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One third of students reported high
levels of inappropriate or negative behaviour including theft,
drug use, verbal abuse, truancy and destruction of property.
(CAMH, 2002) |
In May, 2002, representatives from education,
health, social
services and the police came together to hear about
the latest research carried out by the Centre for Addiction and
Mental Health on the impact of school culture on children's academic
and health outcomes.
This group wanted to investigate the potential
of working together as a community to more proactively address the
issues that challenge children's ability to make healthy choices,
both academic and personal. As a result, the Halton School Culture
Steering Committee - later to become known as Our Kids - The
School Years was formed, made up of representatives from
region-wide organizations serving children and families.
While the reason for coming together reflected
individual organizational mandates and philosophies, the group held
a common call to action in working to improve the outcomes for
children and families.
Recognizing that each organization has its own
separate and distinct mandate, policies, procedures, legislation,
philosophy, perspective and funding mechanisms; the first step was
to examine some of the practical issues involved in developing
Our Kids - The School Years initiative. This was achieved by
collecting and reviewing information on the different mandates and
services currently offered. Our review clearly demonstrated the
potential of Our Kids - The School Years.
Halton's history of working well together
includes initiatives such as:
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the School Police Liaison Officers including
the presentation of the Dare Program in all Grade 6 classes;
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Halton Children's Aid Society providing school
based family service workers;
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Halton Child and Youth Services providing
school based supports;
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the Region of Halton providing support from
Public Health Nurses and Mental Health Liaison Nurses with a
variety of services from provision of 1:1 assessments to universal
school based health promotion; and,
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Transitions for Youth providing Child and
Youth Workers for the provision of universal school based
programming.
Our Kids - The School Years Committee has
closely linked with the Our Kids - The Early Years Committee in
development of the action plan. The Vision For Children in Halton:
Report Card has identified twenty-one neighbourhoods and provides a
range of valuable planning data that will be used as we move
forward.
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"Many definitions of integration
include a requirement that the focus guiding the process be on
a broader spectrum of service user needs than each
organization could address separately"
Building Bridges, Service
Provider
Involvement in Better Beginnings,
Better Futures, 1995. "The
most effective programs co-ordinate universal screening, early
intervention and remedial services within and between
education, health, social and recreation services"
Sewing the Seams, Effective and Efficient Human Services for
School Aged Children, 2001. |
Need for Integration
Coming together, we recognized that by building
on these successes, more could be accomplished by finding ways of
working in a more integrated and coordinated fashion.
We recognize that no single group or individual
can address
all the needs of any one family or one child. Children
need to
be seen within the context of their community. Services are
not always effective when provided to the child in isolation.
Recognizing the demands on government and
community resources, it is critical to explore ways to support
neighbourhoods, families and children and avoid duplication
of
effort. Through collaboration, gaps in service are
addressed, overlaps eliminated. An integrated approach ensures the most efficient and effective delivery of service of neighbourhoods,
children and families.
Our Vision
"Together, the Halton Community works
cooperatively and accepts responsibility for all children and youth
to thrive in an environment that optimizes learning, growth and
development."
Our Mission
Our mission is to ensure the health growth and
development and safety of children and youth by increasing the
capacity of neighbourhoods to create a holistic system of supports
and services in Halton.
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