The Lead Agency Consortium (Consortium) brings together executive directors and CEOs from Ontario’s 31 lead agencies who collaborate together to identify and address system-level gaps so Ontario’s infants, children, young people and families have seamless access to an inclusive, effective, and efficient provincial mental health and addictions care system. Since 2020, the Consortium has partnered with the Ministry of Health, and collaborated with the Knowledge Institute on Child and Youth Mental Health and Addictions and Children’s Mental Health Ontario to advance a number of bold, large-scale initiatives aimed at addressing service gaps and ensuring streamlined, consistent care across the province including One Stop Talk/Parlons maintenant; Provincial Training Initiative; Ontario Intensive Treatment Pathway; and the Infant and Early Mental Health Initiative. In this presentation, we share an overview of each system change, key drivers of success (including meaningful youth and family engagement), challenges and mitigation strategies, and lessons learned.

Learning Objectives

1. Understand a number of system-wide initiatives (that are currently at various stages of implementation) intended to strengthen the system of supports for Ontario’s children, youth and families. 

2. Identify key drivers of success that have supported these system change efforts (e.g., meaningful youth and family engagment, adequate funding, collaborative partnerships, dedicated leadership, etc.). 

3. Identify challenges and understand how these have been or are being addressed.