Nova Scotia to fund tuition for nearly 100 students training to support people with disabilities

Nova Scotia has announced it will pay for the tuition of nearly 100 students training to support people with disabilities.

Scott Armstrong, the minister of opportunities and social development, made the announcement Thursday.

He said the government is spending about $640,000 to fund the spots, which will open across the province in September.

"The investment we're making today is about more than just education. It's about ensuring that individuals with disabilities can truly live a good life in the community of their choice. And I want to highlight that — of their choice," Armstrong said at a news briefing Thursday.

The move to educate and recruit more disability support workers comes as the province works to close all institutionalized care and get people with disabilities into new supportive living situations by 2028 — meeting requirements outlined in the workplace strategy of a five-year reform plan approved by a human rights board of inquiry in 2023.

The creation of the human rights remedy capped a legal battle originally launched in 2014 by three people with disabilities who were kept in a Halifax psychiatric hospital for years, despite medical opinions that they could live in the community with appropriate support.

As of Dec. 31, 2024, there were 702 individuals with disabilities still living in adult residential centres, regional rehabilitation centres and residential care facilities across Nova Scotia.

Armstrong said the province is on track to move these individuals into the community by 2028.

"At the heart of this work is a commitment to a human rights-based approach, one that centres with the voices and choices of Nova Scotians with disabilities," he said.

"And in my opinion, this change is long overdue. The work we are doing now under the human rights remedy requires more than simply changes to a program. It means changing the entire system and rebuilding it from the ground up."

Armstrong said part of that is funding these spots to encourage more people to pursue a career in disability support. 

He said the cost of tuition, textbooks and student fees will be covered for 75 people enrolled in either the full-time one-year program at the Nova Scotia Community College campuses in Kentville and Sydney, or the two-year part-time program in Bridgewater.

Funding will also apply to 12 students enrolled in the Island Career Academy's six-month community residential worker program in Sydney, and 12 students at the CBBC Career College's 900-hour community support worker program in Dartmouth.

Armstrong said these students will receive $5,000 for tuition and associated fees.

Those who receive the funding are required to work in Nova Scotia's disability support sector for at least a year after graduation. 

"The new disability support professional certificate program at NSCC ensures our learners have the skills to support persons with disabilities in their communities that focuses on upholding their rights as independent individuals, emphasizing their personal strengths and eliminating barriers," said Connie Fisher, dean of the School of Health and Human Services at NSCC.

The NSCC program was previously offered as a two-year diploma but will now be offered as a one-year certificate to get workers into the sector faster.

"As a college and partner in education, transforming and changing systems to create an equitable, accessible and inclusive province is a priority," Fisher said.

"By being a part of the cultural change, grounded and transforming the way we support people with disabilities, it is our commitment and we are proud to offer this exciting new program to contribute to that critical change."