Early intervention and court support programs in Ontario are meeting client needs for treatment, including medication management, case management and psychotherapy, according to a recent report from the Matryoshka Project.
However, the research team found that there continues to be a gap between the need for and use of services that would help individuals to increase their standard of living, such as social assistance benefits, and educational and employment supports. Approximately one-fifth of clients are not using the employment supports they require, while between a quarter and a third of case managers and clients indicate unmet financial need. Similar service gaps were identified in a series of studies conducted roughly ten years ago in Ontario.
Investigators also found that roughly 15 percent of clients in need of concurrent disorder services do not use them, indicating that treating concurrent disorders remains a challenge.
These and other results are outlined in a recently released report from the Matryoshka Project, part of the Systems Enhancement Evaluation Initiative (SEEI), an innovative multi-faceted four-year evaluation of the effects of the investments made by the government of Ontario in specific areas of the community mental health system.
See “The Matryoshka Project: Examining the Effects of Enhanced Funding on Specialized Programs — Examining Met and Unmet Needs and Service Needs and Use,” March 2010, available at www.ehealthontario.ca.