SmartStart Hubs
The Cochrane Temiskaming Children’s Treatment Centre is a bilingual, not-for-profit organization, funded by the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services.
If you have questions or concerns about your child’s development, we can help you CT CTC is one of Ontario’s 22 SmartStart Hubs, a one-stop point of entry to assessment, services and programs for kids and families. Each SmartStart Hub brings together local professionals, ensuring seamless connections to the early identification of children’s strengths and needs, and connections to local services.
Care navigation and a holistic approach are key components of high quality, integrated care services. As a SmartStart Hub, we offer you a welcoming and supported entry into Ontario’s child development services, and bring together the right people and service providers to ensure timely and high quality care for kids and families. SmartStart Hubs are located in every region of the province. At CT CTC, we serve as Ontario’s SmartStart Hub for Cochrane and Temiskaming Districts and communities in the James Bay area. Contact us at (800) 575-3210 or (705) 264-4700 and email us at Info@ctctc.org.
Ontario’s Children’s Treatment Centres and Surrey Place in Toronto are taking on a new service called SmartStart Hubs. As SmartStart Hubs, these agencies will be a clear point of entry to services for children and families. Each Hub will bring together local child development professionals, giving families that have a concern about their child’s development seamless connections to assessments and services.
Anyone with a concern about their child’s development—whether their child is meeting developmental milestones—can contact the SmartStart Hub to start the process of assessment. No diagnosis or referral is required. You might call it a one-stop shop for getting help.
Think of the SmartStart Hub as the front door to child development services. You’ll be warmly greeted, and you’ll have a conversation with a professional about your concerns, your child’s development and strengths, and any supports that might be needed. In some cases, the agency that is the SmartStart Hub will be able to offer services and programs for your family and your child. Depending on what is recommended, the SmartStart Hub might also connect you with another provider in your area that can provide services. You won’t need to tell your story again because the SmartStart Hubs works directly with partner agencies in your community.
If you have a referral, you might not need the SmartStart Hub. It is primarily a place where families can go when they have questions about their child’s development and need a place to connect for advice and potentially for services.
The SmartStart Hub in Toronto is Surrey Place. In other communities the Children’s Treatment Centre provides SmartStart Hub services. You can find your local Children’s Treatment Centre at: https://www.ontario.ca/page/childrens-rehabilitation-services#section-4
Twenty-two providers across the province serve as SmartStart Hubs. These providers offer service to every community in Ontario.
SmartStart Hubs will connect you to assessments and services including speech and language pathology, occupational therapy, and physical therapy as well as mental health services, specialty clinics, and family-based supports like respite services and parent coaching.
Between Ontario’s Children’s Treatment Centres and Surrey Place, every community in the province has a SmartStart Hub. These providers bring together local professionals to ensure the range of child development services are connected. That means families have one place to go to access the range of services and supports that will help their child reach development goals. Families no longer need to make connections on their own—the SmartStart Hub can do this for them.
No referral or diagnosis is necessary. If you have concerns about your child’s development for any reason, you can go directly to the SmartStart Hub that serves your community. You can also access the SmartStart Hub through another service provider in your community, your child’s doctor, your child care provider or your child’s school.
Your child does not need a diagnosis to access services through the SmartStart Hub.
Yes, agencies that are SmartStart Hubs offer child development services like physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech language therapy. Some offer other services like behavioral therapy, or specialty clinics. If your child needs clinical services that aren’t offered by the SmartStart Hub, or your family can benefit from programs offered by other agencies, the SmartStart Hub will connect you with partner agencies in your area for services.
The SmartStart Hub will connect you with a partner agency that can provide the services your child and family need. The SmartStart Hub is your door to a range of child development services.
There is no cost. In Ontario children and youth up to age 19 and up to age 21 for youth in school can access a SmartStart Hub as well as all publicly funded child development services, for example services for kids with physical disabilities, developmental disabilities, or communication disorders.
