Our Stories


Case Management Update for March 2023

March 30, 2023

Dear Families,

Thank you to everyone that attended one of the information sessions we hosted a few weeks ago and for sharing your questions, comments, hopes and requests. A video of the presentation portion is available on our website. This communication is a result of a request for ongoing updates and information, and below, you will see a call out for families to join an advisory committee – which was another request we heard from families.

We try to connect with families on a regular basis through email and through updates on our website, you can see our latest family update that was sent this week. If you would like to be added to our family email list, you can do that on our website.

We look forward to connecting and learning more about your family’s needs and how we can best support you.

Sincerely,

Ben Adaman
President & CEO

Meet the Team

Amanda (Mandy) Newhook is the Director of Clinical Services at St.Amant and is leading the new Case Management service. Mandy has worked at St.Amant for over 16 years. She received her Master’s Degree in Speech-Language Pathology at McGill University in 2003. She worked as a Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) in the Yukon Territory supporting children in Kwalin Dun, a First Nations community in Whitehorse.  She also worked as an SLP in rural Newfoundland supporting both children and adults in outpatient and inpatient settings. In 2006, Mandy moved to Manitoba and started working at St.Amant, where she found her passion for providing services to children and adults with developmental disabilities, autism and acquired brain injury. In 2014, she moved into a Clinical Services management position and, most recently, into the role of Director of Clinical Services.  In her spare time, Mandy loves cooking, running and spending time with her husband and two kids.

Debbie Scora is a Registered Social Worker and has worked at St.Amant for over 20 years. Debbie first worked in the Family Care Program, working with both children and adults as well. She has since held a variety of management roles including Coordinator of the Community Support Program, Acting Director of the Community Support Program, and Coordinator of Social Work Services. In total, Debbie has 27 years of experience working in the disability field including front line work in day programs and residential homes as well as managing day programs and working at the Director level for non-profit organizations.

As Manager, Case Management, Debbie is responsible for overseeing the provision of case management services, ensuring adherence to St.Amant and CdS policies and procedures, monitoring and reporting on the quality of service and the requirements of the Manitoba College of Social Workers. She is currently recruiting and training all Case Workers.
 

What’s New:

You’re invited to join the St.Amant Case Management Family Advisory Committee! This is a brand new advisory group initiated at the suggestion of families. The Family Advisory Committee consults, partners, and co-designs with St.Amant case management staff and leadership, to ensure a thoughtful, respectful and family centred, approach to the development and transition of case management services for families of a child diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

For more information, please see the draft terms of reference and how to apply. The deadline to apply is April 22.


Service Update:

To date, we have hired seven full-time permanent Case Workers (one bilingual) and one full-time permanent Administrative Assistant. One Case Worker is located in Western Manitoba and the rest are in Winnipeg.  

Our goal is to hire one more Case Worker in the Western region as that region is a priority for transition. We exceeded our hiring targets for this round of hiring. Our next round of hiring will focus on hiring staff in other regions to prepare for those transitions.

Candidates throughout Manitoba have talked about how excited they are to join St.Amant. We’ve heard from many candidates that they’ve been referred by people who work at St.Amant and about their interest in working somewhere that is committed to social justice and inclusion. New employees have talked about wanting to help families thrive in their community and live their best lives and their passion for working in the disability field. 

Case Workers will attend St.Amant’s orientation to become familiar with our culture, values, policies and processes.  Each new employee receives training specific to their role, including family-centred practice, mindful practice and advocacy. We have also invited many organizations to come and speak to our team to ensure they are well-informed of resources available to families and to build connections between the caseworkers and service organizations. 

This means that we are ready to start receiving referrals from Children’s Disability Services so that we can start putting the information into our database and building caseloads. The goal is for this to happen while employees are in training so that we are ready to go once the training is complete.

We’ve heard from lots of families on the waitlist who are eager to be assigned a Case Worker. It’s so exciting to be able to tell them that soon there will be no waitlist! 


FAQ

Is Debbie Scora our Case Worker? Debbie is managing the service, so she will not be taking on active families on her caseload. She will be coordinating the work, supporting the team, monitoring quality and ensuring all resources are in place.

Does St.Amant already have our personal information? No. Although the initial letter from government indicates that information has been shared with St.Amant. No information has been shared – yet. We are very close to requesting referrals, so if your family does not want your information shared, please contact your current caseworker, or Children’s Disability Services as soon as possible.

St.Amant Community:

As part of the St.Amant community, you are welcome to join any of the upcoming events:

The Disability Community:

Our disability community in Manitoba offers a wealth of support and knowledge.