Accessibility Plan

The plan is posted at the Main Office at 51 Government Road West, Upper Floor, Kirkland Lake, Ontario.  It is located on the information bulletin board at entrance.   Please note:  there is a wheelchair accessible entrance located at the rear of the building off of Kirkland Street.  If you require a copy of the plan, please contact the Administration Office at 705-567-9331 and press zero or email info@communityliving.com.

Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities

Community Living Kirkland Lake is committed to conform to all aspects of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act and the Human Rights Code and strives to ensure that all locations owned or operated by the agency provide barrier free services, supports, environments, information, communication and employment.  CLKL recognizes that the key principles of accessibility are independence, dignity, integration and equality.

Accessible Customer Service

Community Living Kirkland Lake is committed to providing consistent customer service to person with disabilities.  CLKL is committed to welcoming all persons.  As such, the agency is committed to welcoming visiting persons with disabilities who are accompanied by:

• a service animal; or
• a support person

Community Living Kirkland Lake is committed to establishing, implementing and maintaining a process to provide notice of service disruptions.  If, in order to obtain, use or benefit from the agency’s supports and services, persons with disabilities usually use particular facilities or services of the agency, and if there is a temporary disruption in those facilities or services in whole or in part, the agency shall give notice of the disruption to the public.

Notice of the disruption will include the following information:

• Reason for disruption;
• the anticipated duration;
• a description of what alternative facilities or services are available, if any.

Feedback Process

CLKL is committed to establishing, implementing and maintaining a process for receiving and responding to feedback about how to provide goods or services to persons with disabilities.

The feedback process shall include the following:

• The opportunity for the public to provide feedback in person, by telephone, by fax, in writing or in electronic format including email;
• the opportunity to provide as much information as possible when providing feedback so that the event can be readily identified by the Supervisor/Manager/Director responsible for where the event took place.  The information may include dates, times, contact information, a description of the event, etc.;
• feedback may be received by any person who deals with the members of the public or other third parties on behalf of the agency.  A copy of the feedback shall be forwarded to the responsible Supervisor/Manager/Director for review;
• an answer to the feedback is not mandatory, however depending on the situation; the Supervisor/Manager/Director responsible for where the event took place may deem it appropriate to respond to the customer.  Should an answer be deemed appropriate and should the customer have chosen to supply his or her contract information, the customer may expect the said answer within 15 business days.

Alternate Format

The agency is committed to provide individual accommodation to individuals with disabilities, where appropriate, by creating its own alternate formats of printed materials.  Upon request, alternate formats shall be provided in a manner which is agreed upon by the requester and the agency.

Training

Community Living Kirkland Lake is committed to establishing, implementing and maintaining a program for training staff and volunteers on how to provide barrier free service to people with disabilities.

CLKL shall ensure that the following persons receive training about the provision of its goods and services to persons with disabilities:

• Every person who deals with members of the public or other third parties on behalf of the agency, whether the person does so as an employee, agent, volunteer, or otherwise;
• Every person who participates in developing the agency’s policies, practices and procedures governing the provision of supports or services to members of the public or other third parties.

The training will include a review of the purposes of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) or the requirements of this regulation and instruction about the following matters:

1. How to interact and communicate with persons with various types of disability;
2. How to interact with persons with disabilities who use an assistive device or require the assistance of a guide dog or other service animal or the assistance of a support person;
3. How to use equipment or devices available on agency premises or otherwise provided by the agency, where the person interacts with the public that may help with the provision of goods or services to a person with a disability;
4. what to do if a person with a particular type of disability is having difficulty accessing the agency’s supports or services;
5. the agency’s customer service policies, practices and procedures governing the provision of supports or services to persons with disabilities.

The training shall be provided to each person as soon as practical after he or she is assigned the applicable duties.  For new employees in relevant positions, training will be part of the orientation package.  It will be the responsibility of the Training Coordinator in conjunction with the Supervisor/Manager/Director to ensure the training is completed during orientation and recorded.

The training format may include:

• E-learning session;
• training resource – Accessible Standard for Customer Service, Ontario Regulation 429/07, MCSS, February 2009;
• CD;
• other format as required.

All staff, volunteers and Management shall be included in the training.

Availability of Documents: