Anyone is eligible to apply for the program, if they answer “yes” to all the following questions:

• Are you a person with a permanent physical disability?

• Are you a resident of Ontario?

• Do you have a valid Ontario Health Card?

• Are you 16 years of age or older?

• Are you able to schedule your own attendants, and make alternative arrangements if their availability changes?

• Will you take an active role in recruiting, hiring, training and managing your own attendants?

• Will you manage your own accounting and expenditures of funds granted to you?

As a participant in the program, you must be able to:

• manage money, time and personnel;

• apply for a business number from Revenue Canada;

• with the assistance of a bookkeeper, make payroll deductions (Canada Pension Plan, Employment Insurance and Income Tax), submit quarterly Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) remittances, and prepare year-end payroll documents (T4s);

• keep all financial records;

• comply with all provincial legislation, including the Employment Standards Act and Ontario Human Rights Code;

• follow occupational health and safety standards, and WSIB requirements.

A legally binding agreement between the participant and CILT sets out the budget, program rules and regulations and specifies allowable expenditures. The DF budget also includes funds to cover a portion of liability insurance related to the attendants who work in peoples' homes.

For eligible individuals who are comfortable taking on the extra responsibilities associated with Direct Funding, this form of attendant service is both rewarding and liberating.