cmho.org

Children's Mental Health Ontario (CMHO) offers parents and caregivers several dedicated resource hubs, including the Family Care Centre, the Parent Survival Guide, school mental health resources, and a "Find Help" tool that connects families to publicly funded child and youth mental health centres across Ontario. These resources are designed for parents or caregivers worried about a child, as well as young people seeking help themselves. CMHO states that its network has 4,000 professionals providing free counselling and treatment in person, by phone, and virtually.

Who CMHO is and who these resources are for

CMHO represents Ontario's publicly funded Child and Youth Mental Health Centres. It advocates for investments, policies, and programs for children, youth, and families seeking mental health services in Ontario, with the goal of promoting a coordinated, high-quality system of care.

The parent-facing resources are aimed at:

• Parents and caregivers who are worried about a child's mental health
• Young people looking for help on their own
• Families waiting for or currently receiving services

CMHO's site states plainly: "No problem is too big or small."

Main parent and caregiver resource entry points

The site groups these under a "Resources to Help Parents" section, alongside additional categories for teachers, professionals, and youth.

How to find services through CMHO

1. Go to cmho.org and look for the "Find Help" option.
2. Use it to locate a child and youth mental health centre in your area.
3. Contact that centre directly — CMHO notes its network provides care in person, on the phone, and virtually.

The expected result is a connection to a publicly funded centre in Ontario's child and youth mental health system, rather than a private provider.

The context behind these resources: wait times

CMHO's "Kids Can't Wait" campaign highlights a significant access problem. According to the site:

• 28,000 Ontario children and youth are waiting for mental health services.
• For some families, the wait is up to two and a half years.
• The longest wait for service can reach 919 days.

This context matters for parents using CMHO's resources: the Family Care Centre and Parent Survival Guide are partly intended to help families cope and find guidance during waiting periods, not only after service begins.

Other resources on the site

Beyond parent-focused materials, CMHO publishes:

• Feature reports on wait times and other issues affecting kids' mental health in Ontario
• Advocacy reports identifying challenges and solutions to policy issues
• Facts & Figures, a regularly updated collection of statistics on child and youth mental health in Ontario
• Latest updates, including organizational news and statements

What CMHO does not appear to offer

Based on the site content, CMHO is an association and advocacy organization, not a direct service provider. It does not appear to offer crisis counselling directly through the website — instead, it directs families to its network of centres. The site does not list pricing for services; it describes the network as publicly funded and refers to "free counselling and treatment," but individual centres may have their own intake processes.

Children's Mental Health Ontario (CMHO) is a member-based association representing Ontario's publicly-funded Child and Youth Mental Health Centres. If you are a parent or caregiver worried about a child, or a young person looking for help, CMHO's network connects you to centres with roughly 4,000 professionals offering free counselling and treatment — in person, by phone, or virtually. The main practical action the site supports is finding a child and youth mental health centre in your area.

Who CMHO is

CMHO describes itself as representing Ontario's publicly-funded Child and Youth Mental Health Centres. It advocates for investments, policies, and programs for children, youth, and families seeking mental health services in Ontario. Its stated goal is to promote a coordinated, high-quality system of care that puts infants, children, youth, and families first.

Two things follow from this:

• CMHO is an association and advocacy body, not a direct walk-in clinic. The care itself is delivered through its network of member centres across Ontario.
• The services described are publicly funded. The site states the network provides free counselling and treatment.

What services the network offers

According to the site, the network of child and youth mental health centres has 4,000 professionals ready to help children, youth, and families. Key features:

The site's core message to families is direct: "You Don't Have to Do This Alone." If you are a parent or caregiver worried about your child, or a young person looking for help yourself, the site asks you to reach out.

Resources on the site

Beyond finding a centre, cmho.org organizes resources by audience:

• Family Care Centre — support aimed at parents and caregivers.
• Parent Survival Guide — a guide for parents navigating their child's mental health.
• School mental health resources — materials relevant to school settings.
• Teacher resources and professional resources — for people working with children and youth.
• Youth resources — for young people seeking help themselves.
• More kids mental health resources — an additional general collection.

Advocacy and data: the "Kids Can't Wait" campaign

CMHO also publishes advocacy content. Its "Kids Can't Wait" campaign states that 28,000 Ontario children and youth are waiting for mental health services, with some families waiting up to two and a half years. The site cites the longest wait for service reaching 919 days and urges the Ontario government to end the wait.

Related publications include:

• Feature report — news on wait times and other issues affecting kids' mental health in Ontario.
• Advocacy report — identifies challenges and solutions to policy issues.
• Facts & figures — a regularly published collection of statistics on child and youth mental health in Ontario.

