Crossroads is extensively involved in many collaborative community-based committees and networks related to Child and Youth Mental Health. Similarly, we have several key partnerships with other community providers to meet the needs of children and families in the Ottawa area.
Coordinated Access Committee: The Coordinated Access Committee consists of representatives from the Public and Catholic School Boards, Youth Services Bureau, Roberts/Smart Centre, Children’s Aid Society, Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Rideauwood Addictions, and Crossroads. Coordinated Access is a source of consultation, referral, and case resolution. It is also a single point of access for residential CFI beds, Intensive Home-Based Family Services, Wraparound, Respite and Flex Funds. The committee also reviews applications and determines a client’s eligibility for admission into the Integrated Plan of Care Process. The Coordinated Access mechanism exists to ensure equitable and timely access for children and youth with complex needs, as well as their families, and that recommendations and service plans are in the client’s best interest.
Coordinated Referral Committee – Day Treatment: The Committee is made up of representatives from the Public and Catholic Boards of Education, as well as representatives from each of the mental health agencies offering Section 23 Day Treatment programs. As the single point of access for Day Treatment placements, the committee hears presentations from schools and makes decisions to ensure that a placement in the day treatment program is the most clinically appropriate decision for the child at that time.
Cross-Sectoral Committee: The Cross-Sectoral Committee is dedicated to sustaining, supporting and enhancing the links between mental health and education with a specific focus on day treatment services in the Ottawa region.
Service Collaborative – Integrated Plan of Care: The Integrated Plan of Care process takes a team approach to support the health, well being, and quality of life of children and youth with complex needs and their families. The process connects cross-sectoral service providers, children, youth, and families as valued partners to create a coordinated care plan that is focused on the strengths and needs of the child/youth and their families.
Ottawa Best Start Leadership Committee: The Ottawa Best Start Leadership Committee supports the creation of a comprehensive integrated system of services in Ottawa for families with children prenatal to 6 years of age. The scope of Ottawa Best Start is intended to encompass the full spectrum of services for this age range, including social, health, mental health, early learning and care, education and other children’s services. The Committee engages community partners to identify priorities based on data, community needs, initiatives and available resources, and oversees the annual work plans of key activities and timelines. Currently community partners consist of agencies that operate city-wide programs, Community Health and Resource Centers, School Boards, City of Ottawa, Public Health, Parent/Family Literacy Centers, and representatives from each of the individual planning tables.
CCMHC participates in and leads a variety of community service planning activities related to child and youth mental health needs.
Coordinated Access Steering Committee (Co-Chair of Committee)
Crossroads has participated on the Coordinated Access Steering Committee since its inception in 2002. This committee is made up of a network of collaborating agencies and services focusing, all or in part, on children’s issues. These agencies/services are from the following sectors within Ottawa: Children’s Mental Health, Special Needs which includes Developmental Services, Child Protection, Young Offenders, Health/Community Care Access Centre, and Education.
Infant & Early Childhood Mental Health: Crossroads actively participates in the Steering Committee and in the Operations Committee as Chairperson to each committee. These are committees of Ottawa service providers, with programs ranging from mental health prevention and promotion through to treatment. The committees are in place to map out a system of care that will be responsive to the needs of infants and young children and their families.
Growing Up Great Network: Council of Partners (Member for Mental Health Sector): The Ottawa Child and Youth Initiative referred to as Growing Up Great is a collaboration of community organizations and agencies with a shared commitment to ensuring that all children and youth in Ottawa achieve their full potential. This Initiative provides a platform for groups to work together to guide and influence public policy, as well as systems and practices aimed at facilitating the positive, healthy growth of children in our community. Members work together to develop and implement community plans. This is achieved through identifying priorities, defining strategies, making recommendations and finally implementing initiatives. Members are individuals from community organizations who work with children, youth and their families. Crossroads currently represents child/youth mental health.
Community Suicide Prevention Network: The Ottawa Community Suicide Prevention Network aims to make services more effective at preventing suicide among children, youth and young adults. The network is made up of cross-sectoral organizations, including hospitals, child/youth and adult mental health organizations, police services, child welfare, school boards, post-secondary institutions, as well as addictions and youth justice services. The Network also includes all levels of government, funding bodies, community and religious groups, researchers, and members of the media.
Homelessness Community Advisory Board- Homelessness Prevention Sub-Group Committee
The purpose of this sub-group is to provide advice, guidance and recommendations to the City’s Homelessness Community Advisory Board (CAB) on the implementation of homelessness prevention initiatives in support of the City’s 2019 review of its 10 Year Housing and Homelessness Plan (2014-2024). Our membership on the advisory contributes a lens specific to mental health as it intersects with homelessness and housing insecurity.
