March 5, 2007

The Mental Health Case Management Association of Ontario has joined the Ontario Federation of Community Mental Health and Addiction Programs. The Association will become the Case Management Committee of the Federation. The new Committee will have a structure similar to the committees and councils of the Federation, and will include Addiction Case Management as well as Mental Health Case Management.

The primary goals of the Case Management Committee are to:

• Build competency, skills and knowledge of case management at the individual, program and organization level
• Promote networking/connectedness among case managers in Ontario
• Inform and contribute to Federation advocacy efforts around case management

The Committee will do this by reaching out directly to front line mental health and addiction case managers who will be part of a new Case Management Network. Through the Network, the Committee will distribute newsletters and communicate about workshops and seminars. The Committee also plans to develop an on-line message board so that case managers can chat and interact. In addition, the Mental Health Training Modules developed by the Association have been completely revamped and should be ready for sale in April 2007.

A partnership with the Federation provides case managers across Ontario with many new opportunities. The work done by the Association in previous years will be improved through greater exposure to mental health and addiction organizations in the province and the provision of administrative support and a well-established operational infrastructure. The Federation provides systemic support at the agency level; by joining the Federation, the Association will expand the Federation’s range of services by representing front line workers directly. Even if your agency is not a member of the Federation, you are still welcome to participate in the Case Management Committee and the Case Management Network.

If you have any feedback to offer as we begin developing , please feel free to contact Liam Mitchell at the Federation at (416) 490-8900 ext 26 or memberservices@ofcmhap.on.ca. Alternately, contact Mark LaRouche, the transitional Chair of the Case Management Committee, at (705) 384-5392 ext 35 or larouche@mpscmhs.on.ca.