Overview
All levels of government are continuing to take significant action to contain the spread of COVID-19. This includes closing all non-essential services and recommending that people stay home and practise physical distancing.
As a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, significant measures were taken by our government for the safety of all Ontarians. Individuals and families who rely on Passport direct funding to support their participation in the community, attend day programs and purchase caregiver respite no longer have the same access to the range of supports to meet their daily support needs.
To mitigate some of the limitations on individuals and families during this time and to continue to effectively manage the Passport program while adhering to physical distancing protocols, temporary changes to the Passport Guidelines for Adults with a Developmental Disability and their Caregivers (2014) (Passport Guidelines) have been put in place.
These temporary changes are effective immediately and will remain in place until further notice by the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services. All other aspects of the Passport Guidelines remain in effect.
In order to support Passport participants and their families during this time of physical distancing, some expenditures currently considered inadmissible and not reimbursed under the Passport program are temporarily admissible to support “at-home” activities.
These changes come into effect immediately and will remain in place until further notice. The following categorized list of items are now admissible expenditures on a temporary basis while communities are under COVID-19 restrictions, and until further notice is provided by the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services.
These changes are temporary. The regular program terms and conditions as set out in the Passport Guidelines will come back into effect upon the government providing notice.
All other inadmissible expenditures as outlined in the Passport Guidelines remain in effect but may still be approved under the guideline’s extenuating circumstances clause on a case-by-case basis.
In response to the administrative challenges arising from the COVID-19 outbreak, the following temporary changes to the Passport program administrative requirements have been implemented effective immediately. These temporary changes support the on-going administration of the program for families and agencies while physical distancing requirements remain in place.
The regular program terms and conditions set out in the Passport program guidelines will come back into effect upon notice provided by the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services. Program participants and families will be given as much advance notice as possible to prepare them for the return of business as usual protocols once the ministry provides notice.
As physical distancing is currently mandated by all levels of government, and as many individuals/families may not have access to technology to support an e-signature process, the signature requirements for Passport invoice and claim forms are now suspended until further notice. This includes support worker signatures to confirm that a service was provided.
In order to support the mandated physical distancing protocols the following signature requirements are temporarily suspended until further notice. This includes documents that require the signature of program participants or their caregivers such as:
This means that until further notice, email or documented verbal acceptance of new funding approvals are acceptable to on-board new program participants into the Passport program.