Disabilities Program: www.gov.bc.ca/adultdevelopmentaldisabilityservices