Children’s Mental Health Program Receives $2.7M in Provincial Funds

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Alex Munter often thinks back to the year 2020 when one particular teenager, struggling with mental health issues and addiction, was in CHEO’s care. Munter, the director and CEO of the children’s hospital, and his other employees were unaware that this teenager was also in the care of three other mental health facilities.

None of these agencies knew about each other and there was no coordination.

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While Munter can’t provide more details about the individual for privacy reasons, he does offer one ominous sentence: the youngster had “a very bad outcome,” Munter said.

It is with this particular person in mind that Munter now talks about the innovative program developed by the Kids Come First Health Team to help those in the multidisciplinary mental health system receive the best care possible.

A key aim of the program called 1Call1Click is to prevent more children and young people from falling through the cracks. Munter refers to this as “grabbing and holding” children to help them find the care they need.

Launched in 2021, 1Call1Click is a central hub where people with mental health addictions and substance abuse problems can be referred for help. Ontario’s then-health minister, Christine Elliot, sang its praises, but there was no permanent provincial funding at the time to keep it running. That changed in late September when the province announced $2.7 million in annual funding to keep the program, the only one of its kind in Canada, running.

There’s not a lot of money in Ontario’s multibillion-dollar health care system, but the impact is big and the potential is bigger, Munter said.

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The program brings together doctors and mental health professionals from different organizations that provide care for children and young people. It also works with school boards to put mental health resources inside schools.

The funding comes at a time of increasing pressure on mental health, addiction and substance abuse services. The number of admissions each month increased by an average of 60 percent from the first year of the program to the second. Demand continues to grow and most customers are considered to have moderate or higher needs.

Munter describes the program as a platform “to make the whole system stronger.” This (funding) will make it a permanent part of the child and youth mental health system.”

It has attracted attention around the world and last year received an award from Children’s Healthcare Canada for family and individual-centered care. Members of the team have given presentations to people from across the country, Munter said.

“There is nowhere else in Canada that does this.”

The program not only coordinates the care of multiple agencies and health care providers, but also takes some of the burden off families or patients.

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“It’s hard enough for most people to navigate the complicated health care system, and it’s completely unreasonable that a young person or family in crisis can or should do that,” Munter said.

The program brings together thousands of doctors and more than two dozen youth mental health and substance abuse agencies. Since they started, the organization claims to have helped more than 20,000 young people.

“Where youth, parents, doctors and other caregivers previously had to refer youth to multiple agencies – or try to figure out how best to access care – 1Call1Click.ca offers not only one place to go, but the confidence that providers are working together to ensure patients receive the right care from the right company,” KidsComeFirst said in a statement about the program.

Could the plan have prevented that bad outcome in 2020? Munter thinks so.

“Institutions talk about the most complicated situations every day. This young person would have come on the radar very quickly as someone who needed help. These agencies would work in a coordinated manner as a team to support young people.

More information, including how to get help right away, is available at: kidscomefirst.ca

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