February 17, 2023
Dear St.Amant Families,
In April 2022, the Manitoba Government announced new funding of $5 million to add services for children with disabilities and their families.
This funding will add more case management services so all families in Manitoba who have a child diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can have a case worker, if they want one. A case worker helps a family plan, advocate and access the services their child may need. This is a critical and growing need in Manitoba.
St.Amant has experience providing a wide range of compassionate, flexible and high quality services to families of children and youth with ASD. St.Amant will soon begin to provide case management to all families in Manitoba who have a child diagnosed with ASD on behalf of the Government of Manitoba. Case management refers to helping a family plan, advocate and connect to available services. As staff working within our organization, case workers will be in a good position to understand family needs and service trends. They will maintain close connections to other organizations to ensure they are aware of all services available in Manitoba. Like all St.Amant staff, case workers will work in a collaborative and family-centred way to help families achieve their own goals.
This service will operate separately from St.Amant’s Autism Programs. Case workers will be Social Workers who are part of St.Amant’s Clinical Services team. All families will still have options to receive pre-school autism services from St.Amant or Autism Outreach. If your family has a case worker, you will also receive a letter from government with information about this new service. With case management services moving to St.Amant, all families who want a case worker will have access, once staff are hired. We believe that this will benefit families and will improve access to information and supports.
This new service will start as soon as staff are hired and the team is ready. We look forward to sharing updates with you when services start.
For more information, please visit our FAQ page on our website. If you have any questions about this new service, please feel free to reach out to Debbie Scora, Interim Manager, Case Management, at St.Amant. She can be reached at dscora@stamant.ca or 204-960-7521. If you already have a case worker, (who might also be referred to as a Community Services Worker or CSW) you can also reach out to them for more information.
Sincerely,
Ben Adaman
President & CEO