Published plans and annual reports 2016-2017: Ministry of Children and Youth

Part I: 2016-17 Published plan

Mistry overview

Mandate

The Ministry of Children and Youth Services (MCYS) envisions an Ontario where all children and youth have the best opportunity to succeed and reach their full potential.

MCYS works with a broad spectrum of partners so that every child and young person in Ontario has access to the right supports and opportunities needed to make positive choices, reach their full potential and seamlessly transition to adulthood.

Ministry contribution to priorities and results

Ontario is home to almost three million children and youth aged 0 to 18 years, with over 140,000 born in the province each year. Created just over a decade ago, the Ministry of Children and Youth Services (MCYS) works to improve the lives and futures of our most vulnerable children and youth.

Since its inception, the ministry has achieved significant decreases in the youth crime rate, fewer children coming into child protection services and more children finding safe, loving and permanent homes. The Ministry is also redesigning services and systems to increase accessibility for families.

In March 2014, the ministry released its renewed strategic plan, called Growing. Together. (2013-18). This vision focuses on the priorities that matter most for Ontario’s young people and their families through four renewed goals:

• children and youth are resilient
• children and youth have the skills and opportunities needed to shape their own future
• children and youth have a voice
• children and youth experience high-quality, responsive services

To implement its strategic plan, the ministry is undertaking a number of large-scale transformations to modernize service delivery in child welfare, special needs services, child and youth mental health, and child and youth residential services. This work complements the transformations the ministry has already completed, such as in youth justice.

This will make the system more nimble, more streamlined and more accessible to the changing needs of children and youth, and for families to get the appropriate help they need and when they need it for their loved ones. Parents and children should only need to tell their story once.

Our strategies are evidence-based and focused on increasing the effectiveness and sustainability of services, while working collaboratively across government.

Highlights of 2015-16 achievements

• The ministry completed its third mandatory review of the Child and Family Services Act (CFSA) and publicly released a summary report. The government is now developing policies and potential amendments to the Act in response to the review and to support transformational activities underway across the ministry
• The ministry received approval from Indigenous partners and government on the Aboriginal Children and Youth Strategy that aims to improve outcomes and opportunities for Indigenous children and youth by transforming the way that services are designed and delivered. Two more Indigenous child well-being organizations were designated under the CFSA to deliver child protection services
• The ministry launched its first-ever public education campaign – See it? Report it. It’s the Law – about the duty to report child abuse and neglect to coincide with Child Abuse Prevention Month
• The Premier’s Council on Youth Opportunities held their first listening tour, meeting with youth in rural and urban areas across Ontario to discuss topics such as finding jobs, newcomer youth, education and gang violence
• The ministry has identified lead agencies for community-based child and youth mental health in 31 of 33 service areas across the province that will be responsible for providing core services and working with community partners to clarify pathways for children, youth and their families
• $6 million invested in local mental health services to help an estimated additional 4,000 children and youth, and their families each year
• $55 million invested to enhance the Ontario Youth Action Plan and extend its reach to high-priority neighbourhoods across the province for three years
• $1.9 million invested to support the youth suicide prevention plan. Now in its third year, the plan is helping more families and youth access the supports they need in crisis situations
• $3.4 million increase (of a total $6.9 million base funding increase implemented over two years) to reduce assessment and treatment waitlists in the Preschool Speech and Language (PSL) program
• Ontario Child Benefit (OCB) payments increased to a maximum of $1,336 per child, per year. About one million children in over 500,000 low- to moderate-income families are provided financial assistance by the OCB
• The ministry provided funding to expand or enhance over 120 Student Nutrition Programs in 63 First Nations communities. More than 847,000 school aged children and youth received healthy snacks and meals through the ministry’s Student Nutrition Program in the 2014-15 school year
• The new Ron Joyce Children’s Health Centre in Hamilton, which received an $86 million investment by the ministry, has officially opened for children and youth with special needs
• Construction started on three new ErinoakKids children’s treatment centres in Oakville, Mississauga and Brampton, which received $163 million in funding from the ministry
• As of December 2015-16, the ministry had provided $19.8 million for upgrades and repairs at more than 150 community agencies across Ontario. These investments will help children's treatment centres, children’s aid societies and youth centres maintain and improve their facilities

Alignment of programs with the government's priorities

The key results achieved support the ministry’s mandate and align with the government’s broader priorities.

