SmartStart Hub

Connecting Families with Child Development Services

FIREFLY is proud to announce that as a Children’s Treatment Centre, we are one of Ontario’s 22 SmartStart Hubs, a clear point of entry to assessment, services and programs for kids and families. FIREFLY has enhanced our Centralized Intake to align with the introduction of the SmartStart Hub.

What is a SmartStart Hub?

• A clear entry point (main door) to services for families with concerns about their child’s development and day-to-day functioning related to development.
• Streamlined and coordinated connections to services and supports so that families and caregivers feel supported without having to re-tell their stories to each new service provider.
• Explore families’ concerns and supports them to identify their children’s strengths and functional needs from a holistic perspective.

What to expect?

• SmartStart Hubs provide a consistent way of delivering services – For example, families will be contacted by FIREFLY’s Centralized Intake where Intake Workers will have exploratory conversations with families to discuss their concerns related to their child’s/youth’s development and work with families to develop a plan to address their child’s needs.
• Intake Workers will connect families to appropriate assessments and child/youth development services including speech and language pathology, occupational therapy, and physical therapy as well as mental health services, specialty clinics, and family based support.

Who is eligible?

• Anyone concerned about their child’s or youth’s development from birth until the ages of 19, or up to the age of 21 if they are in school and living in Ontario, can contact a SmartStart Hub to explore their concerns.
• A diagnosis is not required to access the SmartStart Hub.

What resources are available?

About SmartStart Hub Services (Download) 

CanChild F-Words for Child Development
As a SmartStart Hub we use the F-words to promote a strength-based, family-centered, holistic approach.
Six CanChild F-Words for Child Development (Download) 
Six CanChild F-Words for Youth Development (Download) 

CanChild F-Words Foundation Course!
This free, online training course is self-paced and is designed for families, health care providers and managers, community service providers and educators. In the training course, CanChild introduces the CanChild F-words for Child Development and provides guidance on how to use the approach in everyday life and practice.

You can access the training courses by clicking here
Download the instruction by clicking here

For more information, visit: www.canchild.ca/en/research-in-practice/f-words-in-childhood-disability

Partners for Planning (P4P)
P4P is a family-directed organization that is committed to empowering people with disabilities and their families to create secure futures through providing information that families can use to support their loved ones.
For more information, visit: www.planningnetwork.ca

To access the SmartStart Hub, please contact Centralized Intake at 1-833-696-5437 or e-mail us at intake@fireflynw.ca,
or Click here