Who this site is for

• Parents and caregivers worried about a child's mental health who want to find a local centre and read practical guidance.
• Young people looking for help themselves.
• Teachers, school staff, and professionals seeking sector resources.
• Advocates, journalists, and policymakers looking for statistics and advocacy reports on Ontario's child and youth mental health system.

How to get started

1. Go to cmho.org and use the "Find a child and youth mental health centre in your area" option to locate a centre near you.
2. If you are a parent or caregiver, explore the Family Care Centre and Parent Survival Guide for context while you wait or before you reach out.
3. If you are a young person, start with the youth resources section.
4. If you want the system-level picture, read the feature report, advocacy report, and facts & figures pages.

One thing to keep in mind: because CMHO is an association rather than a single service, the specific intake process, hours, and availability will depend on the individual centre you contact. The site's role is to point you to that centre and to make the case for shortening wait times across the system.

CMHO's "Kids Can't Wait" campaign states that 28,000 Ontario children and youth are waiting for mental health services, with some families waiting up to two and a half years and the longest wait reaching 919 days. The campaign is CMHO's public call for the Ontario government to increase investment and end those waits. These figures describe the scale of the problem as CMHO presents it; they are not a promise about how long any individual child will wait.

The numbers behind the campaign

CMHO's homepage presents three headline figures under the "Kids Can't Wait" banner:

The campaign frames these as a system-level problem rather than isolated cases: a large number of children are waiting, and for some the wait stretches into years. CMHO uses the phrase "Kids Can't Wait" to argue that delayed access to mental health care has real consequences for children and families.

What CMHO is asking for

CMHO describes itself as representing Ontario's publicly-funded Child and Youth Mental Health Centres, and it advocates for investments, policies, and programs for children, youth, and families seeking mental health services in Ontario. Its stated goal is a coordinated, high-quality system of care that puts infants, children, youth, and families first.

In the context of the campaign, that advocacy role translates into a specific ask: join CMHO in urging the Ontario government to end the wait. The campaign is therefore both a public-awareness effort about wait times and a push for government funding and policy change.

Where the wait-time information comes from

CMHO publishes several types of material that support or expand on the campaign's claims:

• Feature report – CMHO's latest news on wait times and other key issues affecting kids' mental health in Ontario.
• Advocacy report – reports aimed at identifying challenges and solutions to policy issues affecting kids' mental health.
• Facts & figures – a regularly published collection of statistics about child and youth mental health in Ontario.
• Latest updates – news items, including statements on workforce pressures and events such as Children's Mental Health Week.

If you want the underlying data rather than the headline numbers, the Facts & Figures and Advocacy Report sections are the places to look.

If you are a parent or young person looking for help now

The campaign describes a system under strain, but CMHO's site also points to direct help. Its message to parents, caregivers, and young people is "You Don't Have to Do This Alone," and it states that its network of child and youth mental health centres has 4,000 professionals ready to help children, youth, and families with free counselling and treatment. Care is offered in person, on the phone, and virtually, and CMHO says no problem is too big or small.

The practical step it recommends is to find a child and youth mental health centre in your area through its Find Help tool. CMHO also offers parent-facing resources, including a Family Care Centre, a Parent Survival Guide, school mental health resources, and separate sections for teachers, professionals, and youth.

What the campaign does and does not tell you

The "Kids Can't Wait" figures are useful for understanding the overall pressure on Ontario's child and youth mental health system and for following CMHO's advocacy position. They are not a wait-time estimate for a specific centre, service, or child — actual waits depend on where you live, what kind of service you need, and how urgently it is needed. For current, location-specific information, use CMHO's Find Help directory and the centre it directs you to.

Children's Mental Health Ontario (CMHO) is a member-based association representing Ontario's publicly-funded Child and Youth Mental Health Centres. If you're a parent or caregiver worried about a child, or a young person looking for help, the fastest route is CMHO's Find Help tool at cmho.org, which locates a publicly-funded child and youth mental health centre in your area. These centres offer counselling and treatment at no cost to families, delivered in person, by phone, or virtually. You do not need a diagnosis or a doctor's referral to start — you can contact a centre directly.

Who CMHO serves and what "free" means here

CMHO represents Ontario's publicly-funded Child and Youth Mental Health Centres, and its network includes 4,000 professionals ready to help children, youth, and families. Because the centres are publicly funded, counselling and treatment are provided free of charge to families — this is the core reason CMHO is a practical starting point rather than a private-pay directory.

The services are designed for:

• Children and youth looking for help themselves
• Parents and caregivers worried about a child
• Families navigating the system on someone else's behalf

CMHO's stated goal is a coordinated, high-quality system of care that puts infants, children, youth, and families first. As the site puts it: "No problem is too big or small."

