No. Your doctor may choose to make a referral with your prior consent. Also, some services may require a doctor’s referral information in order to proceed.

No. All of our services are Ministry funded.

Yes. An intake review meeting can occur through an office visit, a home visit, or over the telephone.

Plan to be available for one hour. It may take less time but depending on the information needed to process your referral it may also take a little longer.

Children under 12 do not have to be present however you may bring your child to the intake meeting if you do not have alternative care. The intake is for information gathering, not the treatment or assessment of your child. Health care decisions for minors under the age of 12 require parental consent. On the other hand, children over 12 must be present to consent for the services being requested.

If you are over 12 you may access services on your own and request not to share information with your parents/guardians. Depending on your circumstances, you may want your family/legal guardian to be involved. You can legally consent to services on your own when you are over 12.

If you have any medical reports, assessments, etc. related to the child who is being referred, you are encouraged to bring these with you to your intake appointment to assist with the information/history gathering. It is important to collect information on present and prior agency involvement, if any, to assist in making requests for services and to avoid duplication of services.

Your child’s health card may be required for some service requests, such as preschool speech and language services through WordPlay.

The consent of one of the parents will normally suffice. Documentation regarding custody is required by the services we refer to. A copy of these documents/legal orders relevant to consent and sharing of information is to be provided by the parent to the Service Coordinator at the time of intake. Should the agreement contain stipulations that limit one or both parents’ authority to consent/ to treat, etc. without a court order or consent of both parties, the child should not be referred to the service provider until these provisions are satisfied, unless the child’s treatment needs are deemed an emergency situation.

The agencies we refer to may have waiting lists. CCN service coordinators will help you identify interim supports that can assist you during the waiting period. If needs/circumstances change during the waiting period, you are encouraged to call CCN to consider whether referrals to other services are required.