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This series contains newspaper clippings which detail the opening of Mount St. Joseph Centre. The November 27, 1962 Hamilton Spectator article entitled, “Disturbed Children Find Haven” offers a detailed account of the Centre, including a description of the kinds of boys who benefited from the treatment provided. It also gives information about the physical home, including that it had a game and TV room, a gymnasium, and a baseball field. The scrapbook offers further newspaper clippings. The reports offer a look into the history, mission, methodology, and programs of Mount St. Joseph. The series includes a 1963 brief prepared for by the Minister of Public Welfare. This report outlines the community’s need and demand for the centre. It also discusses specifics of the program, such as health and education. There are two 1962 pamphlets issued by the Catholic Health and Welfare Services that discuss the staff of the Centre. A photocopy of the original 1960 charter, as well as policies and by-laws also comprise this series, including an admission policy that explains the criteria to be met in order for a child to be admitted. Only boys between the ages of six and twelve and no child with an I.Q. of less than 80 were accepted. The by-laws explain certain rules of the centre, including the terms and responsibilities of the directors. The 1968 Provisions for Educational Services report details the proposal to affiliate with the Separate School Board. This request was made after the Revised Mental Health Act of 1968 neglected to include educational services in their funding to residential care facilities.An interpretation of the program for the board of directors provides a snapshot of the policies, procedures, and assessments of the centre. There is correspondence between 1959 and 1962, including a 1961 letter from O. Weininger, Treatment Director and Consultant at the Centre, discussing the challenges experienced as a result of the transition between orphanage and treatment centre. There are also letters to and from the Child Welfare League of America regarding a survey made for the Laidlaw Foundation of Toronto. The Charitable Institutions Act of 1944 is included in this series. Mount St. Joseph was incorporated under the stipulations of this Act.Also included is a presentation to the Executive Committee, Social Planning Division, and Hamilton United Services concerning the results of a survey to other Children’s Aid Societies regarding the care of children in the province. A 1971 licence produced under the Children’s Mental Health Centres Act also comprises this series. This licence stipulates that no more than 17 children were authorized to live at the Centre. Finally, the series contains material about using Mount St. Joseph as a senior day centre, such as objectives of the program, job summaries, and materials produced by the Ad Hoc Planning Committee.

This fonds contains records produced during the time the Sisters administered and worked at Mount St. Joseph Centre in Hamilton. It also consists of records which were produced by the Woodview Children’s Centre and Cool School in Burlington and Hamilton. These institutions grew out of Mount St. Joseph Centre after it ceased its functions. The records that encompass this collection are of historical importance because they offer a snapshot of special needs education during the latter half of the twentieth century. The fonds consists of bylaws and policies, correspondence, proposals and reports, a scrapbook, meeting minutes, financial records, newspaper clippings, photographs, publications, invitations, addresses, and legal documents.

The Cool School was founded by Dr. Jim Anderson in 1971. Dr. Anderson was a medical professor at McMaster University. He studied learning disabilities in youth and spent his career providing alternative education to troubled youth. He was very progressive in his views. He spent time working with youth who had drug problems. He posted their bail, testified on their behalf in court, and made himself available to assist them in other ways. His actions with those deemed “criminals” by society made him a polarizing figure. He believed that drugs were a symptom of a much larger problem instead of being a problem in their own right. He won several awards for his efforts, including the Citizen of the Year Award (1975) and the Lamp of Learning Award presented by the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation.

The Cool School began in 1971. At first, Dr. Anderson counselled troubled youth and youth with learning disabilities in his home. When this was no longer viable due to space constraints, he moved his operation into an unoccupied building at Chedoke Hospital. After receiving an increase in funding the school moved into a much larger building in the hospital (renamed Chedoke-McMaster Hospitals in 1979), before moving to Mount St. Joseph in 1982.The Cool School leased the first two floors of Mount St. Joseph. Renovations were undertaken by the Sisters to accommodate the Cool School, and to upgrade the third floor where Sisters remained in residence. Apart from living in the same building, the Sisters were not involved with the Cool School.

By 1975, 15 Cool School graduates attended university despite their lack of formal high school credits. By 1977, two former students made the Dean’s Honour Roll at McMaster University and one went on to complete graduate studies.

The school assisted youth who were unable to cope with traditional education. Teenagers between the ages of 13 and 19 attended the school. These youth were referred to the school by medical or educational professionals or parents. In total, 81 males and 42 females attended the school between 1971 and 1976. It was reported that of this number, 35% were recorded as having a major improvement.

The school did not teach a traditional curriculum. Instead it had “four phases” that students completed in order to graduate. These phases were communication, history of ideas, the community, and correlation. The communication phase helped students build a solid foundation to help them with the rest of their studies. This included skills in critical reading, creative writing, and listening and speaking skills. The history of ideas phase taught students about history, sociology, philosophy, anthropology, and economics. The community phase involved students spending one week apprenticing at different jobsincluding with the clergy, banks, social agencies, factories, stores, and schools. The correlation phase had students fill in gaps in their knowledge and enabled them to prepare for the future. Emphasis was placed on self-reliance, budgeting time, developing social skills, and self-esteem in each phase. Students had to track their own progress. Class time consisted of small tutorials of five to eight students, where they shared ideas. The Cool School’s philosophy emphasized respect and belief in each child, and was based on Glasser’s reality theory.

This series consists of material related to the Cool School lease agreement with the Sisters of St. Joseph, discussion of the school’s philosophy on alternative youth education, and, invoices, tenders, and building requests. Also included are opening ceremony invitations and an address by Sister Ann Marshall. Finally, Mount St. Joseph School committee meeting minutes also make up this series.

