NEWS RELEASE
ONTARIO FAMILY AND CHILDREN'S SERVICES
*************************
KAPUSKASING – Effective Mar. 31, 2017 the Pavillon Jeanne Sauvé, located in Val Rita, Ontario, closed its doors for the final time. The facility was operated by North Eastern Ontario Family and Children’s Services.
Although the program will no longer be offered at the same site in the Town of Val Rita, NEOFACS is excited to offer this new family-based service delivery model throughout its catchment area.
It will ensure that children and youth continue to have access to intensive therapeutic services in or in close proximity to their community and loved ones.
The Pavillon is referred to by locals and NEOFACS staff as The Pav. This program had been operating for more than thirty years.
It offered residential mental health treatment services for up to eight Francophone children or youth at a time. Its young clients came from communities throughout the districts of Cochrane and Timiskaming.
In the last three years, demand from service and bed utilization has decreased steadily. In 2016, the Pav’s occupancy rate was less than 50 per cent. As operating costs continued to increase year after year at a pace faster than funding increases, the program became financially unsustainable.
In early January, employees were advised that the Pav would be replaced by four Therapeutic Family Homes that would be located in different communities within the Cochrane and Timiskaming districts.
Each home will have a two bed capacity to ensure that there is no reduction in the level of service that was offered by the Pavillon Jeanne Sauvé.
The decision to transition to this new service delivery model was approved by the NEOFACS Board of Directors and supported by officials at the Ministry of Children and Youth Services.
NEOFACS is committed to maintaining and enhancing the services provided to its varied geographic and linguistic communities. The needs of Francophone clients will continue to be met through this new model of service.
*************************