The chart below outlines key government priorities that the ministry’s latest projects and transformations are directly supporting:

Ministry programs and activities

1. A healthier population

   Approximately one in five young Ontarians experience a mental health challenge. The Moving on Mental Health plan is working to ensure that youth and their families can easily navigate and find core mental health services as close to home as possible for a range of conditions, such as depression, behavioral problems or anxiety.

   These local services will be planned and coordinated by 33 community-based child and youth mental health lead agencies, who are also responsible for collaborating with schools, hospitals and child welfare authorities to improve access to needed supports and services.

   Beginning in 2016-17, the ministry is investing $333 million over five years to improve and expand autism services so that more children and youth receive critical interventions sooner and services are better matched to their needs.

   The ministry funds 20 children’s treatment centres, which provide core rehabilitation services in local communities, including physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech-language therapy. These Centres served more than 74,000 children and youth with special needs in 2014-15 across Ontario. Children’s Treatment Centres offer a variety of other services and clinics depending on local needs and the mix of other providers in each community.

   The ministry is working with other ministries and local communities to implement the Special Needs Strategy, which will help young Ontarians with a range of needs, such as autism, physical and developmental disabilities, rehabilitation, and hearing and vision challenges, to connect with the services they need as early as possible.

   This will be achieved through a new preschool developmental screen for earlier identification of developmental concerns, coordinated service planning, and integrated delivery of rehabilitation services. The goal is to make the experience more accessible and seamless for families.

   The Healthy Babies and Healthy Children program supports healthy child development by screening pregnant women, offering information on healthy child development and parenting to families with newborns and providing home visit intervention to at-risk families.

   The ministry supports healthy child development through a number of programs providing screening, assessment and intervention services to children, youth and their families.

   1. Child and youth mental health
   2. Services and supports for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
   3. Children’s rehabilitation services
   4. Special Needs Strategy

      A developmental screening tool assessing a range of developmental domains is being developed to support parents and service providers to understand children’s development and, when needed, support early identification and connection to appropriate intervention services.

      A new process for children and youth with multiple and/or complex special needs will mean families will have a trusted partner to help them connect with the right services and supports and develop one coordinated service plan for each child and youth. This service plan takes into account all of their goals, strengths, needs, as well as the services that the child and youth is and will be receiving, without having to unnecessarily repeat their stories.

      The integrated delivery of rehabilitation services will mean that children who need occupational therapy, physiotherapy and/or speech and language services will experience seamless service delivery from birth through to school exit, including as they transition into school from preschool services.

      The ministry is making improvements to service resolution for children and youth with multiple and/or complex special needs and their families. For families, over time, these changes will lead to a transparent service resolution process with accountable decision-making that is easily understood and available when families need it. This will lead to better service experiences for families and better outcomes for children and youth.

      An integrated transition plan for young people with developmental disabilities supports young people as they move into adulthood and search for work, further education and engagement with their community. This process involves parents, service providers and schools.

      1. Developmental screening process
      2. Coordinated service planning
      3. Integrated rehabilitation services
      4. Regional service resolution
      5. Transition planning
   5. Healthy Babies Healthy Children
   6. Early years community support
2. Towards a fair society

   All children deserve to grow up in safe, stable and caring environments. In cases where abuse or neglect are suspected and/or verified, children and youth in Ontario are supported by 38 children’s aid societies (CASs), and nine Indigenous child well-being organizations.

   The ministry provides funds to these societies to investigate child abuse, provide protection services and alternate living arrangements, and facilitate adoptions. The ultimate goal of these services is to prevent abuse and neglect, create permanent, stable homes and help prepare these young people for future success.

