Blog

The Centre is building a brand new team to help us support excellence in Ontario child and youth mental health services. Strategic Advisory Council members will help set our direction, advise us and provide strategic input into our activities.

With the influx of newcomers and refugees settling in Ontario there is a growing need to support their mental health and well-being. In some instances, newcomer children, youth and families, particularly refugees, arrive in Canada after having been exposed to tremendous trauma in their home countries. As a result, their mental health needs may differ significantly from other populations. Unfortunately, even after arrival, the stresses and challenges often continue during and after settlement.

Earlier this month, the Centre said farewell to Dr. Simon Davidson, one of our founders and a well-known advocate, clinician, leader, connector and researcher. He’s heading to Vancouver to play a lead role at BC Children’s hospital and spend some well-deserved time with his sons and grandchildren.

For the past two years the Centre has worked with lead agencies across the province to consult with families. The goal was to ensure that family perspectives were included in community mental health planning and lay the groundwork for ongoing meaningful family engagement. The result, 770 family members were consulted across 18 service areas.

The Ontario Centre of Excellence is pleased to introduce some important changes that will broaden the services we can provide to agencies, service areas and the sector as a whole. As system transformation continues to unfold, agency needs are getting deeper and more complex. The Centre has a strong history of evolving alongside the sector, and that’s one thing that will never change.

The Centre currently has an awesome opportunity to join our team as a communications specialist. We're looking for someone who can turn evidence, data, reports and projects into products and stories that make an impact. Does that sound like you?

Join our team and work side by side with agencies, leaders and policy makers to make services work better for Ontario's young people and families.

We're pleased to share our 2015-2016 annual report. It is both a look back at our collective achievements and a look forward to our future. Learn more.

For the past two years, the Centre has supported child and youth mental health agencies across the province in consulting with youth. The goal was to ensure the youth voice was included and reflected in the evelopment of community mental health plans and to help lay the groundwork for ongoing meaningful youth engagement.

In order to establish renewed trust and find ways to support Indigenous families and children on their path to wellness, child and youth mental health agencies must commit to ongoing and consistent efforts to engage Indigenous families in culturally-appropriate ways.

Although basic science is what interests me intellectually, I have always felt that it is important to disseminate and translate this knowledge into policy and practice.

My favorite part of this job is traveling around the province and meeting the passionate people that strive to enhance the lives of our children.

Our recently released Evidence In-Sight report highlights the positive benefits of family engagement for children, youth and families - as well as organizations, communities and the larger child and youth mental health system.

I really enjoy being a part of positive changes, and supporting people in making change. In a lot of areas I think we know what direction we need to be heading but are just struggling to step in the right direction for a number of different reasons.

In recent years, there have been significant shifts in the way child and youth mental health services are organized and delivered across Ontario. It is a move that will ensure children, youth and their families and caregivers can access services where and when they need them most. These changes have prompted us to take stock and reflect on ensuring our work remains relevant and responsive to the people we serve. The result is: A Shared Vision 2016-2018.

Are you looking to engage youth in your mental health agency or community? Or maybe you’re already working with youth who are engaged, but you want to find ways to take your work to the next level. While there’s no checklist or one size fits all approach for implementing youth engagement, there are lots of resources that can help you along the way. Our latest youth engagement toolkit brings together the latest evidence, tools and templates together to help get you started and keep this important work going.