First Thing First

CHILDREN AND YOUTH WITH SUPPORT NEEDS FAMILY CONNECTIONS CENTRE

The child, youth, parent, or caregiver will meet with an Intake Keyworker, upon first contact. This counsellor will have an initial and ongoing role in assessing the family’s needs, developing a plan with the family to address those needs through the various Family Connection Centre services, and coordinating between the different services on the family’s behalf.

The Keyworker support is the ‘first touchpoint’ to the Centre for a family. This Keyworker provides information and guidance regarding:

Child and youth development.
Available services within the centre.
Linkages to all Family Connection Centre services.
MCFD Disability Services, if eligible.
MCFD Provincial Services and information.
Linkages to other community-based services, as needed.

Developmental Generalist Services and Supports

The objective of this service is to provide a low-barrier connection for a family when developmental questions or concerns have been raised. A developmental generalist will provide education and guidance and provide an important ‘gateway’ for families to further screening, specialized services, and to provide developmental monitoring. If eligibility is indicated, and the family want to access the additional services, the Keyworker will provide referrals to the indicated transdisciplinary team members and goal-focused services. This may include MCFD Disability Services and/or MCFD Provincial Services.

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Support Planning

Support plans are developed collaboratively with children or youth and their families using a family and person-centred planning approach. Support plans include the contributions of a child or youth’s circle of support and the goals they develop with service providers. This may also include services outside of the Family Connection Centre.

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Clinical Assessments

These types of assessments are conducted by registered therapists, behaviour analysts or consultants, developmental generalists and Ministry Child and Youth Mental Health (CYMH) clinicians using a variety of assessment approaches and tools. The purpose of clinical assessments is to match the type and amount of each service to the needs of the child or youth – for example, physical therapy or speech language therapy.

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Family Supports

Family support workers help identify and remove barriers to accessing and receiving services. For example, if a family is having difficulty getting to centre appointments, a family support worker (Centre Staffing, Qualifications and Expectations) could assist them to access local transportation or access their community connections for support.

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Educational Services

These services are offered by a range of centre staff to support families and community knowledge about neurodivergent and disability-related needs, peer support and life-skills development of children and youth to optimize their quality of life. They can be delivered in the centre, through outreach, or in virtual or in-person settings, whichever is the most comfortable for the child or youth, their family, and their circle of support.

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Mental Health Supports

Mental health supports are provided as part of Family Supports, Behaviour Supports, and Education Services offered by centre staff. These services address overall development, including social and emotional well-being for children and youth aged 0-18.

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Goal Development

A child or youth and their family can collaborate with registered therapists, behaviour analysts or consultants, and/or clinicians to develop specific goals. These goals are centred on the child or youth and their family’s needs and desires, and the outcomes of any potential assessments they complete. These goals are focused on the child, youth and family’s quality of life, in the domains of

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Support Planning During Youth Transition to Adulthood

Youth with support needs and their families have access to a team of professionals, including their Keyworker, who can support the family’s planning for the transition to adulthood. These supports include providing information on adult service options, connection to community supports, and assistance coordinating transition planning with essential service providers.

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Functional Assessment

Standardized assessments are used to provide an evaluation of the child or youth’s strengths, barriers, functional abilities, health conditions and support needs, within the context of their family and circle of support.

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Behaviour Therapy and Skill Building Supports

The services may include informational/educational group programs, parent coaching, youth life skills, and more intensive individual intervention work (including positive behaviour support plans of intervention). The focus is on the provision of child or youth-specific supports to improve their quality of life, by decreasing challenging behaviours and building necessary skills, such as social, communication, and activities of daily living.

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Rehabilitation Therapies

Rehabilitation therapies are intended to be culturally relevant and responsive and include occupational therapy, physiotherapy, and speech and language therapy.

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Clinical Mental Health Services

These services may be available for eligible children and youth at the centre and are provided by MCFD child and youth mental health clinicians. These clinical services will be delivered either onsite, through outreach, and/or via virtual support.

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