Community Living Brant Embraces Organizational Transformation in Ontario, Canada

Posted on March 11, 2025

By Lindsey Moore, CQL Project Coordinator

I was thrilled to have the opportunity, along with CQL Quality Enhancement Specialist Matthew Forbes, to be a part of the CQL Accreditation of Community Living Brant. Over the past few years, Community Living Brant has undergone a remarkable cultural transformation, driven by a strong commitment to openness, collaboration, and continuous learning. An “open door environment” has fostered an atmosphere where staff and leadership engage freely, leading to a workplace that is welcoming and inclusive. “Welcoming” was a theme captured throughout our focus groups, expressed by both direct support staff and supervisors. During these focus groups, employees also described the culture as energetic and supportive, reflecting a positive relationship between management and direct support staff. Regular meetings with leadership have further strengthened this bond, ensuring that even small successes are acknowledged and celebrated.

Leadership’s direct involvement has played a key role in cultivating this positive environment. During our visit, one staff member described how Cristin Ladner, Community Living Brant’s Executive Director, embodies the organizational culture. “Our executive director understands because of her experience. She gets it. She has an open door and is supportive when there are challenges. She wants us to come to her. She knows everyone! She makes an active effort to speak with everyone in the office.”

The presence of leadership in staff meetings has shifted perceptions, employees feel supported and valued. This cultural shift has not only improved internal morale but has also enhanced the way services are delivered within the community.

A major initiative within the organization has been its transition from a traditional day program model to a more person-centered, community-based approach. By implementing CQL’s “Three E’s” framework, people are supported to explore various opportunities and determine how they wish to spend their time. Prioritizing community partnerships has been and continues to be instrumental in this process, allowing the organization to expand integrated services and provide meaningful opportunities for people. This dedication to community involvement reflects the belief that a healthy, thriving society includes and values everyone!

Additionally, Community Living Brant remains deeply committed to upholding and protecting individual rights. A robust Human Rights Committee, composed of various stakeholders, ensures that the least restrictive strategies are always implemented. People receiving services are actively educated about their rights and are supported in advocating for themselves. Through collaborative reviews of rights restrictions, the organization continuously works to advance the rights of people receiving services.

Beyond service delivery, Community Living Brant has also strengthened its human resources strategies to enhance hiring and retention. Recognizing the importance of employee satisfaction, leadership plans to implement “stay interviews” to gather feedback from current staff about why they choose to ‘stay’ at Community Living Brant. The organization can then use that insight to better support its employees, improve retention, inform HR initiatives, and more. In addition, by shaping hiring, training, and staff assignments around the support needs of people, the organization ensures high quality, person-centered practices.

In collaboration with people receiving services and their families, Community Living Brant exemplifies best practices when supporting people to explore, develop, and effectively implement creative models of support. They are willing to take the time necessary to empower people to discover what is important to them. In addition, the organization enlists a problem-solving perspective rather than seeing limitations during this exploration.

About Community Living Brant

Founded in 1954 by a dedicated group of parents seeking inclusive education and opportunities for their children, Community Living Brant has grown over the past 70 years into a vital support network for more than 350 people across Brantford and Brant County, Ontario. The organization offers a wide range of services, including Group Living, Supported Living, Employment Support, Respite Care, Enhanced Supported Living, and Life Share programs.

Committed to building community, Community Living Brant champions the dignity and rights of every person. They are driven by a steadfast belief in full citizenship for all, fostering inclusive communities through education, advocacy, and public engagement. Through strong community partnerships, collaborative leadership, and a commitment to integrity and accountability, they continue to create meaningful opportunities for people to thrive.

Community Living Brant recently achieved CQL’s Person-Centered Excellence Accreditation. We asked Cristin Ladner, Community Living Brant’s Executive Director, a series of questions about who they are as an organization, along with their experience with the CQL Accreditation process.

What are some notable changes in your organization over recent years?

We have been very focused over the past several years on looking for alternative options to housing, rather than traditional group living models. The people we support have made it very clear that they want and deserve opportunities that everyone else is entitled to – and we believe the same! People want choice in every aspect of their lives, and where someone lives and who they live with is one of the biggest choices a person can make. Rarely is that choice afforded to people when they are given a ‘spot’ in a group living home. People don’t want a ‘spot’ – they want a home!

What organizational values or practices are you most proud of?

We are most proud of the fact that we do not create or maintain any segregated spaces. Our community is stronger when everyone in it has a presence in spaces where they feel connected and where they feel they belong. This cannot be achieved if we continue to separate people from the rest of the community. People find friends and develop connections when they frequent places that are important to them, and where they can share their gifts and passions. We continue to work with the people we support to seek out those places for the benefit of themselves and the greater community.

How did you prepare for your CQL Accreditation?

This is our third time being accredited with CQL, which made the preparation process quite seamless. This is due to the fact that we have continued to maintain our Basic Assurances® groups over the past 4 years, so information and practices are adjusted and updated in real time – not just in the months prior to CQL meeting with us to complete the process. At Community Living Brant, we know the work is never done – nor should it be. We are constantly striving to do better and to learn from the experiences we have had in the past to do better in the future.

How have the Personal Outcome Measures® (POM) affected your person-centeredness at your organization?

The Personal Outcome Measures® have affected the person-centeredness of our organization because the information gathered is very clear and not open for interpretation. The outcome is either there, or it isn’t. The Supports are either there, or they’re not.

By looking at each person individually, it is evident where the gaps exist in how they want their life to look, and where the supports need to be enhanced to see them achieve their desired outcomes. Personal Outcome Measures® are not only unique to the individual and what they want for their lives, but they also continuously evolve as a person’s life evolves. What is a priority one year might not be such a priority the next year (or the next month, or day, as the case may be). Personal outcomes continue to change for the people we support, as they do for all of us at any given time. Our organization looks at each person as a unique individual with unique wants and needs. Personal outcomes ensure we never lose sight of that.

What is the impact of accreditation on your organization as a whole?

Accreditation is such a valuable opportunity to highlight some of the work we do as an organization that often doesn’t get the focus it deserves. For all of us, life is incredibly busy and we often don’t have (or take) the opportunities to slow down and acknowledge how far we have come and how proud we should be of the work we do day in and day out. During the week of Accreditation, people who are connected to the organization in multiple different ways are given the chance to express their views on what we do well, and what might need more of our attention. I am incredibly grateful that the feedback we received from the people we support, their families, our staff, and community partners was that Community Living Brant is an important part of the Brantford community, and the work we do has had such a positive impact on the lives of so many people in our community.

Have questions about CQL Accreditation?

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Since 1969, CQL | The Council on Quality and Leadership has been a leader in working with human service organizations and systems to continuously define, measure, and improve quality of life and quality of services for youth, adults, and older adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and psychiatric disabilities. CQL offers accreditation, training, certification, research, and consultation services to agencies that share our vision of dignity, opportunity, and community for all people.