Facilitating Effective Transitions from Hospital to Community for Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services: Overview of the Transition Support Worker Role and Function

• Published in: Journal of the Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 2018-11, Vol.27 (4), p.228-235
• Main Authors: Cleverley, Kristin, Gore, Dana, Nasir, Saba, Ashley, Tracy, Rich, Leora, Brown, Chris, Hanssmann, Barbara, Holmes-Haronitis, Jennifer, Villafana, Paula, Kish, Julie, Levy, Myra
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Brief Communication
• ISSN: 1719-8429

Transitions between hospital and community services and from child and adolescent to adult services have been identified as a priority for improvement in the child and adolescent mental health and addictions sector across Canada and internationally. Despite widespread recognition of the issue, there is very little in the way of evidence to guide policy and programming to improve transitions. Transition support workers have been identified as a promising intervention to facilitate successful transitions, and innovative programs involving transition workers are currently operating in the Canadian mental health sector. This commentary presents two case studies of existing transition worker programs in the Greater Toronto Area that link hospital and community mental health sectors for youth ages 12-18. We discuss program characteristics, the transition worker role, recommendations to organizations considering creating a similar service, and areas for future research. The goal of this commentary is to contribute to knowledge exchange and ultimately strengthen the evidence base for the transition worker role in child and adolescent mental health services.