   The ministry continues to implement the Strategy to Further Transform Ontario’s Child Welfare System, which aims to move the child welfare system towards long-term sustainability, improve outcomes and the experiences of children and youth receiving services and strengthen the accountability of CASs and Indigenous child well-being organizations.

   As part of that work, the ministry announced the Permanency, Adoption and Stability Strategy in September 2015 to make it easier for children and youth in the care of CASs to find forever families, while providing more support to adoptive parents.

   The ministry has also required CASs and Indigenous child well-being organizations to develop and implement a Quality Improvement Plan (QIP) to address non-compliance with the directives and standards for child welfare. Progress will be reviewed on a quarterly basis.

   Implementation also continues for the Child Protection Information Network (CPIN), a multi-year initiative to implement a common information system for all CASs across the province. To date, five CASs are live on CPIN with six more CASs scheduled to go live by summer 2016. The remaining CASs will be onboarded to CPIN through a phased approach, with full implementations by 2019-20.

   Residential care for children and youth in Ontario is delivered by a diverse mix of service providers, including ministry direct-operated, transfer payment operated, private non-profit and for-profit operators. Residential services account for approximately $1 billion across multiple program areas. Children and youth may come into residential care, for a number of reasons, including:

   To understand how better to serve children and youth in residential care, the ministry convened a panel of experts in July 2015 to undertake a review.

   The ministry is continuing to work with children’s aid societies and community partners to provide support and resources for youth leaving care. These resources include: youth-in-transition workers to help youth make a smooth transition to independent living and adulthood; grants to attend postsecondary education and training; and aftercare benefits for prescriptions, dental and extended health benefits.

   Indigenous children and youth are one of the fastest growing populations and face a number of unique challenges, from poverty to overrepresentation in the child welfare and youth justice systems.

   Through the Aboriginal Children and Youth Strategy, the ministry is working with Indigenous partners to support the unique needs of Indigenous children, youth and families in Ontario.

   Indigenous children and youth deserve to grow up healthy, happy, resilient, grounded in their cultures and languages, and thriving as individuals and as members of their families, communities and nations.

   Programs under the umbrella of the Strategy include the Aboriginal Healthy Babies Healthy Children Program, Aboriginal Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder and Child Nutrition Program, Indigenous Child Well-Being Services and prevention initiatives, Akwe:go and Wasa-Nabin Urban Aboriginal Programs, and community-based programs for Indigenous youth in, or at risk of, conflict with the law.

   Ontario is also committed to a Long-Term Strategy to End Violence against Indigenous Women, promoting wellness and family supports to address the impacts of violence on Indigenous families. The multi-ministry strategy is supported by an investment of $100 million over three years, starting in 2016-17, including a commitment of $80 million over three years for a Family Well-Being Program. This program will support families who need additional support, with culturally appropriate care in communities across the province with the aim of the number of Indigenous children and youth in care.

   This $55 million plan is designed to address the root causes of youth violence, continues to roll out new and expanded programs to support at-risk youth and high needs communities. In total, Ontario will provide 65,000 opportunities per year to at-risk youth.

   As of February 2016, more than 20 agencies have been selected to provide three programs: the Gang Prevention/Intervention program; the Restorative Justice and Conflict Mediation program; and the Stop Now and Plan (SNAP) Middle Years program. Additional programs and agencies will be announced in 2016-17.

   The ministry is exploring new ways to address complex social problems by piloting a collective impact approach to improve outcomes for youth not in employment, education or training.

   Collective impact is the commitment to solving a specific social problem using a structured form of collaboration by groups from different sectors, such as business, not-for-profits and government.

   The Ontario Child Benefit helps families with the cost of raising children under the age of 18 years. In 2015-16, payments increased to a maximum of $1,336 per child, per year. The benefit program helps about one million children, in more than 500,000 low- to moderate-income families.

