Sharing Information to Support Children’s Programming

The Protecting and Supporting Children (Information Sharing) Act was amended in November 2020 and now includes Part II, “Sharing Information to Support Children’s Programming.”  The provisions in Part II were previously in the Healthy Child Manitoba Act. 

These provisions allow the responsible minister to request or collect information for the purposes of research, planning, providing, evaluating or monitoring services or benefits that directly affect children and their families.  

The purpose of these provisions is to allow government to conduct research across sectors and departments to determine how well programs are supporting children and families.  For example, a child receiving disability services may also be receiving other supports from their school, health provider, or others.  Cross-sectoral research allows us to better understand the entire picture of the supports a child or the child’s family are receiving.  It also allows us to better measure the effectiveness of these programs and supports. 

It is important to remember that these provisions already existed, and do not affect how Service Providers or Trustees share information under Part I of The Protecting and Supporting Children (Information Sharing) Act.