The Regional Municipality Of York

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This is a resource for health, early learning and child care professionals in York Region who wish to refer a young child or their family for support services. It provides information about programs and services available including information regarding eligibility and referral.
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Title Description Provider(s)
Infant/Child Development Services

Supports families who have infants and young children from birth to school entry who have been diagnosed with, or are at risk of having a developmental delay.

Services are offered primarily at home or in community settings and York Region offices and include:

  • Home visits with families
  • Routines-based interview to determine areas of needs
  • Child development screening and assessment
  • Family service plans
  • Coaching parents to support their children’s participation in all aspects of daily life
  • Neonatal follow-up clinics for children born prematurely. (Neonatal follow-up clinics require a doctor’s referral)
  • Developmental monitoring for children at risk of delays
  • Activities and play groups that teach children new skills and promote development
  • Workshops and support groups for parents and caregivers
  • Referrals to community agencies
  • Transition to school support

Inclusion Support Services

Strengthens early learning and child care educators’ capacity to engage in inclusive practices for children with special needs, from birth to age 13, who attend a licensed child care program within York Region. Services are offered primarily within the Early Learning and Child Care setting and include:

  • A Routines-Based Model of Intervention
  • Child development screening
  • Development of Individual Program Plans for children
  • Collaborative consultation visits with early learning and child care educators to promote inclusive practices
  • Coaching educators to implement goals and strategies that teach children new skills and promote development
  • Adaptation of the classroom environment to include all children within the program
  • Service coordination activities for families (such as referrals to community agencies)
  • Transition to school support
  • Providing professional development and capacity building opportunities for early learning and child care staff/educators to promote best practices in inclusion

Neonatal Follow-up Services

Provides a health and developmental screening and monitoring service for infants and children at higher risk of developmental delay due to prematurity or birth complications. The program is in partnership with Mackenzie Richmond Hill Hospital, Markham Stouffville Hospital and Southlake Regional Health Centre.

Preschool Speech and Language

Provides help for York Region children from birth to school entry who have difficulty learning to communicate or interact. The program focuses on the prevention, early identification and treatment of speech and language problems.

Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists

The Ontario Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists (OSLA) continually reaches government, media, health care professionals and others to ensure that speech, language, swallowing, hearing and balance are recognized as part of total wellness. OSLA works closely with many other professional associations and consumer organizations that share an interest in health and educational needs relating to communication and is dedicated to ensuring that Ontarians have access to the essential services provided by Audiologists and Speech-Language Pathologists.

Occupational Therapy

Occupational therapy is a type of regulated health care that helps to solve the problems that interfere with a person’s ability to do the things that are important to them, like self-care (getting dressed, eating) and being active (participating in the community and social activities).

Audiology

Services focus on the prevention, identification, assessment, treatment and habilitation of hearing loss in children with multiple special needs. Audiology services are provided by a registered audiologist and offered at the Children’s Treatment Network Richmond Hill site.

Feeding Assessment and Consultation Services

Feeding Assessment and Consultation Service (FACS) provides assessment and treatment for children with feeding and swallowing difficulties.

Diagnostic and Medical Consultation Service

Provides diagnostic assessments for children a query of Autism Spectrum Disorder and medical follow up and consultation for children with cerebral palsy or complex developmental, medical and/or physical needs.

Physical Therapy

Physical therapy is considered one of the most effective forms of rehabilitative treatment for babies who need assistance with balance, muscle control, milestones and more. Since physical therapy focuses on physical rehabilitation, many physicians recommend it for infants who have developed disorders and disabilities, regardless whether they surfaced from birth injuries or genetic abnormalities.

Ontario Autism Program

Ontario is transforming the way children and youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)and their families receive services through the Ontario Autism Program (OAP). The vision of the OAP is to give children and youth with ASD access to the timely and effective services they need to achieve their goals at home, at school, in the community and as they transition into adulthood. The OAP provides all families of children and youth with ASD with flexible, family-centred services based on each child’s unique needs.

Autism Ontario

Autism Ontario is playing a key role in offering orientation and system navigation supports to families who are accessing or interested in accessing the new Ontario Autism Program (OAP). Autism Ontario will offer direct supports to families through the OAP Service Navigation Program to:

  • Help families understand the new Ontario Autism Program and the services available to purchase with their Childhood Budgets
  • Find qualified providers
  • Support families in navigating autism services, including helping them find local services and supports in their communities;
  • Provide access to parent resources and webinars; and
  • Provide opportunities for families to connect with each other at events, including through peer-to-peer mentoring and social learning opportunities for children and youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Nursing

The Central Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) provides nursing services to children with complex health conditions and disabilities. Depending on their needs, children may receive nursing services in their home, at school, or in both settings. LHIN care coordinators, with specialized knowledge and skills related to child and family services will assess the child to determine how urgently services are needed. In addition to nursing services, depending on their needs, children may receive other services including: care coordination, clinical nutrition, social work and information and referral services.

