BE IT RESOLVED that the Ministries of Education, Health and Children and Family Development work together to develop integrated identification, diagnosis and mental health management services for children and youth in local schools, along the lines of the Community Based Mental Health Pilot Projects proposed by the Capital Regional District Family Court and Youth Justice Committee.
Ministry of Children and Family Development The Province of British Columbia Province is committed to improving mental health outcomes for children and youth and has identified this issue as a strategic priority in the Ministry of Children and Family Development MCFD service plan. In 2003, MCFD launched a five-year Child and Youth Mental Health Plan, the first of its kind in Canada. Nearly 44M in new funding is being invested in four main strategies: reducing risk, building capacity, improving support and treatment, and improving performance. Over 90 of new funding is allocated to the five MCFD regions to support and enhance programs and services identified through local and regional planning and prioritization. This specific resolution addresses the efforts of the Victoria Family Court and Youth Justice Committee Committee, a committee mandated by the Province and funded through the Capital Regional District. The Committee established a Youth Mental Health Task Group to respond to the needs of children in custody andor involved in the court system who have co-occurring health issues including mental health issues. The proposed task group, chaired by Esquimalt City Councillor, Dr. Basil Boulton, has proposed two school-based mental health projects one at Belmont Secondary School in school district 62, which has already planned to open a medical clinic on site, and one at Rockheights Middle school in district 61. At this time, funding for these pilot projects has not been secured. The MCFD Vancouver Island Regional Transition Manager, along with numerous other community partners, has been involved in discussions concerning the projects. At a provincial level, MCFD has identified schools as an important venue for intervening with children and youth. To date, the emphasis has been in the area of risk reduction through the school-based FRIENDS anxiety prevention program. The FRIENDS program, funded by MCFD, is delivered in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and has now reached approximately 47,000 grade four and five students in the Province. In addition, child and youth mental health clinicians throughout the Province routinely collaborate with schools to meet the needs of individual children and youth and in the last two years, some CYMH teams have established new school liaison and outreach positions.