Family Engagement within Youth Wellness Hubs Ontario (Integrated Youth Services)

Presenters and slide deck 

Kelli Dilworth - Engagement Coordinator, Ontario Centre of Excellence for Child and Youth Mental Health 
Jennifer Leighton - Family Advisory Member, Youth Wellness Hubs Ontario Provincial Family Advisory

Slides

Key Learnings

  • The Youth Wellness Hubs Ontario Core Components include Family Engagement, and define it as the ‘inclusion of diverse family members engaged in design, governance, and implementation/evaluation processes; families are seen as experts in their needs and capacity to support their youth’.
  • Family engagement is conducted at the local and provincial levels, and involves concrete opportunities to not only inform family members of project updates, but also consult with family members and co-create services and processes with them.
  • Evaluation findings highlight the importance of being flexible in adapting accommodations and support approaches to the needs of family advisory members.

Identified Gaps in Research, Practice, and/or Policy

It’s important for agencies to consider diversity when recruiting new family advisory members to ensure family voice represents a broad range of perspectives.

Quotes

“Often when we talk about family, people want to know how to define it. It’s a circle of care and support that offers enduring commitment of care for one another” – Kelli Dilworth
“We’re taking time away from our own journeys to improve the system” – Jennifer Leighton

Contact Email of Presenters

Kelli Dilworth – kdilworth@cheo.on.ca
Jennifer Leighton – Jennifer.leighton@hotmail.com

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