Infant Hearing

Supports children residing in the York and Durham Regions, Peterborough, Northumberland, Haliburton Counties and City of Kawartha Lakes. The program focuses on monitoring babies who are at risk for hearing loss, audiology services, family support services with social workers and communication development services.

Blind-Low Vision Program

Provides service to children from birth to school entry who are blind or have vision loss. The program supports children residing in the York and Durham Regions, Peterborough, Northumberland, Haliburton Counties and City of Kawartha Lakes.

Case Coordination

Children’s Case Coordination works together with other agencies to help children, youth and their families in York Region who have very complex social, emotional, developmental, and/or physical needs requiring a coordinated service plan. Providing services for children and youth (between birth and19 years of age) and families who live in York Region and are currently involved with service providers in York Region. The child or youth has complex social, emotional, developmental and/or physical service needs.

Behaviour Intervention

Provides care for individuals living in York Region or Simcoe County who have a developmental disability with a significant cognitive delay, autism or are living with the effects of an acquired brain injury. Service is determined by evaluation of needs and may be provided through individual and/or group support.  Behaviour intervention is provided to children and adults through a comprehensive assessment followed by positive-based teaching and programming.  A full range of challenging needs are addressed and include general management issues, aggression, self injury, skill promotion, and social problem solving.

Dental

Children may be eligible for the Healthy Smiles Ontario (HSO) program, which provides urgent or regular dental care to children of families who meet financial and dental eligibility requirements.

Mental Health Services

Provides specialized mental health services to families who have children under seven years old with moderate to severe emotional or behavioral problems, mental health concerns that might be observable as hyperactivity, anxiety, mood regulation, defiance, disrupted or challenging relationships and attachment struggles, trauma and aggression.  The program prepares children for successful functioning in the normal environments of home, school and community. Zero to Six services can include brief interventions, workshops, groups, play therapy, assessments or child and family counselling/therapy.

Child and Family Counselling/Therapy

Services can be offered at a centre or in-home, from a couple of sessions to regular weekly to biweekly counselling. It is usually goal-oriented to address family concerns regarding the child’s mental health which would be present in moderate to severe emotional or behavioral problems. This could include: hyperactivity, anxiety, mood regulation, defiance, disrupted or challenging relationship and attachment struggles, trauma, aggression, the impact of family changes such as separation and divorce, and/or relational issues such as sibling conflict, parent-child conflict, etc.

Trauma Therapy

When a child has experienced interpersonal trauma in the form of sexual, physical or emotional abuse, domestic violence and/or bullying an entire family can be impacted. The Child, Youth and Family Program is a family-centered, strength-based service for children ages three to18 and their caregivers that develops and reinforces the family and support systems surrounding the child.  Using a variety of modalities such as Trauma Focused-CBT, Somatic Experiencing, and EMDR, individual therapy builds upon the strengths and resources that exist within the child, the family and their environment.

Positive Parenting Program

Triple P - Positive Parenting Program is one of the most effective evidence-based parenting programs in the world, backed up by more than 35 years of ongoing research. Triple P gives parents simple and practical strategies to help them build strong, healthy relationships and confidently manage their children’s behavior while preventing potential problems that may be developing. Triple P issued in more than 25 countries and has been shown to work across cultures, socio-economic groups and in many different kinds of family structures. The Triple Positive Parenting Program is delivered in various formats including brief face-to-face or telephone interventions, seminars and groups.

Watch, Wait, Wonder

Watch Wait and Wonder is an intervention that works directly and immediately with the infant/child parent relationship to foster the development of a secure attachment through empowering the infant in the therapy and enhancing maternal sensitivity and responsiveness.

Bounce Back & Thrive

Bounce Back and Thrive! (BBT) is a ten-week skills training course to teach parents and caregivers with children under eight years of age about coping with stress. Participants learn skills to help themselves and children feel less stressed and more hopeful about the future.

