2025–2026 Services delivered: FASD worker/coordinator services

Component: Coordinated Service Planning

Legislation: Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017

Service description

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) workers/coordinators will deliver FASD-informed, child and family centered and strengths-based services to children/youth who have or may have FASD and their families.

People served

For children/youth and their families to be eligible for FASD services a child must:

• Be a resident of Ontario and legally entitled to live in Canada
• Be 18 years old or under, or up to the age of 21 if they are in school.

A formal diagnosis of FASD is not required to access FASD worker/coordinator services and support.

Program/service features

The goal of FASD workers/coordinators services is to support individualized service plans for children/youth who have or may have FASD and build capacity of communities to respond to the needs of children and youth who have or may have FASD and their families.

Specific service provided

FASD workers/coordinators will provide direct support to families and children who have or may have FASD. Their responsibilities include:

• Providing education and resources to families about FASD to support their child effectively;
• Engaging with diverse populations to discuss how to best meet the needs of children/youth who have or may have FASD in their communities;
• Facilitating parent-to-parent connections and peer support groups;
• Conducting intake assessments to understand the child’s/youth’s and family’s needs, strengths and challenges;
• Facilitating access to diagnostic services (as available) and other necessary supports;
• Developing, implementing, and monitoring individualized service plans informed by the child/youth and family’s vision, goals and concerns;
• Supporting connections to other services, and with consent, sharing information and the service plan so the family does not have to repeat their story;
• Working with the family, service providers and educators supporting the child/youth to build capacity, identify innovative strategies and make adaptations to meet the child’s needs and ensure seamless service delivery;
• Working to support local cross-sectoral planning tables to identify gaps and opportunities to increase capacity among service system providers serving children/youth who have or may have FASD (e.g. Service Planning Coordinators, rehabilitation service providers, health care providers, educators and providers in the justice sector);
• Supporting a transfer to a dedicated Service Planning Coordinator and remaining involved as part of the Coordinated Service Planning team if a child/youth has multiple and complex needs and requires more intensive support;

Supporting children through developmental transitions as well as transitions to school and adulthood.

Program goals

Services will be

• FASD Informed: service providers recognize that FASD is a whole-body permanent disability with wide ranging effects and make client-centered accommodations/modifications to service delivery, enabling the child/youth to achieve positive outcomes.
• Child and Family Centered: services are founded on values, attitudes and approaches that recognize that each family is unique, the family is the constant in children’s lives and the family is the expert on their children’s abilities and needs.
• Strength Based: services are founded on the F-words for Child Development (Function, Family, Fitness, Fun, Friends and Future). They focus on what an individual ‘can do’ and leverage an individual's strengths to achieve goals.
• Trauma Informed: service providers understand that for individuals who have or may have FASD, past or current experiences of abuse, violence, victimization, or trauma may be present. They work to develop trust and positive relationships as well as create environments in which the individuals' accessing services feel physically and emotionally safe.
• Equitable and Culturally Safer: service providers support the diverse needs of families. They promote equity, anti-oppression, anti-ableism and anti-racism. They engage thoughtfully with families in ways that recognize and address intersectionality and the inherent power imbalances between service providers and families.
• Collaborative: service providers engage with broader service system partners in the planning and delivery of child-centered services and supports in their communities. They build relationships with families, Service Planning Coordinators and equity deserving groups to promote early FASD identification, intervention and access to services.
• Seamless: service providers apply a system lens when planning and delivering services so that families experience equitable access to services and a more seamless, streamlined and integrated service journey.

Ministry expectations

• Services are FASD informed, child and family centered, strengths based, trauma informed, equitable and culturally safer, collaborative and seamless.
• FASD workers/coordinators will expand support for children/youth and families affected by FASD, including working with families, equity deserving groups, and other service system providers to increase awareness of FASD and promote early FASD identification, intervention and access to services.
• Each FASD worker/coordinator is expected to provide service to a minimum of 50 children/youth per year.

Reporting requirements

The following service data will be reported on at an Interim and Final period. Please refer to your final agreement for report back due dates and targets.