There is a SmartStart Hub for every community in Ontario. In most communities, it’s the Children’s Treatment Centre; in Toronto it is Surrey Place. If you aren’t sure where your local Children’s Treatment Centre is, you can find it here; https://www.ontario.ca/page/childrens-rehabilitation-services#section-4.
All 22 SmartStart Hubs will be set up and delivering services to families by January 2023.
Many SmartStart Hubs services, including exploratory conversations, may be accessible by phone or video chat for families who cannot easily visit in person.
Not at all. SmartStart Hubs are intended for families who aren’t sure where to go to access services, or what services they should receive. If you know your child’s support needs and where to go to access a particular service, you can contact that service provider directly.
The SmartStart Hub gives you and your family a clear point of entry to a wide range of children’s services. You’ll receive a warm welcome, and you will only need to discuss your concerns about your child’s development one time. The Hub will connect you to local professionals for assessments and child development services—in some cases these may be provided by the SmartStart Hub organization itself. SmartStart Hubs are a clear point of entry to Ontario’s child development services.
(705) 264-4700 or TF: (800) 575-3210
733 Ross Avenue East, Suite 1
Timmins ON, P4N 8S8
The external resource links are provided for informational purposes only. Cochrane Temiskaming Children’s Treatment Centre is not responsible for the content, privacy policies and terms of use of websites to which we link. The websites listed are not a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis or treatment, provided by a qualified health-care provider.
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You have a big impact on your child’s development. We value family centered care and equity of service; we also believe that by working together and consistent attendance for all appointments is vital to the success of any service we provide to you and your child. Here is what to expect:
Safety and wellness is a team effort! You are an important member of the team! Think Safe…Communicate – Ask if you don’t understand. Make sure CT CTC staff involved in your child’s services have important health information. If you don’t understand some part of your child’s condition or treatment, ask your therapist to explain why things are being done the way they are. If you still have concerns, don’t hesitate to ask again.
Staff and other families/caregivers or children at the CT CTC may be sensitive to perfumes and strong scents. Please refrain from wearing these when you attend your child’s appointments.
Directly inform each staff member that you are involved with about any allergies that your child may have. If your child requires an EpiPen, please ensure that you have one with you when attending appointments. Please avoid bringing any food items containing nuts or latex to the CT CTC.
Ensure CT CTC staff are aware of the name and any possible side effects of any medication your child is taking. If medication is to be given to teachers or daycare staff, please ensure medication is in its original, child -proof, labeled containers. Please follow any medication policy the CT CTC may have.
If you or your child is sick, please contact us to cancel your child’s appointment. Please let us know if your child has contracted a communicable illness (e.g., chicken pox, influenza, strep throat). Getting the flu shot is a good way of reducing the risk of illness due to the influenza virus. Ask your doctor.
Your child does not receive any benefit from their therapeutic program when they do not feel well. There is also the risk of spreading germs/infections to staff members and other children. Some children that come to the CT CTC are medically fragile and when exposed to common ailments may become very ill and require hospitalization. Please use caution when deciding when to bring your child in for appointments and when to keep them at home. The same applies for siblings and yourself.
Correct posture allows our body to act as efficiently as possible.
A good base of support allows you to be more stable. Place feet shoulder width apart with feet in the direction of the lift.
Try to match your centre of gravity with the centre of gravity of what you are carrying.
In accordance with the Personal Health Information Privacy Act (PHIPA), the CT CTC collects personal health information about your child and your family. The personal health information we collect may include, for example, name, date of birth, address, health history, records of visits to CT CTC and the care received during such visits.
Occasionally, we also collect personal health information about children and families/caregivers from other sources if we have obtained consent to do so, or if the law permits.
Your personal health information will be contained within an electronic record. Please note that we limit collection of information to what is required to provide care to you and your child.
Parents/caregivers may access and make corrections to their child’s personal health records or withdraw consent for some of the above uses and disclosures by contacting us. Please note that there are legal exceptions
We take steps to protect your personal health information from theft, loss and unauthorized access, copying, modification, use, disclosure, and disposal.
