Child Welfare Specialized Consultation, Assessment and Training Services

This specialized service includes two distinct programs for child/youth (0-18 years) and their families who are involved with child welfare.

The Children in Care Enrichment Service (CCES) works with children in the care of the Children’s Aid Society and their foster/kin parents, while the Intensive Family Consultation Resource Service (IFCR) focuses on building the child welfare agencies’ capacity to meet the needs of families with lengthy child welfare and/or mental health service histories, or where family breakdown is at risk.

Both the CCES and IFCR programs offer a comprehensive socio-emotional assessment for the child/youth and their family, incorporating themes of attachment, family systems, neurobiology, child development and trauma. Assessments lead to a fulsome clinical formulation of the child/youth and/or family offered back to CAS along with specific recommendations for child welfare to consider.

This service supports by:

Helping child welfare agencies define mental health concerns and provide practical intervention strategies that can be used in the child/youth’s current environment.

Developing a new shared understanding of the child/youth/family’s experience that can influence the current environment and future planning.

Providing training opportunities for child welfare staff and for resource families..

Promoting a mental health lens into child welfare practices and offering clinically-informed decisions to future case planning.

Assisting with the stabilization of current placement through individual or family counselling for up to a three-month period following assessment, if required.

How do I access the service?

Referrals to these specialized programs are received directly from the child welfare workers involved in supporting families. Children and youth (0-18 years) and their families involved with ongoing services with CAS are eligible for these services. While the majority of referrals come from child welfare agencies working in and around the York Region, consideration will be given to those outside this area. To discuss a potential referral please contact the Clinical Manager at rmarshment@yorkhills.ca or at 905-503-9560  Ext# 9706

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