De-institutionalization is not new. It has been going on for nearly two decades in North
America. As such, there are many many examples of how de-institutionalization can be
a failure and many examiples of how it could be successful. It is our sincere hope that
British Columbians will learn from the mistakes of others and avaid making those

mistakes in our own process of normalization.

The Principles.of our Position

The Committee for Quality Care believes that every individual in the care of either the

Ministry of Health or the Ministry of Human Resources should be cared for according to —

their needs and should be allowed to receive care and/or treatment according to their
individual needs. We believe that each individual should be afforded the ability to live in
an environment suited to the individual's needs and that the environment should provide

as. close to.a normal life as possible.

The. Committee also believes that the system of care for either the mentally handicapped
or the mentally iil must be cooperatively planned and coordinated so that no one in need
of services. falls through the "safety net" provided by saciety.

We strongly believe that any transititon from an insitutional care model to a so-called
community care model must take inta account the needs of all interested parties. These
include the needs of the handicapped and the ill, the needs of the workers employed in
the current care system, the families and advocates of the il! and handicapped, and the
community at large. Any de-institutionalization plan and transition period which does
not take into account the legitimate interests of all those concerned with the system will

simply be doomed to failure.

We believe that any system of care must be adequately funded by the provincial
government. The Government of Sritish Columbia has a social, moral and financial

obligation to maintain a high quality of care for all those who need it.

Further, we believe that any system of care, and most particularly a community care
model, must be properly supported by programs and services in the community for those

who need them.