This sub-series contains lease agreements, and correspondence discussing the lease agreements, rental fees, and insurance information, as well as material related to renovations. There are many documents pertaining to renovations for the years 1982 and 1983, including correspondence, invoices, fire safety and hydro documents, and job site meeting minutes. The subseries also include invitations and programs for the official opening ceremony of Mount St. Joseph after renovations were completed. An opening address by Sister Ann Marshall is also included in which she details the history of Mount St. Joseph. The 1979 “Learning How to Learn: A Guide to Cool School,” discusses features of the program, provides a log book, and explains the four phases of education students must progress through at the school.

This series contains meeting minutes of a committee of the Cool School, which comprised the Sisters, Dr. Anderson and lay people.Several types of renovations were discussed, including the creation of a dark room where students could take photographs. For several meetings there was an exchange of philosophies to ensure that the Sisters and Cool School were a compatible match. Lease discussions also made up a large part of the committee meeting discussions.

In 1978, the Sisters of St. Joseph and the Board of Directors of Mount St. Joseph Centre thought it necessary to move the centre to provide a less institutionalized and less centralized experience for the boys in residence. On March 30, 1979, the Halton Board of Education formally turned over the deed for a school located on 69 Flatt Road in Burlington to Mount St. Joseph. The name of Mount St. Joseph changed to Woodview Children’s Centre, as the Woodview name was well known in Burlington and they wanted to reflect the surrounding area. It was funded by the Children’s Services Branch of the Ontario Ministry of Community and Social Services. The official opening for Woodview Children’s Centre was on September 5, 1980. The Sisters were not involved with the organization once it moved to Burlington.

In the 1980s,Woodview expanded to Brantford, Ontario. In 1995, it assumed the responsibility for the Child and Family Assessment and Treatment Centre in Brantford. In Hamilton, a semi-independent living program for adults was established. In the 2000s, an Intensive Child and Family Services program, Early Years Mental Health Services, and Wraparound Complex Needs program were developed to provide school, home, and community support. At this point, the Burlington and Brantford residences transitioned to being home, school, and community-based programs with a day treatment component. The 2000s also saw a rise in children formally diagnosed with autism, and Woodview created services to assist children and parents. The Centre was later renamed Woodview Mental Health and Autism Services.

The documents that comprise this series discuss the relocation of the centre from 354 King Street in Hamilton to 69 Flatt Street in Burlington. Several committees worked hard to assist with the move, and their efforts are highlighted, along with discussion of the financial aspects of the relocation. Brochures and invitations concerning the official opening of Woodview celebrate these changes.

This series contains correspondence about the relocation of the centre. An attached news release about the move is found at the back of the April 28, 1977 letter from Executive Director Garry Stuart to Sister Martina. There is an invitation for a ceremony to celebrate the purchase of the school which would later become the new centre. An update on the Centre’s relocation outlines major program changes, the reason for the name change, area services, program emphasis, and a projected schedule. The series also contains an invitation, brochures, and the first annual meeting’s itinerary. Finally, there is a 1979 legal document formalizing the name change from Mount St. Joseph Centre to Woodview Children’s Centre.

There were several committees formed to assist with the move from Hamilton to Burlington. The Ad Hoc Re-location Committee determined where the Centre should be relocated to. They met with the Ministry to confirm continuing funding and negotiated for a capital project budget. They also hired an architect and worked with him to ensure the proper renovations were made on the new building. They projected the total net cost for the moving project as $373,966.53. The Ad Hoc Fundraising Committee was created in order to raise $125,000 worth of funds towards the completion of the school. The Child Care Committee looked at the program’s general philosophy in light of the new relocation. The Personnel Committee developed the budget to support the program while the relocation was taking place. Board of Directors meeting minutes, reports made by the president of the board, and a report by the executive director also comprise this sub-series. These documents discuss preparations for the future of the program, as well as offer specifics about the move.

This series is comprised of Board of Directors minutes. Several Sisters of St. Joseph made up the board, along with community members and professionals. All of the actions and decisions the board took were based on the needs of the emotionally disturbed children. These documents chronicle the transition from orphanage to residential treatment centre. Topics discussed at board meetings included physical changes to the building, by-laws and policies, budgets, and the education and welfare of the children.Several committees were spearheaded by the board. The Childcare Committee was established to assist with the admittance, treatment, and care of the children. A report produced by this committee entitled, “Care and Treatment of Emotionally Disturbed Children” outlines and compares the needs of the centre with those of two similar institutions. It also includes information on residence capacity and wait lists. The Personnel Committee created policies and procedures for staff and volunteers, and material from this committee includes information about financial support for staff credit courses, representation at conferences, and salary schedules. The Committee on the Use of Mount St. Joseph began in 1976, when the board began to look for another site for the Centre. Several ideas were discussed, including a pastoral care centre and a senior’s day centre. The documents in this file outline the different ideas expressed for the use of the space.

This series is comprised of a 1976 article entitled “The Care of Emotionally Disturbed Children,” which appears to be published in the book From Once in the Spirit. This article offers a history of the Centre until 1976. It then provides a meditation on the philosophy of child relationships.

This series is comprised of budgets showing receipts and disbursements, including office supplies, insurance, food, repairs, recreation, and staff training. Salaries and wages of staff members are also recorded. The Centre’s receipts came from the Province of Ontario, membership fees, donations, assessments, and the contributions from the Sisters of St. Joseph.

This series consists of photographs showing members of the Sisters of St. Joseph congregation engaged in recreational activities with children at the Mount St. Joseph Centre residence.