Posts Tagged ‘disabilities’
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Ford government to boost school funding by $12,300 for every child with autism who enters the system
Monday, March 11th, 2019
“These supports will start, absolutely, immediately… We are making changes to school board funding so supports will be in place for this school year.” The government has come under considerable criticism from parents and school boards for the changes, which will see limited lifetime budgets for children with autism, which has led boards to anticipate an influx of students into the system when they lose their current level of therapy… Thompson said by 2021 all teachers in the public system will have training in autism spectrum disorder.
Tags: budget, child care, disabilities, featured, ideology, mental Health, participation, youth
Posted in Education Policy Context | No Comments »
Children’s agency slams Ford government’s autism funding changes
Wednesday, March 6th, 2019
Kinark is the only regional service provider — so far — to publicly oppose the changes announced by Lisa MacLeod, minister of children, community and social services last month… Under the overhaul, provincial funding will no longer be administered by nine regional service providers and instead flow directly to families who will use the money to buy therapy from private therapists or publicly funded agencies… A new independent agency to be established in the next year will administer “childhood budgets” to families based on household income and a child’s age.
Tags: budget, disabilities, mental Health, participation, standard of living, youth
Posted in Child & Family Policy Context | No Comments »
One solution to the current autism funding crisis
Wednesday, February 27th, 2019
… parent-mediated models have been running since 2016, with regular reporting to the ministry. In many cases, parents and toddlers are making significant gains. While these particular models may not be the solution for all children and families, the resource efficiency of parent-mediated models makes this an appealing approach worthy of further investment and exploration.
Tags: budget, child care, disabilities, featured, ideology, mental Health, participation, standard of living
Posted in Child & Family Debates | No Comments »
‘Yada yada yada’ isn’t the problem. It’s Ford’s autism policy
Sunday, February 24th, 2019
MacLeod can call this a “fair, equitable and sustainable” system all she wants, but that doesn’t make it a good one. Or a system that provides kids with autism, especially those on the high needs end of the spectrum, access and funding to services they desperately need. But in the face of mounting evidence that this policy is deeply misguided and won’t achieve its stated outcomes, the Ford government has reacted the way it usually does — claiming victory anyway.
Tags: budget, disabilities, Health, ideology, mental Health, participation, standard of living, youth
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
Ontario government quietly ordered autism therapy providers to stop admitting kids from wait-list last September
Sunday, February 24th, 2019
The provincial government quietly ordered autism service providers last September to stop admitting new children for therapy and to keep parents in the dark about the move… Internal documents — from the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services and senior administrators of nine regional service providers — state that the 23,000-child wait-list for autism therapy was closed because of “financial pressures.”
Tags: budget, disabilities, Health, ideology, mental Health, participation, standard of living, youth
Posted in Governance Delivery System | No Comments »
Questions swirl around therapy at centre of Ontario’s autism changes
Saturday, February 23rd, 2019
About one in 66 children in Canada is diagnosed with autism. More than 100,000 Ontarians, including about 40,000 kids, have the disorder… The lack of consultation with adults living with autism has been a longtime concern for Dr. Kevin Stoddart, director of the Toronto-based Redpath Centre, Ontario’s largest mental health treatment centre for adults and youth on the autism spectrum… the mental health of people with autism requires “more focused investigation.”
Tags: budget, child care, disabilities, ideology, mental Health, participation, standard of living, youth
Posted in Child & Family Debates | No Comments »
New study finds the developmentally disabled are vulnerable in Ontario
Thursday, February 21st, 2019
The research from the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences found the developmentally disabled were significantly more likely to die young, languish in hospital without plans for appropriate aftercare, spend time in long-term care, or have repeat hospitalizations and emergency room visits than their non-disabled peers… the findings held true regardless of what disability was specifically at play. They also transcended a variety of boundaries that usually serve as strong predictors of poor health outcomes, such as age and socioeconomic status.
Tags: disabilities, Health, ideology, mental Health, participation, rights, standard of living
Posted in Inclusion Debates | No Comments »
MacLeod needs to build on past successes
Wednesday, February 20th, 2019
… the needs of children with autism… and the needs of their families are complex, treatments are evolving and no one has yet gotten it perfect… It may feel good in the moment to suggest that everything past was wrong but that kind of thinking does children a disservice and that is what should matter to us all… If we don’t even try to build on what has been successful in the past, if we don’t even try to listen to each other and the people on the front line, in this case the parents, then we are bound to fail spectacularly.
Tags: budget, disabilities, Health, ideology, mental Health, participation, standard of living, youth
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
Ontario autism program changes ‘best for all children,’ says social services minister
Wednesday, February 20th, 2019
… the government has promised to clear the wait lists for diagnosis and therapy, and will introduce a childhood budget allowing families to choose the services they want. Families will be eligible for up to $20,000 a year for children under 6 — up to a lifetime maximum of $140,000. Children older than that can access up to $5,000 a year up to age 18, to a lifetime maximum of $55,000. However, only families earning less than $55,000 in net income will qualify for the full funding amounts.
Tags: budget, disabilities, Health, ideology, mental Health, standard of living, youth
Posted in Child & Family Policy Context | No Comments »
The Ford government needs to stop its bully tactics
Friday, February 15th, 2019
A government that has genuinely and openly consulted with affected groups, ahead of making changes, and believes its new policy can stand up to fair public scrutiny doesn’t run around demanding unknowing and unconditional support… it can be difficult for people and vulnerable groups that rely heavily on provincial policies or funding to speak out against the government of the day. But this government’s bully tactics seem to have pushed them into doing just that.
Tags: budget, child care, disabilities, featured, ideology, mental Health, participation, standard of living
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
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