OVERVIEW - Since its inception the goals, structure, and activities of the Sparrow Lake Alliance (SLA) have been directed to ensure the conditions necessary for all Ontario children and youth have the best start possible in life.

The Alliance has invested in the belief that promoting healthy development for all children will improve outcomes for children and youth while diminishing for many the need for specialized children's mental health, child welfare, and remedial educational services. The interdisciplinary, collaborative nature of the Alliance has allowed it to bridge many of the gaps that have long existed among the various service sectors.

MEMBERSHIP - The SLA membership shares a commitment to ensuring a better life for all of Ontario’s children and youth. However, because many of its members work with children and youth professionally, its particular emphasis is on prevention and on improving the effectiveness and efficiency of existing services.

ANNUAL MEETING - The main focus of the SLA's activiity is the Annual Meeting, which has taken place (usually in early May) for the past 16 years at the Bayview-Wildwood resort, In Port Staton Ontario (just north of Barrie).

STEERING COMMITTEE - The SLA Steering Committee meets quarterly to attend to ongoing business and advocacy efforts, and to plan for the annual meeting and other SLA events through the year. For the past two years the SLA has also hosted in late January an Expert Symposium/Invited Consultation Day on a current topic pertinent to Chidlren's Services.

The Steering Committee typically consists of 12 members, with represetatives from across both the province of Ontario, and the sectors/fields that provide services to children and youth.

View the Steering Committee's Terms of Reference

TASK FORCES - The SLA Task Forces meet with various frequency through out the year to work on reports and publications, and to mobilize their current advocacy efforts as issues arise and events occur through out the course of the year.

For further information about the Sparrow Lake Alliance or
to request a Membership Application Form, please direct
your inquiries to:

Sparrow Lake Alliance
at the following e-mail address:
» contact@sparrowlake.org