Ontario Connecting More Families with Supports for Children with Special Needs
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- 2022年4月27日
- 讀畢需時 2 分鐘
Read how OT is provided as part of special needs child development support by the Ontario Government (See full article )
NIAGARA — The Ontario government is creating 22 new SmartStart Hubs across the province to better connect parents and caregivers with child development services in their communities as early as possible. The new Hubs will be a clear point of entry to services for children and families and bring together local professionals in early intervention and child development services to provide seamless connections to assessments and services such as speech and language services.
“We are delivering on our commitment to make it easier for families across Ontario to find services that their child may need to support their development,” said Dr. Merrilee Fullerton, Minister of Children, Community and Social Services. “SmartStart Hubs will provide a single point of entry to child development services and will streamline access for families to needs-based supports. When children and families can access services, we know that children’s short and long-term outcomes improve, as do their parents’ well-being.”
Children’s Treatment Centres across the province, and Surrey Place in Toronto, will begin implementing the new SmartStart Hubs in April. SmartStart Hubs will serve children and youth from birth until the age of 19, or up to age 21 if they are in school and living in Ontario. By bringing together local professionals in early intervention and child development services, SmartStart Hubs will provide seamless connections to local services including:
A clear point of entry to services.
A consistent way of delivering services - for example, staff from a SmartStart Hub will talk with each family about their concerns and their child’s and family’s strengths, goals and needs.
Streamlined connections to assessments and services, including speech and language pathology services, occupational therapy, and physical therapy so that families feel supported without having to re-tell their story to each new provider.
Early access to family-based supports including respite services and parent coaching.
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