   The OCBE payments are provided directly to Children’s Aid Societies to provide children and youth in care, or in formal Customary Care, with increased educational, recreational, cultural and social opportunities, and with a savings program for older youth in care to: improve their educational outcomes; build their resilience, and enable them to transition smoothly to adulthood.

   The OCBE program provided supports to 10,950 children and youth in care and in formal Customary Care in 2014-15. Approximately 6,800 eligible youth aged 15-17 years participated in the OCBE savings program in the same year.

   1. Child protection services
   2. Child and youth residential services
      • through a children’s aid society due to protection concerns
      • as a result of a court order for youth in conflict with the law
      • as a result of developmental and physical challenges, medical conditions, behavioural difficulties, mental health, psychiatric disorders and/or substance abuse problems, with parental consent
   3. Youth leaving care
   4. Services and supports for Indigenous children and youth
   5. Ontario Youth Action Plan
   6. Collective Impact for Disconnected Youth
   7. Ontario Child Benefit (OCB) and Ontario Child Benefit Equivalent (OCBE)
3. Strengthened public safety and security
   1. Youth Justice services

      The ministry provides programs and services to youth (aged 12 to 17 years at the time of the offence), who are in, or at risk of, conflict with the law. Ontario’s youth justice system provides a continuum of evidence-informed community and custodial programs that are aligned with the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA). Programs and services are intended to:

      In addition, the ministry is taking a comprehensive approach to the collection and use of data to define and measure the impact of youth justice services.

      • reduce youth re-offending
      • contribute to community safety
      • prevent youth crime
      • support rehabilitation and reintegration
4. Modernized infrastructure
   1. Infrastructure program

      The ministry’s 2016-17 infrastructure plan is focused on developing program specific infrastructure investment plans and using limited infrastructure funding available to make strategic investments in infrastructure that enables ministry program outcomes.

      Investments help children's treatment centres, Children’s Aid Societies and youth centres provide safe and comfortable environments for the children and families who rely on their services.

      MCYS will continue to develop an asset management plan with a focus on enabling business transformation and better outcomes, sustaining and enhancing service delivery capacity, and demonstrating effective stewardship of public assets.

   2. Infrastructure program – Youth Justice services

      As a result of the Ministry’s youth justice transformation the need for detention/custody services in Ontario has dramatically declined. Consequently the Province is repurposing the Roy McMurtry Youth Centre, an underused youth justice facility, to meet the unique environmental and programming needs of adult female offenders, including those who require specialized mental health services. The facility will be transferred to the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services, and the government will be constructing smaller, strategically located and program appropriate facilities to effectively and efficiently support the programming needs of youth in conflict with the law.

Investing in Ontario's future

Our young people are Ontario’s greatest resource. To build Ontario’s economy, its people and communities must succeed. The ministry is working with its partners to build up our young people to secure the future for all Ontarians.

A few key investments are listed below.

