Ahead Intake Worker, CPI Strides

Position Type: Full-time Permanent

Hours of Work per week: 35 hours

Salary range: $51,699.00 to $60,202.00 per annum

• Comprehensive health, dental and vision coverage, EAP, premium fully paid by organization
• Life and disability insurance
• Defined Contribution Pension plan with employer matching up to 6% based on length of service
• Generous paid time off (Vacation, Sick and Float days)
• Pregnancy/ Parental leave top-up
• Hybrid work flexibility
• Access to employee perks and discounts

Union Position – This position is represented by OPSEU local 567.

Strides Toronto Support Services (“Strides Toronto”) Strides Toronto is a multi-service agency supporting infants, children, youth and young adults from birth to age 29, and their families, primarily across east Toronto. We offer community-based, residential and treatment programs—including mental health counselling, autism services, early intervention, day treatment, education, outreach and community support—using a client-centered, evidence-informed approach. Since 2015, Strides Toronto has served as Toronto’s Lead Agency for Infant, Child and Youth Mental Health, partnering with 21 core service providers to provide system leadership, citywide planning, coordinated service delivery and program alignment.

Strides Toronto also leads initiatives with broader reach, including Help Ahead and the HOPE Strategy across Toronto and One Stop Talk/Parlons Main tenant and the Provincial Youth Outreach Worker Program across Ontario.

This is an existing vacancy for a full-time permanent Help Ahead Intake Worker position that receives and reviews inquiries and referrals via multiple input channels for mental health services, conducts initial triage to determine eligibility and need, and then routes appropriate clients to Service Navigators for further screening and matching to 22 partner agencies across the City of Toronto.

• Respond to inquiries from children, youth, families, core service providers, allied sector partners and other healthcare stakeholders seeking access to child and youth mental health services. Inquiries are received through multiple channels, including phone, email, web-based e-referrals and fax.
• Manage incoming service inquiries through a hybrid approach that includes live telephone response and timely follow-up to voicemail messages.
• Monitor and process inquiries received through multiple channels (e-referral, email, fax, voicemail, chat and web) ensuring responses within 24 hours.
• Engage callers to identify presenting mental‑health needs using information shared and professional judgement.
• Document all inquiries, intake activities, and outcomes in real time within the designated e‑referral platform and client information system, ensuring accuracy, completeness, and consistency with Help Ahead standards.
• Record demographic details, presenting concerns, eligibility decisions, risk/safety information, consent status, and referral pathways using approved templates, fields, and workflows in the digital system.
• Ensure secure handling of personal health information (PHI) and compliance with agency privacy policies, PHIPA, and sector standards for electronic record keeping.
• Collaborate with Service Navigators, supervisors, and partner agencies by ensuring documentation is shared through the correct digital pathways and contains the information needed for seamless service coordination.

The following education, professional memberships and knowledge are a requirement for this role:

• Completion of a Degree or Diploma in a Human Services–related field (e.g., Social Work, Psychology, Child and Youth Care, Counselling, Social Service Work).
• Three years of experience working with children, youth, and families in mental-health or allied sectors.
• Strong knowledge of child and youth mental-health disorders, symptom presentation, developmental considerations, and functional impacts.
• Trained in crisis intervention, de‑escalation techniques, and managing safety or high‑risk situations.
• Knowledge of trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and strengths-based service approaches.
• Ability to apply a multi-systemic lens, recognizing…