Children’s Mental Health Ontario- Health Quality Ontario: Crossroads has been asked to participate in reviews of Health Quality Ontario documentation related to treatment approaches for children and youth for various diagnosed disorders. This has included a review of Obsessive Compulsive and Anxiety Disorder Treatment documentation.
Crossroads is also participating in Children’s Mental Health Ontario’s provincial working group exploring opportunities related to merger and consolidations in the Child and Youth Mental Health Sector as a result of our move to Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.
Youth and Family Engagement Quality Standards Advisory Group: As an advisory member to the Ontario Centre of Excellence for Child and Youth Mental Health, Crossroads is participating in the development and implementation of provincial quality standards for youth and family engagement specific to the child and youth mental health sector.
Ottawa Local Immigrant Partnership (OLIP) Mental Health Sub-Committee: Crossroads participates in OLIP Mental Health subcommittee whose focus is on mapping pathways to mental health services for newcomer and immigrant populations in the Ottawa region.
RESEARCH PARTNERSHIPS
University of Ottawa: In partnership with the University of Ottawa, we are using a data-driven approach to foster decision-making to promote children’s socio-emotional wellbeing and educational outcomes. This bi-directional and mutually beneficial relationship allows us to benefit from our complementary areas of expertise, advancing what is collectively known about children’s mental health. For more on this collaboration, see our CCMHC-uOttawa Research page.
Think Kids: Crossroads is currently involved in a research study with Think:Kids exploring the impact of the parent training curriculum delivered at Crossroads with parents of children with mental health needs.
SERVICE PROTOCOLS
Crossroads has formal partnerships with service providers in the Ottawa region to ensure coordinated and accessible mental health services for children and their families.
Youth Services Bureau: As the Ministry of Children and Youth Services’ Lead Agency for the Ottawa region, Crossroads works closely with the Youth Services Bureau to develop and implement the Community Mental Health Plan for Ottawa.
Wraparound Services: In partnership with Coordinated Access and Referral to Services, Crossroads provides Wraparound services to children under the age of 12 years, while the Youth Services Bureau provides services to youth 12 years or older.
School Based Mental Health Services: This is a partnership between Crossroads and the two local school boards. Crossroads provides 4 mental health workers to the Ottawa Public and Ottawa Catholic School Boards. In each of these settings we receive direct referrals from the respective schools and provide services in the school setting. This includes working individually and in group format with children referred and providing guidance to teachers and other administrative staff in the school settings. The partnership facilitates access and referral as Crossroads services can be initiated by the family through the child’s school.
Police and Fire Department Referral Services: Crossroads is partnered with Ottawa Police Services and Ottawa Fire Services to provide a direct referral pathway for children that have come into conflict with the law or who have engaged in fire setting behavior. In both instances, children and families have access to all core mental health services offered at Crossroads.
Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO): Crossroads and CHEO have a formal protocol in place to meet the needs of children presenting at our mental health walk-in clinic with suicidal ideation or attempts. This protocol facilitates assessment, consultation, and referral.
M.F. McHugh Educational Centre: Crossroads works closely with M.F. McHugh Educational Centre, a collaboration between the two local English school boards for the provision of teachers to support the work being done in our Day Treatment Program (Section 23). Children and families are provided with mental health services by Crossroads, and M.F. McHugh ensures that academic instruction is provided during the child’s stay in the program. For more information, visit our Day Treatment page.
First Words: This pathway protocol between Crossroads and First Words facilitates collaboration between our mental health services and speech and language services for children as required.
Healthy Babies Healthy Children: Shared pathway between Crossroads and Healthy Babies Healthy Children allows each organization to work collaboratively with children under 6 years old and their families to best meet their needs.
Somerset West Community Health Centre – Head Start Partnership: Through this partnership, Crossroads is working with children 2 to 4 years old who are attending a Head Start program operated by Somerset West Community Health Centre. The collaboration includes capacity-building to of head start teachers around attachment-based theory and Collaborative Problem Solving to best meet the needs of the children in their programs.
Andrew Fleck Children’s Services: With funding from the City of Ottawa and in partnership with Centre Psychosocial (who are focused on Francophone childcare centers), we are building capacity in Andrew Fleck child care centers in infant and early childhood mental health, Collaborative-Problem Solving (CPS), attachment, self-regulation, trauma, and self-care. Developing pathway protocols, we are facilitating early identification and treatment for mental health issues.
Vanier Social Pediatric Hub: The Hub is a collaboration between the Vanier Community Service Centre, CHEO, Montfort Hospital and Sandy Hill Community Health Centre. As a service partner, we have a pathway protocol to facilitate access to children and families who require in-home treatment supports.
