July 16, 1996
(Social Services)

Minister announces review of all programming for children and youth including the Child Welfare Act

Joan Marie Aylward, Minister of Social Services, today announced the appointment of Colleen Hanrahan to conduct a review of all programming for children and youth including the Child Welfare Act. The Division of Child Welfare is operating under a legislative framework including the Child Welfare Act (1972) and the Adoption Act (1972) and is currently in need of a comprehensive review.

The minister said that consultation and collaboration with all stakeholders will take place and added that many sources of information are already available for use in this review. A great deal of work has been completed through government sponsored initiatives, including: the Report of the Special Committee on Children's Interests; the Report of the Classroom Issues Committee; and the Provincial Strategy Against Violence. The ongoing consultation process for the development of the provincial Strategic Social Plan may also prove helpful to the review as both initiatives progress.

"A review of the services we provide for children and families, has been determined as a priority for our department. We need to know where government is and where we should be heading in this regard," said the minister. "I am delighted we were able to retain the services of someone of Ms. Hanrahan's ability for what is a very important and necessary piece of work for the future of child welfare in this province."

Colleen Hanrahan is a solicitor with the Department of Justice. Her work in policy development for that department has included working in various areas such as examining directions for regulation of occupations, and in areas such as domestic violence. Ms. Hanrahan has also been seconded to other departments including Health where she was involved with the deregulation of personal care homes for seniors. She sat as a member of the Crimes Compensation Board for three years and has extensive experience in the social housing field both with the Community Services Council and the Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation. Ms. Hanrahan has been a sessional instructor at the School of Social Work, Memorial University, in the areas of community development and social policy.

The review, which has just begun, will assess how the program has been operating and identify the potential areas for reform and/or integration with other departments and agencies. It will also include the development of recommendations for programming directions and alternatives for consideration by the executive of the department. It is hoped the review will be completed this autumn so that a bill to replace the current legislation might be introduced to the House of Assembly in 1997.

Contact: Glenn Bruce, Director of Public Relations, (709) 729-4062.