TORONTO, March 21, 2018 /CNW/ - The Ontario Catholic School Trustees' Association commends and applauds the provincial government's investment of an additional $2.1 billion into services and strategies to address mental health needs and addiction in Ontario. The Association is particularly pleased to see the increase of $570 million in funding for mental health programs and services targeting youth.

"The vision of student well-being in Catholic schools is a holistic one that focuses on nurturing the cognitive, social, physical and spiritual well-being of a child. Today's announcement complements this vision of care for the "whole child" and will serve to reinforce and better target the delivery of services and support for students throughout Ontario's education system," said OCSTA President, Patrick Daly.

Referenced in OCSTA's recent Pre-budget Consultation brief to the government, are statistics from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health showing that roughly 320,000 children in grades 7-12 report moderate to serious psychological distress (2016). Mental health issues affect not only a significant segment of our youth population in Ontario but have a disproportionate impact on different areas of the province.

"The announced provision of a mental health worker for every secondary school in Ontario and an increase in community-based counselling and therapy for youth is a welcome response to the youth mental health issues raised in our brief," said Mr. Daly.

OCSTA welcomes the opportunity to collaborate with the Ontario government and our provincial education partners to support mental health initiatives that will have a positive impact on the well-being and development of Ontario's students.

The Ontario Catholic School Trustees' Association (OCSTA) is the provincial voice for publicly funded Catholic education in the province. OCSTA represents Catholic school boards that collectively educate approximately 550,000 students in Ontario, from Kindergarten to Grade 12.

SOURCE Ontario Catholic School Trustees' Association

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