People with developmental disabilities didn't choose the circumstances that make support necessary, and the financial arrangements through which that support is provided are seldom theirs to negotiate. Alberta's Persons with Developmental Disabilities program relies on agreements with community organizations to fund services that can shape where someone lives, who assists them and how fully they can participate in everyday life. Questions about the meaning of those agreements deserve careful legal scrutiny because the consequences of a disagreement may extend beyond the two parties who signed the contract.
This concern has a historical context. In 1966, Burton Blatt and Fred Kaplan published Christmas in Purgatory, documenting the neglect and indignity experienced by people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in American institutions. Alberta has its own history of institutionalization and eugenics, including the Provincial Training School in Red Deer and the Sexual Sterilization Act that remained in effect until 1972. After decades of advocacy, community living came to represent a commitment to greater independence, individual choice and ordinary relationships. Funding agreements now help sustain those opportunities, although the individuals receiving services generally have no role in negotiating their terms.
Full analysis is available through Binder Intelligence.