April 1, 2024 (Toronto, ON) – A new report from Ontario’s Auditor General highlights the growing inability for children and youth to access community mental health services in Ontario.
Despite a growing demand for help, timely access to community mental health care has become further out of reach for Ontario’s children and youth. Barriers to care, including longstanding funding gaps, workforce shortages, uneven service distribution, and challenges with system coordination impede access to care for the one in five young Ontarians who will experience a mental health challenge this year.
“Across Ontario, community mental health and addictions care is becoming less accessible for those who need it most,” said Jennifer Holmes Weier, Chief Executive Officer of Addictions and Mental Health Ontario (AMHO). “We know that investing in the people and programs that support children, youth, and our communities is one of the most effective ways to ensure that everyone can access the mental health and addictions care they need, when and where they need it. In the 2025 Ontario budget, this government has an opportunity to make that investment, and help transition more people than ever before from crisis to care.”
In the report, the Auditor General’s office also noted that the absence of a dedicated health human resources (HHR) strategy for the youth mental health sector has contributed to a rise in staffing shortages, hospitalizations, emergency room visits, and longer wait times for essential services.
Over the past several years, AMHO and our partners in community healthcare have called for the development of a comprehensive HHR strategy to support the community mental health and addictions sector. A request to develop this strategy was also included in AMHO’s 2025 pre-budget submission, From Crisis to Care.
AMHO was pleased to see the government accept all 22 recommendations in the Auditor General’s report, and continues to offer the experience, leadership and support of its membership to help build a stronger, more supported, community mental health and addictions sector.
Full report: Performance Audit: Community-Based Child and Youth Mental Health Program.
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About Addictions and Mental Health Ontario
Addictions and Mental Health Ontario (AMHO) represents over 160 organizations that provide front-line substance use, addiction, and mental health support and services. AMHO members support Ontarians through their mental health and substance use challenges by providing community-based treatment, including counselling, structured psychotherapy, case management, withdrawal management, live-in addictions treatment, peer support, harm reduction supports, and supportive housing.
For more information, please contact:
David Turnbull
Director, Communications and Public Affairs
david.turnbull@amho.ca