18th Annual Meeting May 4-5, 2007 Bayview-Wildwood Resort
		THEME: “Policy and Practice: Assessing the Integration of Services for Ontario’s Children and Youth”

Have we made progress in improving the integration of services for children and youth since the inception of the Ontario Ministry of Children and Youth Services in 2003? This year's conference engaged participants in a critical examination and discussion of our progress.

Focusing on three areas where provincial reforms have been recommended and/or undertaken - Child Welfare, Youth Justice and Mental Health - the sessions examined how the policies and practices introduced in each of these areas have either improved or hindered the integration of services and the impact on children and youth.

Bruce H. Swan
President and CEO
Royal Ottawa Health Care Group
“Linking Lessons Learned to Next Steps”

		Download Slides (442KB)

Bruce H. Swan was appointed as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Royal Ottawa Health Care Group, effective January 1, 2005.

A Fellow of the Canadian College of Health Service Executives, Mr. Swan has the vision and leadership key to achieving a client-focused healthcare system that promotes efficiency, integration and collaboration. He also holds a Graduate Diploma in Hospital Administration from the University of Toronto and a Bachelor of Commerce Degree from Queen’s University.

A member of the Alberta Mental Health Board, Mr. Swan was previously Executive Director of Mental Health for the Calgary Health Region, where he worked to improve administrative efficiencies and patient outcomes of a mental health system to which the ROH is evolving.

Mr. Swan also has more than 10 years of experience as an accreditation surveyor for the Canadian Council on Health Services, which evaluates compliance with standards in healthcare delivery.

In all, Mr. Swan has more than 27 years of direct experience in senior positions in a number of healthcare organizations across Canada, especially in the western provinces. He is particularly skilled in strategic planning and organizational renewal, employing a philosophy that values input from all stakeholders.

Presentations

Keith Zehr
Executive Director, William W. Creighton Youth Services "Policy and Practices: Progress Report from Youth Justice"

		Download Slides (200KB)

Keith Zehr is presently the Executive Director of William Creighton Youth Services in Thunder Bay Ontario. As part of the Youth Justice Services network, Creighton operates Secure/Open Custody/Detention, an Attendance Centre, and Community Support Teams in Thunder Bay, Kenora, and their districts.

Keith worked with the Ontario Public Service for over 25 years, beginning as a frontline staff at Project DARE (then a training school under the JDA), staff and manager of a community based alternative to custody, and as the North Regional Trainer for Youth Justice Services.

Keith has also been able to offer support and service to a variety of other project based initiatives concurrent to his time in the public service - these include: Project Director Community Development: Guyana; Consultant Youth Justice Reform - Latvia; Consultant Policy Development/Technical Support - Philippines; Training/Program Consultant: Katimavik, Youth Challenge International, and others. Keith holds a Master in Environmental Studies from York University.

Mike Stephens
Chief Executive Officer,
Chatham-Kent Children's Services
“Child Welfare Transformation”

		Download Slides (1.36MB)

Mike Stephens is the Chief Executive Officer of Chatham-Kent Children's Services. Chatham-Kent Children's Services is a multi-service agency with responsibility for child protection, children's mental health, young offenders (treatment and assessment), child development, community and prevention services.

Mike’s career began in 1970 at a residential treatment centre for children in London, Ontario. During his 37 year career, he has worked at: Salvation Army Children's Village, St. Thomas - Elgin Children's Aid Society, St. Agatha Children's Village, Lutherwood Day Treatment, Alberta Family and Social Services(Child Welfare), Faculty of Social Work University of Calgary, Waterloo Family and Children's Services, Ministry of Community and Social Services, Guelph-Wellington Social Planning Council, KidsLink, Bruce Children's Aid Society and Chatham-Kent Children's Services.

During his career he has been a child & youth care worker, intake worker, life skills coach, supervisor in protection and mental health, sessional instructor in research and statistics, community social worker, director of service, E.D. and now CEO.

Graham Clyne
Co-Chair, Sparrow Lake Alliance
“What Works: Successful Tales of Integration for Children and Youth” - February 2007 Symposium Report

		Download Slides (131KB)
		Download Report Card (94KB)

This year, the Sparrow Lake Alliance is trying to assess the progress we have made in improving the integration of services for the children and youth of Ontario.

The daylong Symposium was an opportunity to hear about four success stories from across the province, where communities have made some progress in their efforts, and to identify some of the common themes and success factors shared by these projects.

Dr. James Wilkes
Chair, Limbo Task Force
Report to Annual General Meeting

		Download Report (88KB)

The task force was established in 1993 with the primary goal of working for the best possible care for children in the child welfare system.

Besides ongoing advocacy it has published two volumes Children in Limbo (1996) and Permanency Planning in the Child Welfare System (2002). The task force meets once a month except July and August.

Judy Finlay
Ontario Children's Advocate
Sheena Scott
Ontario Human Rights Commission
“Children: The Silenced Citizens”

		Download Slides (1.73MB)

Judy Finlay has been Ontario’s Child Advocate since 1991. Her office ensures the provision of a range of advocacy services – a crucial safeguard built into Ontario’s Child and Family Services Act. Judy is a champion of children's issues and an outspoken supporter of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

As Ontario's Chief Advocate for Rights of the Child, she has been involved nationally and internationally as an Advocate for children and youth influencing legislation, policy and practice. Judy has worked for more than three decades in the areas of child welfare, and children's mental health. Judy is the author of numerous publications including co-author of the recently released report "Open Detention and Open Custody in Ontario".

Sheena Scott is a lawyer who has been working with children and youth and with human rights issues for 19 years. She has worked with the Child Advocate’s office, at a legal clinic for children and youth and at a clinic that addresses anti-Black racism. She is currently working for a human rights Commission.

Ms. Scott has represented children and organizations on issues relating to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. She has consulted to UNICEF, co-edited a practical guide on the Convention and developed a public legal education program on the Convention.

Alexander Bezzina
Assistant Deputy Minister, Program Management
Ministry of Children and Youth Services
“Current Activities and Future Plans for Children and Youth”

		Download Slides (526KB)

Alex Bezzina is currently the Assistant Deputy Minister of the Ministries of Community and Social Services and Children and Youth Services.

Alex previously assumed the role of ADM, Human Resources Strategy and Policy Division in the Ministry of Government Services. In this role, Alex was instrumental in providing leadership for the development of enterprise-wide human resources policies and strategies.

As Director Special Education Policy and Programs Branch in the Ministry of Education, Alex worked across the ministry and with other ministries and school boards to develop approaches to service coordination for children with special needs.

In the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, Alex played a key role in the development of strategic policies that better integrate the mental health system in Ontario. He has extensive experience in project management and organizational design.

Alex has extensive background in community partnerships and programs. As Executive Director of the Canadian Mental Health Association’s Dufferin-Wellington Branch, he also developed ongoing linkages with community mental health service providers.