Youth advocate is putting children first
Re: “A diagnosis of anemia,” Editorial, Nov. 14.
In April, the Office of the Child and Youth Advocate began its work as a fully independent office of the Alberta legislature. With that independence came an expanded mandate and renewed responsibilities to work with children in government care on an individual basis to ensure their rights, interests and viewpoints are acknowledged and acted upon, as well as identifying systemic issues in the child intervention and youth justice systems, and providing recommendations on how to resolve them. Orienting ourselves under these new conditions has refocused our work, particularly around our obligation to identify issues on a system-wide level.
We remain committed and passionate in our pur- suit to raise issues when they require attention. Along with a broad range of information coming out of government care systems, we carefully monitor the feedback from our advocate staff, legal counsel hired by the OCYA to represent youth, and from the youth themselves so we have a comprehensive understanding of what children and youth in government care are facing as they move through these systems.
This past year alone, we served over 3,000 youth in individual advocacy, made over 2,000 referrals for legal matters and responded to almost 600 general inquiries.
We have also committed to enhancing our relationships with stakeholders from around the province who can help deepen our understanding of how the systems treat these youth and what changes need to be made to better the lives of children in care. Understanding that simple identification of issues and recommending solutions are not enough, we have added communications capacity to help give voice to these issues with our stakeholders and the general public in an effort to create lasting change.
As part of our expanded mandate, our duties now include responsibility for investigative reviews of the government’s performance where serious injury or death of a child in government care or in the custody of the youth criminal justice system have occurred. Since taking on this solemn responsibility, we have initiated three reviews for such incidents and are reviewing six others to determine if they will require a full investigative review.
The serious injury or death of a child in government care is a tragic event. That we are charged with reviewing systemic issues regarding government performance in this area comes with the obligation that all conclusions be focused on identifying clear, unqualified courses of action to make certain that every precaution is taken to prevent such incidents from ever happening again.
Among the many issues that the OCYA has identified over the years, the disproportionate number of aboriginal children who find themselves in government care is one of the most pressing. If it goes unaddressed, it will continue to get worse, as it has for the last decade.
Last year, we flagged this as a critical issue and, in the year that followed, saw no concrete plan of action on the part of the Ministry of Human Services. Because of these circumstances, we were compelled to raise it as an issue again this year. By specifically making the point that this issue remains outstanding and requires urgent action, we underscore its importance with the public and government opposition, and ultimately inspire action from the ministry.
We have been pleased to work alongside the government to help them resolve the issues that we identify in their systems. We have found a willing partner in government on many issues and many children who find themselves in this system are better off for it. However, we will not hesitate to hold the government to account when they do not address the critical issues the OCYA brings to their attention. Our obligation is to children and youth in these systems and we simply cannot stand by if we feel the government is not acting quickly or effectively enough.
The significant and positive changes to our status and structure since April have required a tremendous amount of work and adjustment for the staff at the Office of the Child and Youth Advocate. While we have a new mandate and additional responsibilities, our view of our fundamental duty remains the same: To advocate for children and youth in the care of government systems so that they can receive the support they need to make positive progress in their lives. The young people of this province deserve no less from us.