"Many child and youth agencies have implemented youth and family engagement practices but we've heard from young people and families that there is still a lot of inconsistency on how engagement is practiced. The need for measurable best practices is really important and that's why we developed the quality standards. If best practice in engagement is measurable then communities can be accountable"
Jana Kocourek is the Manager of Engagement and Standards at the Ontario Centre of Excellence for Child and Youth Mental Health (the Centre) in Ottawa, Ontario. She oversees the development and implementation of quality standards for the child and youth mental health sector including the quality standards for youth and family engagement. Jana's team works with community based child and youth mental health agencies in Ontario to imbed youth and family voice within organizations and communities by implementing the standards. Jana is also a member of the Youth Wellness Hubs Ontario (YWHO) backbone team.
In this first episode of Frayme's new podcast series, our Travis Stzainert speaks to Jana to find out more about the creation and implementation of the newly released quality standards for youth engagement and quality standards for family engagement. You’ll learn about the process for creating the standards, and find out how the Center is working to support provincial organizations and services to implement these standards. We’ll also explore some of the barriers and facilitators to implementing these standards across diverse organizations.
*Since this interview, Jana has taken over a new position at another organization. For further inquiries about the standards, please contact cymhstandards@cheo.on.ca
Help us improve our podcast series by providing your feedback on this podcast!
We welcome relevant and respectful comments. Off-topic comments and spam will be removed.