Attendant services or Personal Support Services, which include assistance with
personal hygiene activities, bathing, eating, dressing, and other basic activities of daily
living, are the most common services offered to most recipients.^4 These services are
consumer directed. 5 Homemaking services which offer assistance with house-cleaning,
laundry, banking, bill payment, shopping and meal preparation^6 are often combined
with personal support services, but not always. It is usually necessary to qualify for
personal support services in order to obtain homemaking services.^7 Professional
services such as nursing, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, social work, speech
therapy and diet advice are offered to those persons who qualify on the basis of a
specific need.^8 Professional services and homemaking services may be provided by
providers of personal support workers or through Community Care Access Centres.
A. Purposes and Goals of Attendant ServicesThe goal of attendant services is to support independent living. As articulated by the
Centre for Independent Living in Toronto (CILT), the philosophy of independent living
promotes the ideal of people with physical disabilities living with dignity in their chosen
community, participating in all aspects of their life, and controlling and making decisions
about their own lives.^9
Attendant services play an important role in supporting the personal integrity,
independence and dignity of persons with physical disabilities.^10 Attendant services are
a necessary and vital accommodation for persons with physical disabilities. Without
reliable attendant services many people with physical disabilities would be unable to live
(^4) See CCAC Client Services Policy Manual, Chapter 7 (Sept. 2006) p. 6, and Home Care and Community
Services Act, 1994 5 , s. 2(6) definitions.
6 See CILT website - http://www.cilt.ca/overview.aspx^
See CCAC Client Service Policy Manual, Chapter 7 (Sept 2006) p. 9, and Home Care and Community
Services Act, 7 1994 s. 2(5), definitions.
For more information see CCAC Client Services Policy Manual (Sept. 2006), Chapter 7 “CCAC Home
Care Services" pp. 10- 8 11.
See CCAC Client Services Policy Manuel, Chapter 7, (Sept. 2006), p. 1, and Home Care and
Community Services Act, 1994 9 , s. 2(7).
10 See Centre for Independent Living in Toronto, online: http://www.cilt.ca/what_is_il.aspx.^
This can include physical disabilities on their own or in combination with other disabilities.