Smith announces money for CAS

Nipissing and Parry Sound Children’s Aid Society receives funding to better help youth in conflict with the law.

Full details containted in the news release below.

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North Bay — Nipissing MPP Monique Smith announced today that the McGuinty government is providing the Nipissing and Parry Sound Children’s Aid Society (CAS) with $230,000 in new capital funding to build an addition on the Near North Youth Detention Centre (NNYDC) to house the Community Support Team (CST) operation.

“Moving forward with this capitol project just makes sense,” Smith said. “Not only are we demonstrating our commitment to helping troubled youth become productive members of society, we are also allowing the CAS to realize operational efficiencies as they move forward.”

The CAS plans to move forward with the construction of the 990 square foot expansion quickly and will be tendering the project in May 2007. Construction of the addition is anticipated to be completed in the Fall of 2007, which will also help alleviate the current accommodation pressures at the Main Street location.

"We are very excited as we move forward with the addition of 5 offices at the NNYDC facility. This will assist the organization in providing a continuum of service for youth transitioning from custody to the community. The Community Support Team provides individual counselling in areas such as anger management, life skills training, adolescent sexual offender treatment, family counselling, group work, etc. The focus of the CST program, which receives referrals from Youth Probation Services, is to reduce the risk of recidivism within this high risk population while linking them with community resources. These community based and in home services are provided to youth 12-18 yrs. of age and their families in the districts of Nipissing, Parry Sound and Muskoka."

The Community Support Team works with youth upon, or shortly prior to, their release into the community to facilitate their successful return to society. This relocation will enhance the programming for youth in custody by providing them with supports and resources that will follow them upon their discharge from custody and promote positive outcomes.

“I want to commend and thank the staff at the Nipissing and Parry Sound Children’s Aid Society for their hard and often unrecognized work,” Smith added. ‘The McGuinty Government is committed to working with our service providers to enhance the quality of life for everyone, as we move forward, together, to make Ontario even stronger.”

The 2007 Ontario budget includes additional investments that will benefit children and youth with special needs and their families, including:

$4 million more for Children’s Treatment Centres, on top of $10 million announced in the 2006 budget, increasing the government’s total annual funding to these centres by approximately $30 million since 2003-04

$24.5 million more annually to enhance mental health services for children and youth across the province, increasing funding for these services by approximately $80 million since 2003-04
Increased funding to nearly $130 million, nearly tripling the support for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and their families since 2003-04
Expanding opportunity by providing more assistance to children in lower income families through the $2.1 billion Ontario Child Benefit.

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