Healthy babies funds fall short of the mark: report

Funding for the Healthy Babies Healthy Children program will be at least 12% short of what is needed just to keep the program at 2005 service levels.

Strategies implemented to deal with the shortfall have meant cuts in the program. One of the results is waiting lists for services of up to two months in some areas of Simcoe Muskoka, program manager Mary Jean Watson told the Simcoe-Muskoka board of health.

The health unit sent a letter to the Ministry of Children and Youth Services in November, stating that the $2.3- million grant in 2006 fell short of the program’s needs.

Healthy Babies Healthy Children provides services for children from birth to age 6 designed to contribute to physical and mental well-being later in life.