On Thursday, August 1, Premier Doug Ford and the Honourable Sylvia Jones, Minister of Health, announced the Ontario government is expanding health care infrastructure across Durham Region. At the press conference following the announcement, a reporter asked Premier Ford about children and youth with complex needs (i.e., social, emotional, developmental, mental health and addictions, etc.) and how more caregivers are seeking support from their local children’s aid society or Indigenous Child and Family Well-Being Agency (child welfare agency) due to inadequate access to community-based supports, services and treatment.
It is disappointing that Premier Ford did not directly answer the question about inadequate access to early intervention and prevention supports and services, as well as out-of-home care (i.e., placements, treatment) for children and youth with complex needs. Instead, Premier Ford positioned this as an issue within the child welfare sector and a sign that the child welfare system needs to be audited.
This is not an issue specific to the child welfare sector. Addressing the inadequate access to community-based and out-of-home care is a responsibility that cuts across all levels of government and provincial partners, community-based organizations, and service providers in the child and youth services sector.
Child welfare agencies are part of the network of community-based organizations and service providers dedicated to promoting the health, well-being, and safety of children, youth, and families across the province. They work tirelessly in partnership with local organizations and service providers to ensure children, youth, and their caregivers get the right support, at the right time, close to home.
However, child welfare agencies are facing incredible challenges in accessing early intervention and prevention supports and out-of-home care for children and youth presenting with complex needs. In some communities, there are no community-based organizations and service providers delivering the highly specialized and intensive supports and services that are needed. In others, there are long wait lists or exclusionary eligibility criteria that make accessing care impossible.
These gaps in community-based supports and services are most acutely felt by Indigenous, Black, and 2SLGBTQ+ children, youth, and families. Access to high-quality, trauma-informed community-based care that is inclusive, and identity-affirming is also impacted by location. Those living in Northern, rural, and remote parts of Ontario face unique challenges in accessing the right care, at the right time, close to home. Too many children, youth, and families are going without the highly specialized and intensive services they need.
Alongside our members, OACAS remains committed to working in partnership with the Ontario government and provincial partners, community-based organizations, and service providers in the child and youth services sector to improve access to local supports and services and out-of-home care. Together, we can close the gaps and work towards integrated systems of care for children and youth with complex needs, as well as their caregivers.
