Working on respite care and addressing seclusion rooms guidelines

By Elisabeth Prass 

Another school year is upon us, and I would like to wish you and your children an exciting and fruitful year. I have spent the last few months fighting for our children’s rights and will continue to do so until they have proper access to all resources they are entitled to receive. 

I have also been working closely with respite organizations across the province to ensure that they are able to access the government funding promised to them. 

In 2023, the government announced $50 million for respite services over five years, but during the first year, delays in administration meant many organizations were not able to apply for funding, and the unspent money from that year was not carried over. 

I know how important respite can be for our families. My son with autism spectrum disorder, who is 11 years old, has only had access to four weekends of respite since he was first diagnosed, 10 years ago; meaning that my husband and I have only had four weekends to ourselves in this last decade. 

Seclusion rooms 

At the end of August, I addressed a letter to Minister of Education Bernard Drainville regarding a promise he has failed to fulfil: to release guidelines regarding the proper use of seclusion or withdrawal rooms in the education system. In December 2022, the CAQ rejected an initiative that I put forward asking the government to hold consultations on this issue. That same month Minister Drainville committed that the guidelines would be released in early 2023. It is now Fall 2024, and still nothing has been done. 

It is imperative for teachers and educational staff to receive proper training and directives to learn how to appropriately utilize those rooms and understand their purpose. Months later, I have yet to receive a response from the Minister. I vow to follow-up on this issue until the government releases its guidelines and provides training on the suitable use of these rooms. 

This June, I was happy to hear that the Minister Responsible for Social Services, Lionel Carmant, made some changes to the administration of the Family Support Program, after I brought several issues to his attention last year, such as the excessive paperwork required and the fact that the program only provides between $3.75 to $5.25 per hour for families of special needs children to pay for respite or a babysitter. 

I don’t know about you, but we’d have to go back decades to find a reliable babysitter for that rate, much less one taking care of our special needs child. 

Clearly the CAQ government is completely out of touch with the realities facing families, but I will continue to be your voice so that they make the right decisions for our families. 

I would like to wish you a happy and healthy upcoming holiday season and a restful winter break!  

Elisabeth Prass is member of the National Assembly of Quebec for D’Arcy-McGee and is official opposition critic for Social Services, Mental Health, People Living with a Disability or with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and for the Fight Against Homelessness. She is mom to a wonderful little boy living with ASD.