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Forensic Mental Health and Youth Justice
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At Kinark, we strive to provide the best treatment and service for some of the most complex and challenging children and youth from across the province.
Kinark provides court-ordered assessment, intensive treatment and re-integrative services to youth who have significant mental health issues who are:
- in conflict with the law;
- at risk of harm to themselves or others where no less intrusive program is appropriate; and
- found to be not criminally responsible or unfit to stand trial due to the nature of their mental illness.
Kinark also offers intensive programs that treat youth at home and in the community. Alternative to custody programs for youth in conflict with the law who are at risk of becoming serious offenders are offered in various service areas.
Admission is guided by federal and/or provincial legislation. Clients are referred to these services through a court process.
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Secure Treatment
The Secure Treatment Program is a provincial resource and is mandated by the Child and Family Services Act.
There are at least 8 beds designated for children and youth with significant mental illness who are found to be at significant risk of harm to self or others where no less intrusive program is appropriate. Clients are admitted through the Family Courts from all regions of the province. The average stay is 6 to 12 months.
This program is offered at Syl Apps Youth Centre.
The referral/application form for this program can be downloaded from the following link:
Completed referral forms can be submitted to the Intake team via the email address below:
Intake email address: saycintake@kinark.on.ca
Intake phone number: 905-844-4110 ext. 2210.
Ontario Review Board
The Secure Treatment Program is designated as a hospital to maintain clients under the Ontario Review Board – youth who have committed an offence but have been determined by the courts to be not criminally responsible for their actions or deemed unfit to stand trial due to the nature of their mental illness. Kinark is the only facility in Ontario designated for this youth population. The average stay is 18 months.
This program is offered at Syl Apps Youth Centre.
Intensive Support & Supervision Program
The Intensive Support and Supervision Program (ISSP) is a treatment-focused, community-based program for youth in conflict with the law. It is a court-ordered sentencing option for youth who have significant mental health issues. The ISSP program is delivered in York, Peel, Halton, Dufferin, and Simcoe.
Each youth will have access to a multi-disciplinary treatment team which includes:
- Individual therapist which provides intensive evidence-based psychotherapy formulated to specifically target the youth’s mental health and criminogenic needs.
- Comprehensive case management which focuses on required community support needs, life skills and self-management strategies that will help the youth productively participate in community life.
- Psychology and psychiatry which can provide comprehensive risk, mental health and diagnostic assessments and provide ongoing consultation and medication management.
Our Goals
The goals of the ISSP program are to:
- reduce criminal recidivism;
- achieve a comprehensive and integrated understanding of the youth’s strengths and areas of challenge;
- provide intensive, individualized, evidence-based interventions targeting the complex mental health and criminogenic needs of the youth;
- strengthen the physical, emotional, and psychological well-being of the youth and their caregivers and
- advocate for and refer the youth and families to appropriate community support services.
Eligibility
The eligibility criteria for youth to access ISSP, a sentencing alternate to custody, include the following:
- youth, of any gender, who were 12-17 years old at the time of the offence;
- based on the nature or seriousness of the offence, the youth could receive a custody disposition;
- youth has a diagnosed or significant mental health need (e.g., mood/anxiety disorder, trauma-related disorder, self-harm or suicidal ideation, psychotic-spectrum disorder, substance-use disorder, developmental delay) demonstrated within a recent court-ordered Section 34 assessment;
- youth voluntarily consents to actively participate in the program;
- youth resides in our service area in a permanent, or semi-permanent, living situation;
- the youth can be safely supervised in the community;
- there are current and/or historical indicators of the youth’s capacity to function in the community and
- there are current and/or historical indicators of the youth’s responsiveness to therapeutic intervention.
Getting Started
Referrals to the Kinark ISSP can be made by Probation Services in the following Regions:
- Halton
- Dufferin
- Peel
- York
- Simcoe
Referrals require a recent psychological and/or psychiatric assessment report, ordered by the youth court under Section 34 of the Youth Criminal Justice Act, a completed ISSP referral form, and the Pre-Sentence Report, if available.
Once a referral is made, Kinark will conduct a suitability assessment to ensure the eligibility criteria for participation are met. We strive to complete this assessment within two to three weeks, after receiving all referral documentation.
Eligible youth will then require ISSP to be identified as a probation condition in order to participate in the program.
Phone: 905-713-0700
Fax: 905-713-0045
Email: ISSP@kinark.on.ca
Address: 218 Earl Stewart Drive, Unit 7, Aurora
