Directorates
·	Director General's Office
·	Data Development
·	Strategic Evaluations
·	Partnership and Continuous Evaluations
Publications
·	Evaluation Reports
·	Evaluation Briefs
·	Labour Market Development Agreement Series
·	Lessons Learned Series
·	Evaluation Tool Kit Series
·	Evaluation Forum Newsletter
·	From Theory To Practice

1. Most people with disabilities, if they have the supports they need, can live independently and participate in the community.

Many different studies and reviews have provided overwhelming evidence of the capacity of most people with disabilities to live in community settings. But they also identify the critical importance of personal supports and community-based services to make this possible. People with disabilities strongly favour community living, in particular the independent living model, which gives them control over their lives. Family members are sometimes concerned about the potential impact of relocation of their relatives with disabilities from institutional to community settings, but in most cases are strongly supportive afterwards.

2. Individual control is associated with success.

Individual control and empowerment has been identified as one of the most important factors to the success of community services in facilitating skill development, community and social integration, consumer satisfaction and improvements in quality of life. Services based upon independent living principles are more effective in this regard than traditional, professionally driven services. Advocacy, support and training services provided through Independent Living Centres have been documented as effective resources in providing the support and skill development necessary to enable people to make effective use of support service programs and to make decisions about their own lives.

3. Direct funding has been documented as an effective model for the provision of services.

Also referred to as "individualized funding", "service brokerage" or "self-managed attendant care", direct funding permits individual consumers to hire and direct their own staff. Evaluations in a variety of jurisdictions have documented the effectiveness of direct funding in terms of improvements in consumer satisfaction, dignity and well-being, control over their own lives, and positive impacts on family members.

4. While the "open house" vision is increasingly accepted in principle, many services are slow in adapting to the new philosophy.

The Mainstream 1992 Federal/Provincial/Territorial Review of Services Affecting Canadians with Disabilities, endorsed by all social service ministers in Canada, articulated an "open house" vision. This reflects a shift from a philosophy of paternalism to one which respects and supports independence and responsibility, and acknowledges the responsibility of society to accommodate the differences of all citizens. This direction is in keeping with the independent living philosophy; key principles of which include autonomy and control by individuals over their own services, and differs from the traditional model where these decisions tend to be made by professionals.

However, one of the core values of the independent living movement is empowerment. This is a term, which is also used to describe the purpose of attendant care and other community-based services, which support people living in the community. Some researchers have suggested that while the term is frequently used, there is little agreement as to how it can be implemented in practice. Consequently, a number of studies have indicated that many agencies are slow in actually incorporating the independent living principles into their day-to-day practice and many services are still based upon the medical/rehabilitation model.