Child and youth mental health system is in crisis

Capitalize for Kids seeks more funding to transform the system

As the crisis in youth mental health continues to escalate, Capitalize for Kids, a charity focused on amplifying and accelerating the work of community child and youth mental health providers in Canada, is launching a fundraising campaign to elevate the system with new models of care, increased access and updated technology to help kids and their families access vital care.

“Children and youth are in crisis, families are in crisis, and youth mental health counsellors are also in crisis,” says Angela Simo Brown, president and CEO at the Canadian charity, who notes the current fragmented system is unable to handle increasing demand.

Ms. Simo Brown says while helplines and hospitals perform key roles, many people are unaware of how community mental health services operate in the mental health system.

While there are thousands of community mental health agencies in Canada that support children, youth and their families, many of them are not adequately funded and are using outdated technology.

“Capitalize for Kids identified this gap years ago and realized that we could help these community mental health agencies increase their capacity by bringing system efficiencies that are critical to reducing wait lists, tackling gaps in care and driving innovation for better outcomes through leveraging pro bono consulting expertise from top-tier management consulting firms,” she says. Capitalize for Kids is the only charity in Canada that focuses on providing expert pro bono consulting services in combination with funding to create a better mental health system for kids and their families, she adds.

The consultants have an important role, because often clinicians themselves don’t have the time, energy or funding to introduce improvements that have been tested and proven in other regions, says Ms. Simo Brown.

With Capitalize for Kids, solutions are not limited to one hospital, agency or hotline. Capitalize for Kids is building a better mental health system and has already positively impacted more than 1.1 million children, youth and families, bringing efficiencies and innovation to over 75 agencies in 19 regions, showing proven success in transforming a fragmented and challenged system, she says.

One of the charity’s 25 current initiatives is to help mental health agencies implement Measurement-Based Care (MBC), a proven data-driven progress measurement system for improved treatment effectiveness. MBC promotes the regular use of standardized questionnaires to track improvements and feedback, empowering youth in their own treatment plan. Without MBC, clinicians rely on general observations instead of real-time data to track progress and adjust treatment. MBC also increases youth involvement and engagement in their mental health journey.

Ms. Simo Brown says evidence suggests MBC can improve clinical symptoms by more than 40 per cent and increase the likelihood of reliable change by 3.5 times versus current programs.

In partnership with CAMH Cundill Centre for Child and Youth Depression, Capitalize for Kids’ vision is to lay the groundwork for MBC to become a standard of care in child and youth mental health across Canada.

To address the increasing demand for Capitalize for Kids’ services and to set the organization up for future growth, the charity is aiming to raise $10-million a year, says Ted Garrard, past CEO of SickKids Foundation and founder of West Shore Consulting Inc.

Reflecting on the origins of the organization, Mr. Garrard notes Capitalize for Kids was initially funded by an investor conference organized by the charity’s founders Kyle MacDonald and Jeff Gallant. The ongoing annual event continues to yield revenue for the charity.

“What we’re really looking to do is to complement our fundraising activities so that in the next five years we can become a $10-million a year fundraising organization,” says Mr. Garrard, who adds the goal is ambitious but achievable.

“We need to ensure that we can deliver the kind of quality solutions that our beneficiaries and partners are looking for. We’re reaching out to individuals, family foundations and the wealth that exists among individual Canadians to take on this issue,” he says.

Ms. Simo Brown’s call for donor support is clear: “Help Capitalize for Kids help mental health providers help more kids and families.”

Learn more: capitalizeforkids.org

Advertising feature produced by Randall Anthony Communications with the Association of Fundraising Professionals Canada. The Globe’s editorial department was not involved.