• On May 6, 2015, Ontario announced an investment of $390,000 in a research pilot project to help stop the cycle of homelessness for Toronto youth. The project will evaluate a model of care that helps homeless youth access and maintain housing through wraparound supports. The model also encourages youth to go back to school or find employment, as well as provide critical support and intervention to help youth overcome barriers and maintain positive momentum
• On May 8, 2015, Ontario announced the start of construction of the new state-of-the-art ErinoakKids children's treatment centre in Mississauga, which will offer a range of services for children with special needs
  • Ontario is investing $163 million in construction costs for three ErinoakKids children’s treatment centres. When complete in spring 2017, the centres will serve nearly 15,000 children and youth with disabilities in Peel, Halton and Dufferin
• On June 26, 2015, Ontario announced an investment of $55 million in the enhanced Youth Action Plan to support more high-risk youth and additional high-needs communities across the province for the next three years
• Ontario announced on September 10, 2015, that it will invest $1.9 million to support youth through its Youth Suicide Prevention Plan. The plan is in its third year, and is helping more families and youth access the supports they need in crisis situations
• On September 10, 2015, Ontario marked the grand opening of a new trades building at the William E. Hay Centre in Ottawa, which will give at-risk youth job skills-training such as dry walling, woodworking and small engine repair. The Tamarack Trades Training Centre at the William E. Hay Centre will serve detained youth, aged 12 to 17 years, to help them learn trade skills, and make a positive contribution in their communities after their release
• On September 29, 2015 the Minister announced a strategy to make easier for children and youth in the care of Children's Aid Societies to find forever families, while providing more support to adoptive parents. New and expanded programs and supports will be added to:
  • help more young people connect with waiting families
  • reduce financial barriers for families that adopt children and youth in care
  • help families with adopted children find post adoption supports and resources
  • support culturally appropriate placements for children in care
  • make the adoption system more effective and responsive
• On January 22, 2016, Ontario invested $6 million in local mental health services to help an estimated additional 4,000 children and youth, and their families each year. With this new funding, investments in child and youth mental health that started in 2011 have grown to $99 million a year. Overall, the ministry has invested more than $444 million annually in child and youth mental health
• On February 23, 2016, the Ontario government released Walking Together: Ontario's Long-Term Strategy to End Violence Against Indigenous Women. The strategy outlines actions to prevent violence against Indigenous women and reduce its impact on youth, families and communities and committed $100 million over three years in new funding to support implementation. This includes a commitment of $80 million over three years for a Family Well-Being Program that will support families experiencing challenges with culturally appropriate care in communities across the province to begin to reduce the number of Indigenous children and youth in care

Ministry planned expenditures 2016-17 ($M)

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Detailed financial information

Table: Operating and captial summary by vote

Operating expense

Operating assets

Capital expense

Capital assets

Ministry total operating and capital including consolidation and other adjustments (not including assets)

Operating and capital expenditure estimates by vote

Children and youth services: 97.0%
Infrastructure program: 2.7%
Ministry administration: 0.3%

Total ministry operating expense by vote

Children and youth services: 99.7%
Ministry administration: 0.3%

Total ministry captial expense by vote

Infrastructure program: 92.0%
Children and youth services: 8.0%

Appendix: 2015-16 annual report

2015-16 achievements

The Ministry of Children and Youth Services (MCYS) was created to support the young people of Ontario to thrive and succeed. Our commitment is to protect, nurture and support children and youth as they grow — from birth, through childhood, adolescence and into adulthood. The ministry is accountable for the delivery and/or oversight of a range of programs and services.

The mandate of the ministry is twofold. The first is to work with, and through, our many partners to establish a system of services and supports that strengthen families and help Ontario’s most vulnerable children and youth overcome barriers to their success and wellbeing. The second is to lead across government on issues that affect all children and youth.

Since its creation, the ministry has developed considerable expertise in the area of child and youth development. This focus on positive development informs our role as a champion and catalyst for the outcomes of all children and youth in Ontario. The ministry actively shares that expertise and works in partnership to create opportunities for the voices of children and youth to be heard across government.

Healthy child development

• Preschool Speech and Language identifies children with speech and language disorders as early as possible and provides these children with services to enable them to develop communication and early literacy skills so they are ready to learn when they start school.

Preschool Speech and Language (number of children in active service)

• The Infant Hearing Program provides newborn hearing screening in hospitals and community settings, audiology assessment and hearing aid selection, monitoring for babies born at risk of early childhood hearing loss, and services to support language development in infants and preschool children who are deaf or hard of hearing

Infant Hearing Program (number of newborns screened)

• The Blind-Low Vision Program provides specialized early intervention and parent education services needed by families of children born blind or with low vision to help them achieve healthy development

Blind Low Vision (number of children receiving intervention)

• Healthy Babies Healthy Children provides screening for pregnant women and new mothers, offers information on healthy child development and parenting to families with newborns; and provides home visiting intervention to at-risk families

Healthy Babies Healthy Children (number of women screened postpartum)

