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Today, I wrote a letter of complaint to the Minister of Indigenous Services and the Simcoe North Member of Parliament, Adam Chambers.
In this letter, I express my frustration and disappointment with a program that was designed to assist First Nations children and youth to access the products, services, and supports they need, when they need them. No barriers to access, no long wait times, and no disruption of services due to administrative backlogs.
The program I refer to is called Jordan’s Principle.
My son’s name is Ethan, a six-year-old, loving and kind little boy who is also a proud and active member of the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte. Ethan has been a recipient of Jordan’s Principle funding since 2019, when we first received his formal diagnosis of Level 3 Severe, Non-Verbal Autism Spectrum Disorder.
This program has provided critical funding to my family so Ethan has access to support specifically tailored for individuals with autism and other complex behavioural needs.
However, since the onset of COVID-19, there has been a systemic delay in funding, putting Ethan and so many others like him at risk of losing essential support services. These services include critical therapies, such as intensive behaviour intervention (IBI), occupational therapy, and speech and language training.
Our critical service providers typically bill direct to Jordan’s Principle, but with the substantial backlog in funding, we are now receiving ‘payment overdue’ notices, something that puts Ethan’s programming at risk. This is NOT okay.
Real change must happen in order for Ethan’s needs to be met and to remove the risk of him losing his essential services due to the unreasonable delay in payment to his critical support providers.
Please understand how grateful we are to have access to Jordan’s Principle funding. We are beyond thankful. Not a day goes by when we don’t recognize how lucky we are to provide Ethan with access to such a wonderful support system.
However, what IS scary is the fact that, it too, similar to the Ontario Autism Program, is unreliable. With barriers to access, and long wait times. This is our Plan B…and we do not have a Plan C.
We sought out Jordan’s Principle because Ethan is still just a number in a long line of numbers waiting to gain access to the Ontario Autism Program. He was registered in 2019, and we are still waiting. The Access OAP program is not enough, not even close and with barriers to access now being spread to other sources of funding, we fear for Ethan’s future.
Something has to give. Change must happen.
Katie Maracle
Orillia
