Healthy Babies Healthy Children (HBHC) Program (Motion #28-15)

Moved by Pilon, Thain. Approved by the Sudbury & District Board of Health, June 28, 2015.

WHEREAS the Healthy Babies Healthy Children (HBHC) program is a prevention/early intervention initiative designed to ensure that all Ontario families with children (prenatal to age six) who are at risk of physical, cognitive, communicative, and/or psychosocial problems have access to effective, consistent, early intervention services; and

WHEREAS the Healthy Babies Healthy Children program is a mandatory program for Boards of Health; and

WHEREAS in 1997 the province committed to funding the Healthy Babies Healthy Children program at 100% and the HBHC budget has been flat-lined since 2008; and

WHEREAS collective agreement settlements, travel costs, pay increments and accommodation costs have increased the costs of implementing the HBHC program, the management and administration costs of which are already offset by the cost-shared budget for provincially mandated programs; and

WHEREAS the HBHC program has made every effort to mitigate the outcome of the funding shortfall, this has becoming increasingly more challenging and will result in reduced services for high-risk families if increased funding is not provided.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Sudbury & District Board of Health direct staff to prepare a budget and program analysis of the HBHC program, outlining pressures and options for mitigation, detailing program and service implications of these options as compared against Ministry of Children and Youth Services expectations; and

FURTHER THAT the Sudbury & District Board of Health advocate strongly to the Minister of Children and Youth Services to fully fund all program costs related to the Healthy Babies Healthy Children program, including all staffing, operating and administrative costs.

FURTHER THAT this motion be forwarded to the Ministers of Children and Youth Services and Health and Long-Term Care, the Association of Local Public Health Agencies, Ontario Boards of Health and the Chief Medical Officer of Health.

This item was last modified on July 21, 2015