• The Infant Development Program provides early intervention services for children up to age five with, or at risk of, developmental delays

Infant Development (number of children served)

Child welfare

• The ministry has introduced new subsidies and supports to ensure even more young people have access to forever families
• The government passed legislation granting the Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth investigatory functions over Children’s Aid Societies (CASs)
• The ministry is supporting the designation of additional Indigenous child well-being organizations to ensure culturally appropriate and accessible services and supports
• The ministry has made progress on all ten 2015 Office of the Auditor General of Ontario’s (OAGO) recommendations that require ministry action. In addition the ministry has taken action to ensure that CASs are addressing the findings:
  • In December 2015, the Minister sent a letter to all CAS Boards of Directors to remind them of their responsibility to ensure CASs comply with all legislation, regulations, and directives, including the use of the Child Abuse Registry. Through this letter, the Minister also required Quality Improvement Plans form all CASs
  • In February 2016, all CASs and Indigenous child well-being organizations submitted Quality Improvement Plans focused on addressing compliance issues identified by the Auditor General of Ontario. The ministry is currently reviewing the QIPs and will follow-up with societies regarding any concerns
• The ministry continues to work with its partners to improve the child welfare system and outcomes for children, building on the advice of the Commission to Promote Sustainable Child Welfare and other inputs
• In 2014-15, CASs completed 82,026 investigations into allegations that a child/children has/have been abused or neglected or is/are at risk of abuse or neglect. In 2014-15, the average number of children in care was 15,625 and the average number of Crown wards in Ontario was 6,374

Number of Adoptions Completed for Every 100 Children in Care

Youth at risk

• The ministry is responsible for a range of Youth Opportunities programs that provide opportunities for at-risk youth to help them to achieve better life outcomes, such as:
  • Youth Opportunities Fund (YOF) – provides granting opportunities to communities across the province including on-reserve
  • Youth Outreach Worker Program (YOW) – equips and empowers at-risk youth and their families take action by acting as pro-social mentors and connecting youth with services and opportunities
  • Youth in Policing Initiative (YIPI) – provides a safe and positive employment opportunity for youth and enhances the relationships between police and the communities they serve
  • U for Change – an organization that runs mentor and training programs for youth interested in the arts by providing classes for film, fashion, dance and job and university application training
  • Studio Y – leverages Ontario’s world-leading, social innovation infrastructure at MaRS to educate and harness youth talent to address the province’s complex social and economic challenges

Youth In Policing Initiative - Job placements

Jobs for Youth Program - Job placements

• A main outcome of these services is to help prevent youth crime. According to the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, the youth violent crime rate in Ontario has declined by 38% between 2003 and 2014

Youth Crime Rate and Youth Violent Crime Rate (2003 - 2014)

Number of Youth Opportunities in Ontario (2012 - 2014)

Note: Includes opportunities provided under the YOF, YOW , YIPI , U for Change and Studio Y programs.

• In 2015-16 the government announced the enhanced Youth Action Plan. Building on the successes of the 2012 Ontario Youth Action Plan, the government announced a $55-million Enhanced Youth Action Plan in the 2015 budget. Through the enhanced plan, an additional 37,500 youth will be served by augmenting existing programs and by introducing new programs such as:
  • The Stop Now and Plan (SNAP)
  • Youth Mentorship Program (YMP)
  • Gang Prevention /Intervention Program
  • Restorative Justice and Conflict Mediation
• The programs will be fully operational beginning in 2016-17
• The communities where Enhanced Ontario Youth Action Plan funded services are provided are: Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA), Brantford, Kingston, London, Ottawa, Peterborough, Sudbury, Thunder Bay and Windsor
• The ministry is also expanding granting opportunities to communities across the province, including First Nations on-reserve communities

