Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) released a paper today setting out a set of first principles and key issues that LAO believes are important to developing its Mental Health Strategy.
Research shows that as many as one in three legal aid certificates are issued to a client with mental health and addiction issues. Over the last 10 years, there has been a 44 per cent increase in the number of Ontario Review Board hearings and a 25 per cent increase in the number of Consent and Capacity Board hearings.
The purpose of this consultation paper, LAO’s Mental Health Strategy Discussion Paper, is to discuss how best to:
- develop community-based and outreach-based services
- strengthen the capacity of other service providers including community legal clinics and private lawyers
- proactively support clients’ legal needs through early access and holistic practice models
This paper is now available for public comment through written submissions on a dedicated section about LAO’s Mental Health Strategy.
Over the next couple of months, LAO will be conducting in-person and online consultation sessions with mental health and justice experts throughout the province to ensure a broad and thorough consultation.
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