Author: Darko Kulas

Certain trends in service delivery for persons with disabilities have appeared over the last decade. Provincial programs are in the midst of a flux characterized by a distinct trend towards community governance. Locally, services and programs for Calgarians with disabilities are increasingly being delivered by community agencies.

Inhibiting the change process, however, is a lack of information about the effectiveness of services to persons with disabilities in Alberta. The Services to Persons with Disabilities program in Alberta has established performance measures in hopes of better understanding its effectiveness.

The first step toward positive change is to ensure that service providers on all levels establish rigorous and meaningful performance measures.

The statistical realities of living with a disability have forced governments and communities to reform the system of services that assist persons with disabilities. Groups like the Alberta Committee of Citizens With Disabilities stress that in any effort to reform the system; the ultimate goal must be to mitigate the personal and social realities of living with a disability: isolation, lack of dignity, and unfulfilled potential.

The primary focus of this study is persons with physical handicaps and/or developmental disabilities who require social services, and it examines the programs, statistics, and issues relevant to persons with disabilities in Alberta.