Step-by-step: finding a centre near you

1. Go to cmho.org and use the Find Help function.
2. Enter your location in Ontario. The tool matches you to a child and youth mental health centre serving your area.
3. Contact the centre directly — by phone, through their website, or by walking in, depending on what the centre lists.
4. Describe your situation in plain terms. You do not need a formal diagnosis or a referral from a family doctor to make this first contact.
5. Agree on a service format — in person, by phone, or virtually — based on what the centre offers and what works for your family.

Expected result: you leave the first contact with either an appointment, a waitlist placement, or a clear next step from the centre's intake staff.

What services actually look like

CMHO's network provides counselling and treatment for children, youth, and families. Care is delivered through three channels:

The right format depends on your child's age, comfort level, and how far you are from the nearest centre. Ask about all three when you call — availability varies by centre.

The wait-time reality you should plan for

CMHO's own advocacy campaign, Kids Can't Wait, reports that 28,000 Ontario children and youth are waiting for mental health services, with some families waiting up to two and a half years. The longest wait for service can reach 919 days.

This matters for your decision-making:

• Ask about the waitlist at your first contact. A centre may have different waits for different service types or age groups.
• Ask whether there's an urgent or brief-service option if your situation can't wait.
• Consider contacting more than one centre if your area is served by multiple providers.
• Use CMHO's parent-facing resources while you wait (see below) so you're not starting from zero.

Resources beyond finding a centre

CMHO's site organizes support by who you are:

• Family Care Centre — for parents and caregivers
• Parent Survival Guide — practical guidance for day-to-day challenges
• School mental health resources — for navigating school-based support
• Teacher resources and professional resources — for educators and practitioners
• Youth resources — written for young people seeking help themselves

CMHO also publishes a Feature Report on wait times, Advocacy Reports on policy issues, and a Facts & Figures collection of statistics on child and youth mental health in Ontario. These are useful if you want data to support a school meeting, a funding request, or an advocacy effort.

Common sticking points

• Assuming you need a referral. You don't — direct contact with a centre is the intended path.
• Waiting for a crisis before reaching out. The network explicitly welcomes concerns that seem small.
• Not asking about format. If travel is a barrier, virtual or phone care may be available and shorten your practical wait.
• Only contacting one centre. Coverage areas overlap in some regions; a second call can change your timeline.
• Treating the waitlist as the end of the road. Ask what supports exist in the meantime, including CMHO's parent and youth resources.

If you are a parent, caregiver, or young person in Ontario, start at cmho.org and use Find Help — then call the centre it returns. That single call is the step that turns a search into actual care.

Children's Mental Health Ontario (CMHO) publishes three main categories of public information: advocacy reports, a feature report on current issues, and a "Facts & Figures" collection of statistics about child and youth mental health in Ontario. These materials are aimed at the public, professionals, and policymakers, and are used to identify policy challenges and push for system improvements. You can find them through the corresponding sections on cmho.org.

The Three Main Content Areas

CMHO's site organizes its advocacy and data content into distinct sections, each serving a different purpose:

What the Statistics Cover

The "Facts & Figures" collection is where CMHO gathers quantitative data on the state of child and youth mental health in Ontario. The most prominent figure on the site concerns wait times:

• 28,000 Ontario children and youth are waiting for mental health services.
• For some families, the wait is up to two and a half years.
• The longest wait for service can reach 919 days.

These numbers anchor CMHO's "Kids Can't Wait" campaign, which urges the Ontario government to end the wait. The campaign page states that 28,000 children are on the wait list, some waiting as long as 2.5 years, with the longest wait reaching 919 days.

What the Advocacy Reports Do

CMHO describes its advocacy reports as aiming to "identify challenges and solutions to important policy issues affecting kids' mental health." This means the reports are not purely descriptive — they pair problem identification with proposed responses. They sit alongside CMHO's broader advocacy work, which the organization describes as advocating for investments, policies, and programs for children, youth, and families seeking mental health services in Ontario.

Where These Fit in CMHO's Role

CMHO represents Ontario's publicly-funded Child and Youth Mental Health Centres. Its stated goal is to promote a coordinated, high-quality system of care that puts infants, children, youth, and families first. The advocacy reports and statistics are the evidence base for that goal — they document what's happening in the system and argue for what should change.

The site also notes that CMHO regularly publishes its statistics collection, so the Facts & Figures section is worth checking periodically rather than treating as a one-time snapshot.

How to Use These Resources

If you want to understand the state of child and youth mental health in Ontario, start with Facts & Figures for the numbers, then read the Advocacy Report for CMHO's interpretation and proposed solutions. The Feature Report is the place to look for the most current news on wait times and related issues. All three are accessible from cmho.org.