Indigenous children and youth

• The ministry is co-implementing an Aboriginal Children and Youth Strategy with First Nations, Métis, Inuit and urban Indigenous partners in Ontario. The Strategy will enable community-driven, integrated and culturally appropriate supports for Indigenous children, youth and their families, so that services can better meet their needs
• The designation of two new Indigenous child well-being organizations is a concrete example of how the ministry’s collaborative work is enabling communities to take charge of the needs of their children, youth and families. The designations of Kina Gbezhgomi (in the Sudbury-Manitoulin area) and Kunuwanimano (Timmins area) bring to nine the number of Indigenous Child Well Being organizations in Ontario. All of NAN Territory is now served by Indigenous child well-being organizations who provide culturally responsive and accessible services and supports

Mental health

• The ministry is continuing to implement the Moving on Mental Health Strategy. As of December, 2015, 31 of the 33 lead agencies have been identified in communities across the province. They will lead the local work needed to integrate services, making it easier for parents and youth to access what they need
• The third year of the youth suicide prevention plan is underway in communities across the province
• As of 2014-15, the data for the child and youth mental health Performance Indicators (PIs) and associated data elements are being collected through the child and youth mental health Transfer Payment Budget Package. The ministry began reviewing CYMH performance data in 2015-16 to better evaluate performance and reinforce data collection and management expectations
• Clinicians from the ministry’s Child and Parent Resource Institute (CPRI) are regularly invited to speak across Canada and internationally about evidence-based clinical programming and ministry research in areas such as Tourette’s Syndrome, psychotropic medication monitoring, attachment disorders and sensory processing disorder
• CPRI has also partnered with interRAI, an international collaborative of more than 85 experts from 40 countries, to publish evidence-informed assessment and care planning tools

Special needs, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD)

• Together, with the ministries of Education, Community and Social Services, and Health and Long-Term Care, the Ministry of Children and Youth Services (MCYS) is implementing the Special needs Strategy with a vision of an Ontario where children and youth with special needs and their families get the timely and effective services they need to participate fully at home, at school, in the community, and as they prepare to achieve their goals for adulthood Children’s service providers, community and health service providers, together with district school board representatives across the province, have worked together to develop local proposals for the implementation of coordinated service planning and the integrated delivery of rehabilitation services
• A strategy to support individuals with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is being developed. The strategy will focus on five priority areas: awareness and prevention; screening, assessment and diagnosis; programs and services; supports for families and caregivers, and data collection and performance measures

Autism

• The creation and release of the Autism Parent Resource Kit for families of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder has also provided an important resource guide for families

Annual autism funding for IBI/ABA ($M)

Notes: 2004-5 – 2010-11 numbers reflect IBI services only; ABA services commenced midway through 2011-12; 2011-12 – 2014-15 numbers reflect IBI and ABA

IBI/ABA Clients Served

Notes: 2004-5 – 2010-11 numbers reflect IBI services only; ABA services commenced midway through 2011-12; 2011-12 – 2015-16 numbers reflect IBI and ABA; 2015-16 numbers are forecasts for fiscal year end

Child poverty

• The ministry increased the Ontario Child Benefit to $1,336 per child annually for eligible families in July 2015 and indexed it to inflation
• The ministry has also provided funding to create over 150 new breakfast programs in schools, so that school-age children and youth have nutritious food that supports their learning. As a result, over 847,000 school-aged children are receiving healthy snacks and meals through the Student Nutrition Program.

Infrastructure program

• In 2015-16, the ministry continued to implement its multi-year asset management plan for the ministry’s funded transfer payment agency sites (over 1100 sites) and directly operated sites (126 sites). These sites are used to deliver a variety of ministry programs and services
  • The asset management plan focused on sustaining existing assets to support the delivery of ministry-funded programs, supporting program enhancements to meet service demands and enabling program transformation
• The new Ron Joyce Children’s Health Centre in Hamilton, which received an $86 million investment by the ministry, officially opened for children and youth with special needs
• Construction started on three new ErinoakKids children’s treatment centres in Oakville, Mississauga and Brampton, which received $163 million in funding from the ministry

Ministry interim actual expenditures 2015-16