We conduct audits and complete investigations to monitor and manage our privacy compliance.
We take steps to ensure that everyone who performs services for us protect your privacy and only use your personal health information for the purposes you have consented to.
Should you have any questions, our Privacy Officer can be reached at 705-264-4700, ext. 245. OR TF: (800) 575-3210
Within Our Catchment Areas, The Agencies, including members of the public and professionals who work closely with children is required by law to report suspected cases of child abuse or neglect. Anyone with reasonable grounds to suspect that a child is or may be in need of protection must report it to a Children’s Aid Society.
As a parent/caregiver/guardian, it is also your responsibility to report any concerns regarding caregivers who may be involved with your child. Child abuse happens when a child’s parent or other person in charge harms or neglects a child.
Physical abuse may consist of beating, slapping, hitting, pushing, throwing, shaking, burning.
Sexual abuse happens when a parent or other person in charge sexually molests or uses a child for a sexual purpose or knowingly fails to protect a child from sexual abuse.
Emotional abuse may consist of yelling at, screaming at, threatening, frightening, humiliating, or bullying a child , name-calling or saying harmful comments, showing little to no physical attention or affection.
Not providing proper food and clothing, supervision, medical care.
Within our catchment areas, the agencies to contact are:
Discharging and/or transitioning a client is an essential component of effective and collaborative clinical practice management. It aims to fully involve clients, families/caregivers in the process to ensure that they receive adequate information. In all cases, you will be kept informed of any plans to discharge or transition your child’s services. In many cases, children may be re-referred for services as their needs or circumstances change. If your child has been discharged from a particular service due to attendance or cancellation policies, they will be placed on the regular waitlist for that service if a re-referral is made.
Families/caregivers often use the Internet as a key tool to keep them informed about their child’s condition, treatments and services that might be available for their child and family/caregiver and/or their legal rights. Parents often seek advice and support from online networking groups and forums and these can help shape your plans for ensuring your child and family/caregiver get the support they need. You should always remember that while the Internet is a great source of information, there is a lot of information that is out of date, unreliable or incorrect.
Only a medical professional can give you medical advice after consulting with you and getting details about your child’s condition.
Your child’s first appointment at the CT CTC may be approaching. You may find yourself starting to get slightly nervous about what will happen during the assessment, and what you should ask or talk about with the therapists.
At the end of the assessment, the therapist(s) will summarize their findings, provide you with recommendations and discuss next steps.
We will discuss with you the approach most suitable for your child and develop a therapy plan.
CT CTC is committed to excellence in serving all clients including individuals with disabilities.
We will ensure that our staff are trained and familiar with various assistive devices that may be used by clients with disabilities while accessing our goods or services.
We will communicate with individuals with disabilities in ways that take into account their disability.
We welcome individuals with disabilities and their service animals. Service animals are allowed on the parts of our premises that are open to the public.
A person with a disability who is accompanied by a support person will be allowed to have that person accompany them on our premises. Fees will not be charged for support persons.
Clients who wish to provide feedback on the way CT CTC provides goods and services to individuals with disabilities can do so verbally, in writing or by email. All feedback will be directed to Jason Hachez Finance And Proprety, Manager responsible for Accessible Customer Service – jason.hachez@ctctc.org or call (705) 264-4700 ext.246 OR TF: (800) 575-3210
Clients can expect to hear back in 3 working days from receipt of message. Complaints will be addressed according to our organization’s regular complaint management procedures.
In the event of a planned or unexpected disruption to services or facilities for clients with disabilities, CT CTC will notify clients promptly. This clearly posted notice will include information about the reason for the disruption, its anticipated length of time, and a description of alternative facilities or services, if available. The notice will be placed on our social media and at main entrances to Ross Avenue site as well as any satellite locations.
CT CTC will provide training to all staff, volunteers and others who deal with the public or other third parties on their behalf.
Any policy of CT CTC that does not respect and promote the dignity and independence of individuals with disabilities will be modified or removed.