Transition to Parenting

A program offered to mothers with babies up to one year of age and pregnant women who are experiencing mood changes, including anxiety or depression, or are looking for support while adjusting to parenthood. This program provides information, support and resources to help women cope and feel better and is led by public health nurses who cover topics like:

  • Symptoms and risk factors of perinatal mood disorders
  • Setting realistic expectations
  • Building healthy relationships
  • Tips for healthy communication
  • Strategies to build self-esteem
  • Ways to take time for self-care
  • Community resources and support

Healthy Babies, Health Children Program

A home visiting program offered by York Region Public Health. Healthy Babies Healthy Children provides eligible families with information, support and connections to community resources.

The Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP) Program

A maternal and child health home visiting program that provides a first-time mom valuable knowledge and support from pregnancy to when her child reaches two years of age. NFP is an evidence-based, community health program with three decades of research proving its effectiveness.

Client eligibility criteria for the NFP program are:

  • Twenty-four years of age or younger
  • First time mother
  • Twenty-eight weeks gestation or earlier in pregnancy
  • Experiencing financial hardship

Please note, if clients do not meet the above eligibility criteria, they can be referred to the Healthy Babies Healthy Children (HBHC) program. Given the specifics of NFP eligibility, we encourage our community partners to make referrals to NFP with clients or on behalf of client (with client consent), to avoid any delays in the referral process, as consent to NFP program involvement needs to occur on the initial HV with the NFP PHN, prior to 28 weeks gestation. Professionals supporting the referral process may prevent delays in the referral process, since enrollment into NFP is time sensitive (maternal age, and weeks’ gestation).

Breastfeeding Clinics

Parents can get breastfeeding support and instruction at any of York Region’s breastfeeding clinics. Sessions are one-to-one with a nurse who has breastfeeding expertise. Families can call Health Connection at 1-800-361-5653 to make a booked appointment at the Breastfeeding Clinic. Services are free of charge and open to all York Region residents.

EarlyON Child and Family Centre

EarlyON Child and Family Centres offer a range of free drop-in programs for children from birth to age six and their parents and caregivers. Programs encourage positive interactions with children and provide families with information regarding early learning and child development.

Available Services:

  • Early learning and development programs and services that encourage children’s exploration, and promote play and inquiry
  • Programs to support parents and caregivers of children in all aspects of early child development
  • Information and workshops for new parents about pregnancy and parenting
  • Information about other early years programs in the community
  • Resource and lending libraries

Learning Disabilities advocacy

Provides leadership in Learning Disabilities advocacy, research, education and services and strives to advance the full participation of children, youth and adults with Learning Disabilities (LD) in society.

Child Care Fee Subsidy

York Region helps make child care more affordable for families with low and moderate incomes. A child care fee subsidy helps reduce the amount of money that families have to pay licensed child care providers for child(ren) under the age of 13. This is a first-come-first-served program.

Priority is given to:

  • Families with a net income of $36,000 or less
  • Families who may be experiencing exceptional circumstances

York Region Child Care Services - Child Care Fee Subsidy

ACSD - Assistance for Children with Severe Disabilities

If you are a parent caring for a child with a severe disability, you may be eligible to receive financial support through the Assistance for Children with Severe Disabilities Program. This program provides financial support for low- to moderate-income families to cover some of the extra costs of caring for a child who has a severe disability.

Special Services at Home

The Special Services at Home program helps families who are caring for a child with a developmental and/or physical disability. It is funded and managed by the Ministry of Community and Social Services. It helps families pay for special services in or outside the family home as long as the child is not receiving support from a residential program. For example, the family can hire someone to:

  • Help children learn new skills and abilities, such as improving their communications skills and becoming more independent
  • Provide respite support to the family - families can get money to pay for services that will give them a break, or respite, from the day-to-day care of their child

Easter Seals

Easter Seals Ontario provides programs and services to children and youth with physical disabilities across Ontario to help them achieve greater independence, accessibility and integration.

Incontinence Supplies Grant Program

This is a grant for children and youth between three and 18 years of age with chronic disabilities (physical or developmental) that result in irreversible incontinence or retention problems lasting longer than six months and requiring the use of incontinence supplies.

Respite Funding

The Children’s Respite Flexible Funding is from the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services to serve as an enhancement for families to access respite services in their community. Families can only apply for these funds once a year (between January and mid-February) and there is no guarantee of the availability of these funds in future years.

