SSAH and Passport Answers

 

Below is a list of answers received from MCSS. Some other issues have not been worked out yet by the Qiueen's Park.

 

 

- If your child is currently receiving SSAH funding and is under 18 y.o.--nothing changed even after April 2012.

 

- If your child is under 18, you have applied to SSAH, are eligible but have not received funding you continue to re-apply as before if your child is still under 18 years old as of April  2012.

 

- If your child will be turning 18 prior to the April 2012, and you are already on the SSAH waitlist to receive funding, you DO NOT need to re-apply unless you want more funding.  The SSAH waiting list will be transferred to the Passport list.

 

- If your child will be turning 18 prior to the April 2012 and has never applied to SSAH and is not on that waiting list, you will need to apply to DSOER in order to have access to Passport.

 

- If your child is currently 18 years old, had applied to Passport and put on the waitlist, you DO NOT need to re-apply.

 

-If your child was receiving SSAH funding, will be turning 18 years old before April 2012 and you want the amount he/she was receiving through SSAH increased in the new passport system, you will need to go through the DSOER.  For example, the maximum alloted for SSAH was $10,000. The maximum alloted in the Passport is $25,000 and if your child has significant needs, you might want him re-evaluated to be eligible for the higher amount.  You would continue to receive the SSAH/Passport amount during the DSOER evaluation and after if you are put on a waitlist for the Passport.  YOU ARE NOT GOING TO LOSE WHAT YOU ARE CURRENTLY GETTING.

 

- If you are currently receving funding through SSAH or Passport, your funding will continue after April 2012. It will only change name if your child is 18 y.o. by April 2012.

 

- Eventually, all your children over the age of 18 years will be going through DSOER if you are currently receiving funding from SSAH/Passport even if you are not requesting additional funding. The aim is the assess all individuals with a developmental disability in Ontario.

 

- If your child is 16 years old, they recommend you start the process of applying to DSOER. Your children are eligible to be assessed from the age of 16 and over although the funding under the adult system only starts at 18 years of age.

  

- If your child is over 18 years of age, you have been assessed under the new DSOER and need assistance, you need to contact DSOER and request a case manager to help you.

 

- If your child has not yet been assessed under DSOER and you need a case manager, contact Service Coordination for now.

 

- What will you be able to do with the new passport funding?  The details have not yet been released by Queen's Park.

 

-  It is important to understand that the SSAH money for people over 18 years old as of April 20012 will be tranferred to the Passport system.  The money that is currently in the Passport system remains the same.  The SSAH money will be added or transferred to continue to fund your children who will be turning 18 years of age. This is only for the children who were already receiving funding under SSAH.

 

- How will I be expected to keep track of this Passport funding once my SSAH money is transferred?  Is it going to be like I used to do under SSAH (submit your invoices) or will it be the new method under Passport (get a cheque every 3 months). Queens Park has not released any guidelines yet.

 

How much funding they will put into the new Passport system, nobody knows?  Will this new Passport system become the New Application Entity, the local ministry does not know. 

 

That is it for now.  Please continue to send your questions.  We will do our best to answer them.