NETWORK E-BULLETIN - APRIL 2007 EDITION

York Resource Centre Open House for Professionals in June

NETWORK NEWS AT A GLANCE:

• York Resource Centre Open House for Professionals to be held in June
• Network Symposium on June 14th focuses on Collaboration -  Register Now!
• "SPOTLIGHT ON Catulpa Community Support  Services"
• View New Network Video – click here
  

York Resource Centre Open House for Professionals to be held in June!

Construction is almost finished on the building housing the Network’s second Resource Centre.  Developed with the leadership of the Regional Municipality of York, the Centre is located at 13175 Yonge St. (just north of King Road) in Richmond Hill. It will be home to York Region Early Intervention Services and the Markham Stouffville Hospital’s Pre-School Speech and Language Program. In addition, the hospital’s Paediatric Developmental Assessment Clinic will be relocating to the new facility.  Move-in is scheduled for late May/early June, with services coming on line shortly after.  

Soon we will be celebrating another milestone with the opening of the Network’s second Resource Centre. Plans are in the works for a special Open House for Professionals to be held in June.  At the Open House, professionals supporting kids with special needs can tour the new facility and see kids, families and Network partners demonstrate the various therapies, equipment, and new specialty services that are being brought closer to home for 2,800 kids with multiple disabilities in York Region.

The York Resource Centre’s integrated facilities will include:

• 8 designated  speech language treatment rooms  
• 5 multi-purpose  activity/treatment rooms for occupational and speech therapy, feeding and  augmentative communication assessments, therapeutic playgroups and sensory  needs development
• a medical  treatment room
• a large dedicated  physiotherapy gym
• 30 on-site  professional staff
• boardroom and  meeting facilities for professionals and  families
• on-site  developmental paediatrician services, as well as augmentative communication,  feeding and swallowing, and seating and mobility  services
• workstations with  Internet access for local team professionals
  

The Centre also serves as home base for the Richmond Hill Local Team led by Local Team Facilitator Jane McLellan of Markham Stouffville Hospital.   Invitations to the Open House will be distributed to all Network partner organizations shortly.

Network Symposium on June 14th focuses on collaboration at all levels across the Network - Register now!

As a result of the outstanding collaboration taking place between everyone in the children’s services community, a great deal of progress has been made since the Network’s launch 18 months ago.  And there is much more to be done.

As a Network, our continued success hinges on deepening our ability to work collaboratively together so that we harness the ideas, expertise and energy of parents and professionals at all levels to better serve kids with special needs.

To celebrate the progress made so far in building the Network, and to provide an opportunity for parents and professionals to put the power of collaboration to work for our kids and our system, the Network is holding a “Working Together” Symposium on June 14th, at the Seneca College King City Campus.

During the Symposium, one of the world’s leading experts on mass collaboration will provide insight on approaches to help advance our collaborative efforts.   There will also be panel discussions and open dialogue sessions where parents, front line professionals, clinical managers and leaders of service agencies will exchange views and ideas about how to work together to improve the system serving kids and teens with disabilities.

Please join us for a day of learning, dialogue and innovative thinking focused on “Working Together for Kids and Teens with Disabilities”.

The Symposium is free of charge. Child care subsidies are available to make it possible for parents to participate. Space is limited, so you must register early.  Symposium information and a registration form is posted on the website.  Click here to register or call 1-877-719-4795 Ext.*252.

SPOTLIGHT ON Catulpa Community Support Services

Catulpa Community Support Services has been providing client focused services to children, adults and families in Simcoe County - including children with multiple diagnosis and complex care needs – since 1973.  Catulpa’s staff work with a large number of partners/organizations to ensure that the people we serve have the supports and resources in place to allow them to develop to their optimum potential.

Services offered by Catulpa include Case Management, Respite, Inclusive Recreation, the Community Action Program for Children (CAPC), The Canada Prenatal Nutrition Program (CPNC) Wraparound and Community Resource Teams, Children’s Case Coordination and intensive case management for children and adults with multiple/complex needs.  It also administers the Orillia Early Intervention Program, as well as the Passport and Crisis Response Program for individuals over 18 years of age.

Catulpa has played a key role in the evolution of Children’s Treatment Network since the early planning stages. As one of the agencies hosting Network service coordination staff, Catulpa also provides inclusive recreation programs in Simcoe County and is co-located at the Network’s Barrie Resource Centre and the Midland Local Team site.

According to Executive Director Margaret Gallow, much of Catulpa’s success has been based on the collaborations and formal and informal links it has with the service providers in our community, including the Children’s Treatment Network.

“Thanks to the Network’s support, we have been able to add additional resources to our Inclusive Recreation Program,” says Margaret. “Through this program we are able to integrate children with both physical and mental disabilities into the mainstream municipal recreation programs, as well as summer, March break and Christmas camps. The program also offers skill building clinics to those who need additional support in order to participate in integrated programs.”

She adds that the training offered by the Network has enabled staff members to enhance their skills and do more for families in the community. “As a result, communication between agencies has improved, and we have learned a great deal more about what each of us do in trying to support and provide resources to those families who share their lives with us.”