The Buck Starts Here
As mentioned earlier, CDS is a government run program which assists families with a child (or children) with disabilities by providing them with resources and supports to aid in their care.
Once a diagnosis is made, CDS is notified and your child’s information will be referred to a regional program manager. It takes about 6-8 weeks for this transition to occur. During that time, reports and any assessments that were performed are collected about the diagnosis. Referrals to other therapy or medical specialists are also made if required and if your child isn’t already enrolled. If your child is already receiving therapy services, CDS will contact those therapists and advise them that your family is now on their caseload. Once the CDS Regional Program Manager has your child’s file, they will then assign him/her to a Case Manager.
A Case Manager (a.k.a. Family Service Worker) is responsible for evaluating a family’s needs and coordinating services. They will work with families to find out what their goals are and guide/educate them on the multiple resources available through CDS (e.g. respite care, specialized equipment, etc.). They will also inform families about tax credits, savings plans, and child care subsidies that may be available to them.
For a complete list of services and resources, be sure to contact your Case Manager directly. For a brief overview of CDS, click here for their site and information brochure.
It will take approximately 2-4 months for a Case Manager to make contact with your family. They will contact you by phone to make arrangements for an at-home visit, a.k.a. an intake meeting. If you have been waiting for 4 months and have still not had an initial call or appointment for that first meeting, it is recommended that you contact your local CDS office.
The idea of this first contact may seem daunting to some families. After all, how many provincial-run support programs are you aware of that will come to your home to assist you? Probably not many. But this first meeting doesn’t have to be scary. The Case Manager is on your side. They are compassionate people who want to make sure that the children they serve, and their families, have all of their needs met. They understand the added challenges faced by parents who have a child (or children) with special needs.
During that first meeting there will a lot that goes on. You will meet your Case Manager, and in some cases, the Autism Early Intervention Specialist. The Autism Early Intervention Specialist (AEIS) is a service worker employed by CDS who is responsible for the overall supervision and implementation of the pre-school aged Child Development Program offered through CDS. They will also introduce another pre-school aged program offered through St.Amant, located in Winnipeg, called the Early Learning Program.
There will also be paperwork: a lot of it. Information releases between therapy/service/medical providers, signing up for any financial assistance, and applying for special equipment, to name a few. They will give you answers to questions or concerns you may have as well as listing and prioritizing needs for your child and family. There is also a determination of who all will be involved with your child and the services they will receive. Because specific needs can be different from family to family, the exact number of papers and supports you can sign up for and go through with your Case Manager can vary. What is listed here, however, is a general idea of what to expect.
To prepare for this meeting, you may want to sit down, by yourself or with your other family members, and write out any questions you want to have addressed at the intake meeting. Some examples of questions you may want to ask are:
What to do during the wait times before your child starts new therapy services?
Assistance in filling out applications for child care subsidy, disability tax credits, and what the different registered disability savings accounts are.
How often will you be in contact with your Case Manager?
How might therapies change once your child becomes school aged?
How long are expected therapy wait times?
What is respite care?
How to apply for respite care?
How long is the wait time for respite care?
The difference between respite care offered through CDS and self-managed respite care?
What kinds of special equipment can be funded for assisting in the care of your child?
As services and therapies continue for your child, your Case Manager will remain a constant in your family’s life (up until your child reaches the age of 18 that is; there will be more on adult transitioning and services in the ‘Adult Services’ section of this website). They will coordinate between the many therapy providers you may find yourself seeing to help make sure everyone is on the same page regarding communication and therapy goals. They will help with the transition into school and can even be present as a support, coordinator, and/or advocate during school meetings regarding your child’s education.