Youth protection reports

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The director pointed out that rates of reporting across the province have been rising steadily for the last several years, to the degree that a research study has been launched to try to determine what is at the cause of the issue. At the same time, he noted that the fact has a small silver lining in that it indicates that the population continues to consider reporting issues to the DPJ as worthwhile.

There were 6,040 reports filed in the Estrie region in 2018, of which 2,257 were retained for follow-up. There were 105,644 reports across Quebec in total, of which 41,530 were retained.

When it comes to reasons a report is filed, the local director shared that neglect holds the top spot as the subject of nearly 40 per cent of all reports. Matters relating to physical abuse make up one in four reports in the region. Roughly 11 per cent relate to sexual abuse.

“It is important to understand that idea of protection is based on several variables,” St.-pierre said, explaining that the decision is based on what happened, how serious it was, the capacity of parents to protect their own child, and the resources already available in the community, among other factors. The decision not to take on a case, he continued, is therefore not the result of that case being judged not serious but possibly the fact that existing supports were already in place.

Although the focus of the provincial report presented Wednesday was on highlighting the 40th anniversary of the Youth Protection Act. The focus of the local presentation ended up largely being around the changes that have been implemented since the death of a young girl in Granby last spring.

“The sad events of last spring triggered an unprecedented shockwave that impacted us all,” the director said, describing the local directorate as being in recovery mode following a major crisis. “I am personally convinced that substantial improvements are in the process of being implemented.”

By way of example, St.-pierre pointed out that the list of reports waiting to be seen has been reduced from 876 in May to 316 as of September23.

While he praised this reduction as “very significant,” the director also noted that the existence of a waiting last at all is a problem.

“One child on the waiting list is a child too many,” he said, pointing out that the ever growing number of reports is a key variable in the issue. “The number never stops growing, so even when we add more resources, we still end up behind.”

Where St. Pierre took care of reporting on the DPJ’S work up to today, Johanne Fleurant, who steps into the role of Director as of September 27, was also present on Wednesday to share part of her vision for what comes next.

“I don’t have to remind you that having a waiting list to help children who we fear are in danger is worrisome for everyone,” Fleurant said, outlining a fourpart action plan for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the DPJ

Part one of the plan is to work more closely with partner organizations and rebuild lines of communication.

“Protection of youth is everyone’s business,” she said. “There is a collective responsibility among all people who work with children, the families, the community organizations, but also the population at large to make sure that we all take care of our children. It is together that we will find better ways to protect the children of the Estrie.”

The second part focuses on innovation in the workplace to find ways to be more efficient and effective. This, she said, might take the form of technological changes, but also through a review of the DPJ’S way of doing things.

“We have to see things differently,” the incoming director said.

Recognizing the way that the last few months have made the work of the DPJ seem overwhelming and stressful for its employees, Fleurant said that the directorate also needs to work on becoming more attractive to prospective employees.

“The message that I have to share is that while working for youth protection is not easy, it is deeply satisfying,” she said, arguing that people need to see the value in working in a field where they make a difference every day.

Part of that, she said, is working to support teams and managers better through improved and ongoing training opportunities and revamping service offerings across the region.

“This is a challenging field, where workers face constant criticism and daily pressure,” St.-pierre said, “Now more than ever our partner organizations and the public are invited to join together to maintain and support this safety net we have for our most vulnerable youth.”

Asked how the Anglophone community Is represented in the figures presented on Wednesday, the interim director said that while there are not more reports filmed in English speaking communities, intervention is more complex.

“We have a certain number of bilingual positions, but the social and cultural fabric of the anglophone population is very different than that of the francophones. If we take a francophone who is considered “bilingual” to work with an anglophone family, sometimes there are cultural elements that are lacking,” he said, noting that specilaized services re known to be harder to get for English speakers than French speakers. “It adds an additional level of difficulty,”

St.-pierre also said that the DPJ is exploring the question of whether their bilingual workers are “bilingual enough” and are considering hiring more Anglophones who have a little bit of French as an alternative.