Housing and Shelters

Salvation Army housing and shelters help men, women, families and children experiencing or at risk of homelessness; they are especially concerned with supporting those experiencing long-term homelessness and facing housing exclusion

Disability Tax Credit

Disability tax credit (DTC) is a non-refundable tax credit that helps people with disabilities or their support systems reduce the amount of income tax they may have to pay. An individual may claim the disability amount once they are eligible for the DTC. This amount includes a supplement for people under 18 years of age at the end of the year.

York Region on a Budget

This peer-led resource guide will demonstrate how to navigate the region when you don’t have a lot of money. It has been assembled by individuals with lived-experience in the hopes that their collective information and personal stories will pay-it-forward and help others navigate through similar situations. It includes numerous critical community resource listings, tips, personal stories of struggle and resilience and other helpful information for individuals struggling to thrive.

Financial Assistance

York Region offers a wide range of employment and financial assistance programs to help residents meet their basic needs. Services to qualified individuals can include child care, living expenses, rent, utilities and other essential costs. Each program has its own set of requirements and application instructions.

Brief Resource Service

Children’s Treatment Network Brief Resource Service (BRS) can identify an initial action plan and help CTN families who are waiting for service coordination, or are preparing for a transition. BRS may be used to assist children or youth with special needs and their families access funding, camps, respite and other services.

Children's Charity

Since their work began, Jennifer Ashley Children's Charity (JACC) has helped almost 14,000 seriously ill children and their families with funding for hospital and household costs, specialized care, medical treatments and therapies. They only provide funding for children who have one or more of the following diagnosis:

  • Physical disability
  • Severe medical issue that cannot be controlled by medication and disrupts the life of the child and family
  • Mental health disorders

Positive Early Childhood Education

The Positive Early Childhood Education (PECE) program was created to support the needs of caregivers in early learning settings through intervention and prevention. The program combines previously used Triple P strategies that have proven effective within the family context, and some new strategies specific to implementation in early learning settings.

Children's Services

York Region’s Integrated Children’s Services supports children, families, child care providers and the community in providing high-quality services so children have the best start in life and grow to become part of strong communities.

Supports and services include:

  • Information on finding quality child care
  • Help paying for child care and recreation
  • Child and family programs
  • Support for child care operators

Enhanced Funding

Enhanced funding allows licensed child care operators to hire additional staff to support all children in the program, including children with exceptional needs. Enhanced funding is available for children whose parents are either employed or engaged in an educational or training program or have an exceptional circumstance supported by a physician or community agency. Enhanced Funding is a time-limited support that needs to be renewed every six months. Children who have exceptional or special needs may:

  • Depend on adults for instruction and care due to safety, mobility or health concerns
  • Require extra attention from adults due to safety concerns that they may hurt themselves or others
  • Require extra support when there is a combination of children in a group with social-emotional behavioural special needs and/or present safety, mobility or health concerns

Child Care Consultation

Child care consultation service is a general consultation to support the needs of educators in planning and implementing strategies to support the needs of all children in their programs. This service provides professional development to educators around emotional, social, behavioural and self-regulation development and needs of children from birth to six years of age. To make a referral, child care supervisors must call central intake and advise the call is regarding child care consultation.

School Boards

The York Region District School Board and the York Catholic District School Board have schools that have on-site before and after care programs operated by third party child care operators and licensed by the Ministry of Education, Quality Assurance licensing Unit.  A complete list of school locations with child care centres and/or before and after care programs and the agencies who deliver the programs is provided on their websites.

Early Years Program Finder

This online tool allows parents and caregivers to search for licensed child care and EarlyON child and family programs in York Region.

Early Referral

The kit is an easy-to-use checklist that allows parents and professionals to identify developmental issues and guide them to the appropriate treatment as soon as possible. It is a system for children six months to five years of age, the years most important to a child’s development, intervention and rehabilitation.

Development Checklist

The Looksee Checklist by NDDS (formerly known as the Nippising District Development Screen) is a checklist providing a snapshot of a child's development until age six. It can help identify any areas where a child may need some extra help and activities to encourage development. Register children at Lookseechecklist.com for:

  • A checklist that captures a snapshot of your child’s development
  • Email reminders when it’s time to do the next checklist
  • Tips and activities to encourage a child’s development

Red Flags Guide

Red Flags is a quick reference tool to assist early years and health care professionals in knowing when and where to refer children from birth to six years of age for whom there are potential health, growth and development concerns. Red Flags will assist professionals in identifying when children could be at risk of not meeting their expected health outcomes or developmental milestones. It also includes other areas that may impact child health, growth and development due to the dynamics of parent-child interaction, such as maternal mental illness and abuse.

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