Quality standards homepage  Levels of care quality standard

In early 2024, we began developing a quality standard to help enhance live-in mental health treatment for children and young people in Ontario. This standard will help establish a consistent, evidence-informed framework that guides the delivery of high-quality, intensive care. The standard aims to support the best care outcomes, reduce system inequities and promote continuous improvement of live-in treatment programs across the province. 

Draft live-in treatment quality standard Executive summary

Share your feedback

We’re seeking feedback from anyone with experience accessing, trying to access, working in, or developing live-in treatment programs.

This includes:

  • Young people and caregivers. 
  • Professionals such as clinicians, researchers, agency-leaders, and service providers working in the CYMHA sector and other related sectors. 
  • Systems-level leaders and policymakers, such as the Ontario Ministry of Health, Ontario Health, and the Child and Youth Mental Health Lead Agency Consortium. 

Your input will help shape a shared vision for high-quality live-in treatment for children and young people across Ontario. 

This standard is not part of accreditation but will help organizations to systematically and continuously improve treatment. This work is also part of the Ontario Intensive Treatment Pathway (OITP) initiative. 

How to share your input

We invite you to read the draft standard and complete the anonymous feedback survey. If you’d prefer another way to share your input, you can also:

  • Join a consultation meeting or phone call with our team
  • Download the draft and submit track changes
  • Send a voice memo
  • Email us your written feedback

For any of these options, please contact us at standards@cymha.ca for instructions. 

Deadline: April 10 at 11:59 PM 

What do we mean by live-in treatment?

Live-in treatment provides intensive, around-the-clock care for young people facing complex mental health challenges. However, current live-in services vary widely in approach, accessibility, and outcomes. By establishing a clear, province-wide standard, we aim to improve the quality and consistency of care and create pathways that address both the needs of young people and the diverse contexts in which care is delivered.

Background and context

The Ontario Intensive Treatment Pathway (OITP) is part of the Ontario government’s commitment to improving intensive mental health treatment for children and youth. Under this initiative, regional hub organizations will work with local networks to adopt and implement the live-in treatment standard and adapt it to specific community needs across Ontario. Alignment between OITP and the quality standard helps create a more cohesive, consistent, and comprehensive approach to intensive mental health care provincewide.

Stay informed

As this quality standard takes shape, we will regularly update this page with resources. Service providers, caregivers, young people, and other partners are encouraged to stay informed and provide feedback to support the development process.

Subscribe to our monthly e-newsletter for the latest updates and ways to get involved!

FAQs:

Who is involved in developing the quality standard?

We’re working with a diverse Quality Standard Advisory Committee (QSAC), which includes youth and caregivers with lived experience, service providers, researchers, topic experts, and system leaders. Together, this group helps ensure the standard is grounded in real-world needs and responds to the most pressing gaps in the sector.

How can I provide feedback or get involved?

We encourage all partners—service providers, families, youth, and community members—to subscribe to our e-newsletter for updates and invitations to provide feedback during consultations and co-development activities.  

You can send your questions directly to us at standards@cymha.ca.

How is this quality standard related to the work of OITP?

OITP is one of the main ways this standard will be put into action across the province. As OITP build a more coordinated, equitable system of intensive treatment, this standard will serve as the foundation for how services are designed, delivered and monitored.

This alignment helps reduce variation in care, improve access, and ensure all children and youth receive, consistent, evidence-informed treatment.

Why are we focusing on live-in treatment? (LIT)?

We’re starting with LIT because it’s a key area of need for children and youth with intensive mental health challenges. Intensive services, including LIT- were short-listed during our last topic selection process for quality standards, demonstrating that it is a priority for leaders, service providers, young people, and families across the sector. It also builds on our recent work, including the development of the Levels of Care quality standard, making it a logical next step in strengthening the system.

This focus also aligns with broader government commitments like Roadmap to Wellness, the Lead Agency Consortium’s Provincial Priorities Report, and other longstanding recommendations. Service providers have also highlighted that they often divert resources from other services to meet high demand for LIT. Improving access and streamlining care pathways may help strengthen resources across the entire system.

How will OITP and this quality standard help improve live-in mental health services?

The OITP will help create a more seamless and equitable system. It will do this by improving access, coordinating services at a regional level, and ensuring care aligns with the provincial quality standard. It’s one of the key ways we’ll support the implementation and monitoring of that standard—helping reduce gaps and variability in service delivery across Ontario. To ensure consistency between the quality standard and other portions of OITP’s work, a member from each OITP working group is also a member of the QSAC.