Posts Tagged ‘mental Health’

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Attorney General Caroline Mulroney boosts rape crisis centre funding by $1 million

Wednesday, February 27th, 2019

A decade ago, they logged 30,000 calls a year — now, more than 50,000… “This is funding that was committed to the centres last spring, which has not been disbursed … Survivors in our province deserve predictable multi-year funding that enables organizations to have stability. This one-time handout falls woefully short of what is needed to tackle staggering waiting lists across Ontario to access counselling.”

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‘Yada yada yada’ isn’t the problem. It’s Ford’s autism policy

Sunday, February 24th, 2019

MacLeod can call this a “fair, equitable and sustainable” system all she wants, but that doesn’t make it a good one. Or a system that provides kids with autism, especially those on the high needs end of the spectrum, access and funding to services they desperately need. But in the face of mounting evidence that this policy is deeply misguided and won’t achieve its stated outcomes, the Ford government has reacted the way it usually does — claiming victory anyway.

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Ontario government quietly ordered autism therapy providers to stop admitting kids from wait-list last September

Sunday, February 24th, 2019

The provincial government quietly ordered autism service providers last September to stop admitting new children for therapy and to keep parents in the dark about the move… Internal documents — from the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services and senior administrators of nine regional service providers — state that the 23,000-child wait-list for autism therapy was closed because of “financial pressures.”

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Questions swirl around therapy at centre of Ontario’s autism changes

Saturday, February 23rd, 2019

About one in 66 children in Canada is diagnosed with autism. More than 100,000 Ontarians, including about 40,000 kids, have the disorder… The lack of consultation with adults living with autism has been a longtime concern for Dr. Kevin Stoddart, director of the Toronto-based Redpath Centre, Ontario’s largest mental health treatment centre for adults and youth on the autism spectrum… the mental health of people with autism requires “more focused investigation.”

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New study finds the developmentally disabled are vulnerable in Ontario

Thursday, February 21st, 2019

The research from the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences found the developmentally disabled were significantly more likely to die young, languish in hospital without plans for appropriate aftercare, spend time in long-term care, or have repeat hospitalizations and emergency room visits than their non-disabled peers… the findings held true regardless of what disability was specifically at play. They also transcended a variety of boundaries that usually serve as strong predictors of poor health outcomes, such as age and socioeconomic status.

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MacLeod needs to build on past successes

Wednesday, February 20th, 2019

… the needs of children with autism… and the needs of their families are complex, treatments are evolving and no one has yet gotten it perfect… It may feel good in the moment to suggest that everything past was wrong but that kind of thinking does children a disservice and that is what should matter to us all… If we don’t even try to build on what has been successful in the past, if we don’t even try to listen to each other and the people on the front line, in this case the parents, then we are bound to fail spectacularly.

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Doctors get new contract with province after 4-year battle

Wednesday, February 20th, 2019

… the board ordered that the two sides strike an “appropriateness working group” to eliminate or restrict inappropriate or overused physician services — $100 million worth in 2019-20 and another $360 million worth the following year… The arbitration decision provides doctors with redress, eliminating most but not all of the fee cuts imposed by the province in recent years, effective this coming April. As well, it awards physicians with increases of 0.75 per cent for 2017; 1.25 per cent for 2018; 1 per cent for 2019; and 1 per cent for 2020.

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Ontario autism program changes ‘best for all children,’ says social services minister

Wednesday, February 20th, 2019

… the government has promised to clear the wait lists for diagnosis and therapy, and will introduce a childhood budget allowing families to choose the services they want. Families will be eligible for up to $20,000 a year for children under 6 — up to a lifetime maximum of $140,000. Children older than that can access up to $5,000 a year up to age 18, to a lifetime maximum of $55,000. However, only families earning less than $55,000 in net income will qualify for the full funding amounts.

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Treats are nice. But they don’t replace funding for crisis centres

Tuesday, February 19th, 2019

Charitable gifts serve to remind women that they have not been forgotten. What does that even more effectively is making sure a qualified person answers the crisis hotline, and that counselling will be available during a woman’s greatest hour of need. But the wait-list for counselling at the Toronto Rape Crisis Centre… is a staggering 18 months. “You should not have to wait a year and a half to get access to the services you need”

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The Ford government needs to stop its bully tactics

Friday, February 15th, 2019

A government that has genuinely and openly consulted with affected groups, ahead of making changes, and believes its new policy can stand up to fair public scrutiny doesn’t run around demanding unknowing and unconditional support… it can be difficult for people and vulnerable groups that rely heavily on provincial policies or funding to speak out against the government of the day. But this government’s bully tactics seem to have pushed them into doing just that.

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