100 signatures reached
To: Ontario Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services
Save the FASD Ontario Website
Mobilize the Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) community to advocate for the continued funding of the FASD Ontario website by the Ministry of Children, Community, and Social Services (MCCSS).
Why is this important?
We learned in December that MCCSS will be cutting all the funding for the Health Nexus FASD Ontario website https://fasdinfotsaf.ca/. This bilingual website, launched in 2018, has become a trusted source of FASD research, best practices, events, support groups and diagnostic clinics.
The FASD Ontario website is regularly accessed by people with FASD, family members, professionals, and service providers including our provincial FASD workers and has become a critical resource for the Francophone community which is plagued by a lack of FASD resources in their language of origin. To learn that funding to maintain this website has been cut is devastating.
The following are critical reasons to continue funding maintenance and updating of this website:
The FASD Ontario website is regularly accessed by people with FASD, family members, professionals, and service providers including our provincial FASD workers and has become a critical resource for the Francophone community which is plagued by a lack of FASD resources in their language of origin. To learn that funding to maintain this website has been cut is devastating.
The following are critical reasons to continue funding maintenance and updating of this website:
- The website provides navigation to publicly funded Ontario FASD Diagnostic Clinics (updated regularly). This is not available on any other site.
- The repository of agencies delivering MCCSS’s FASD Worker Program, including contact information, resides on this site (updated regularly). Individuals and families depend on this resource as it provides more detail and is more frequently updated than the only other source of this information, https://www.ontario.ca.
- A map and descriptions of the 40+ MCCSS-funded FASD Family and Caregiver Support Groups across Ontario are “housed” on this website, so individuals with FASD and their family members can find regional in-person and virtual support groups. Applications for this MCCSS funding and the required mid-term / final reports for groups are completed through the FASD Ontario website.
- The newly relaunched website includes pages for Anglophone and Francophone people with FASD, a unique and critically needed resource.
- Francophone families experience multitudes of barriers to accessing FASD resources and supports in French. The vast majority of MCCSS-funded FASD Workers only speak English. This website is bilingual and addresses a pressing need for French resources and navigation support.
- Research and articles included on the website have been reviewed by FASD experts before sharing to ensure they are evidence-based and current.
- MCCSS-funded FASD webinars and public virtual trainings are recorded and shared on the newly relaunched website, creating impact beyond the actual events, a smart investment and another example of “cross pollination” of MCCSS funded FASD initiatives.
- Health Nexus is committed to the website promoting inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility (IDEA). Website content is created with an IDEA lens, with advisory support from the FASD Advisory Committee.
- MCCSS has invested in this website creation and maintenance since 2018, reducing inequities in funding of supports for Ontarians with neurodevelopmental disabilities (NDDs). For example, provincial funding for Ontario’s FASD strategy is far less than funding for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), despite the fact that FASD is 2.5 times as prevalent as ASD (CanFASD, 2018). Cancelling funding for this website further increases these inequities, creating discrimination among NDDs and increasing the stigma felt so deeply by the FASD community. It also contravenes the recommendations of Ontario’s comprehensive FASD Roundtables’ findings.
The Canada FASD Research Network estimates that 4% of Canadians have FASD though the majority are undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. The best predictors of improved outcomes for people with FASD are a stable, loving home and early diagnosis followed by customized strategies. The FASD Ontario website assists with navigation to diagnostic services and supports, shares evidence-based strategies and research through webinars and website pages, directs families to support groups to reduce isolation and build connections, and equips families to be strong and resilient. Removing these resources will cost Ontarians in the long run through increased costs related to education, health, mental health, substance use disorders, child welfare, homelessness and justice. Frankly, this website is not only a good investment, but also a critical investment.
Signing the petition is an opportunity to voice support for a vital resource that ensures individuals with FASD and their families can access the services, knowledge, and connections they need to thrive. The consequences of losing this website would extend beyond the FASD community, perpetuating many inequities for Ontarians with neurodevelopmental disabilities.
We’ve also created a page on our website to Share Your Story with Health Nexus to help our advocacy efforts https://www.fasdinfotsaf.ca/share-your-story/.
Signing the petition is an opportunity to voice support for a vital resource that ensures individuals with FASD and their families can access the services, knowledge, and connections they need to thrive. The consequences of losing this website would extend beyond the FASD community, perpetuating many inequities for Ontarians with neurodevelopmental disabilities.
We’ve also created a page on our website to Share Your Story with Health Nexus to help our advocacy efforts https://www.fasdinfotsaf.ca/share-your-story/.