Presentations in this stream will focus on the overarching structures, systems, and policies that shape how mental health services are designed, delivered, and accessed by infants, children, youth, and families. As demands on the system grow in complexity, it has never been more important to recognize how to address and optimize systems of care approaches to coordination, integration, and accountability across and within sectors. Proposals in this stream can, for example, explore how system leaders are working to shift entrenched models of care, address structural fragmentation, and build service ecosystems that are responsive to the full context of a young person’s life—including their family, school, community, and environment.

Presentations may for example include existing system design, improvement and transformation initiatives, strategies for improving cross-sector collaboration, streamlining funding models advancing provincial or regional service planning, or redesigning service pathways to support smoother transitions and wraparound care. This stream is particularly suited for those focused on systemic change at the regional or provincial level within the child and youth mental health system and beyond.

As service demands rise and system gaps persist, there is a need for creative and community-informed approaches to care that empower clinicians and enhance the quality of direct service delivery.  This stream will spotlight innovative, evidence-informed, and scalable approaches to treatment, support, and care delivery that are designed to strengthen frontline capacity and foster collaborative care. Presentations may, for example, include digital and hybrid models, use of AI, peer-delivered supports, or new therapeutic frameworks that are responsive to the new realities of infants, children, youth, and families today.

There is a growing movement across systems to centre youth voice, leadership, and lived expertise in the development, delivery, and evaluation of mental health services. This stream will feature presentations that advance meaningful youth engagement through participatory design, youth-adult partnership models, and governance structures that embed youth voice. Proposals are encouraged from youth-led initiatives, and from those building systems that prioritize power-sharing and create opportunities for youth to lead change.

Families and caregivers are vital partners in the mental health and well-being of infants, children and youth. However, many continue to face barriers to meaningful inclusion in care planning and service delivery. This stream will explore strategies that support caregiver mental health, provide tools for system navigation, and integrate families into service design. Presentations may highlight peer support models, co-designed programs, or system-level strategies that recognize the diverse roles and experiences of families and caregivers.

There is a growing recognition that equitable mental health care must be intentionally designed to meet the unique and intersecting needs of diverse communities. This stream will highlight initiatives that go beyond acknowledgement to implementation—demonstrating how services, programs, and systems are being adapted to better serve communities that have been historically marginalized or underrepresented in mental health care.

Presentations in this stream will focus on actionable strategies, culturally grounded models, and community-led approaches developed with and for groups such as Black, Indigenous, racialized communities, 2SLGBTQIA+ youth and families, newcomers and refugees, Francophone populations, and those living in Northern, rural, or remote regions.

As systems, services, and workplaces adapt to meet increasingly complex and evolving needs, organizations are reimagining how they operate and are developing programs rooted in innovation to better serve their communities. We invite contributions that highlight bold and innovative programs, pilot initiatives, and new models of program delivery. Presentations may also focus on strategies to drive organizational change, strengthen staff well-being, cultivate inclusive and values-driven leadership, support workforce development, and recruitment and retention.

Moreover, this stream welcomes work that enhances organizational readiness for change, builds trauma-informed and psychologically safe workplaces, and improves internal systems to better support innovation and impact.

This stream centers Indigenous worldviews rooted in holistic understandings of wellness, interconnection, and authentic relationships between people, communities, land, and spirit.

Creative expression- including, but not limited to, music, movement, storytelling, visual art, poetry, and craft- has long been a powerful source of healing, identity and community strength within Indigenous communities. Presentations in this stream will explore how creative and land-based practices are being used to support healing, resilience, and the reclamation of identity and power among Indigenous infants, children, youth, and families.

We also welcome proposals that highlight how holistic and relational models of care are advancing wellness across generations. This stream embraces innovative, culturally grounded approaches that center art, land, story, and intergenerational wisdom as vital pathways to healing, connection, and belonging. 

We recognize the complexity and breadth of work in child and youth mental health. If your presentation doesn’t fit within a defined stream, you may choose the Open Stream — but we still encourage you to clearly connect your proposal to the overall theme: “Interwoven: Co-Creating the Future of Child and Youth Mental Health.”