The Ministry is granting Sunny Hill $2 million to help create and deliver training for staff and clinicians at new family connections centre being established throughout the province.
Family connections centres are set to open in spring 2025 and will offer accessible and inclusive services for any families looking for more support for children and youth up to age 19. Sunny Hill staff will train clinical professionals at these centres, including occupational and physical therapists, speech-language pathologists, and behavioural analysts, to be well-versed in the standardized tools which assess adaptive behaviour and function in children and youth.
Sunny Hill is a provincial leader in specialized developmental assessments and rehabilitation services for B.C. children and youth, and their families, so this work aligns well.
“The teams at Sunny Hill are excited to be involved with the new family connections centres,” says BC Children's Hospital and Sunny Hill Chief Operating Officer Sarah Bell. “Sunny Hill staff have been at the forefront of using a trauma-informed, culturally safe and respectful approach so that children and youth feel they are receiving welcoming, safe and inclusive care.”
This grant and centres are a part of government’s work to establish a new system of support for children and youth with support needs and their families which will allow better and more consistent access to information, expert intervention, mental-health supports and therapies.
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