Minister Responds to Child and Youth Advocate Reports

Following the release of three reports today by the Office of the Child and Youth Advocate, the Honourable Charlene Johnson, Minister of Child, Youth and Family Services, responded to report recommendations and provided an update on the measures taken to date to improve the safety and well-being of children and youth in Newfoundland and Labrador.

“Our government takes all recommendations made by the Office of the Child and Youth Advocate very seriously – there is no greater priority than the protection of our children and youth,” said Minister Johnson. “The recommendations brought forward by the advocate are not only consistent with the recommendations of the Clinical Services Review, upon which this department was established, but also validate our efforts as we continue to work towards establishing the best child protection system in the country."

In 2009, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador created the Department of Child, Youth and Family Services to address systemic issues identified through internal and external reports, in particular the Clinical Services Review. This review, which was commissioned by the Provincial Government and authored by external consultant and child protection expert, Susan Abell, evaluated the clinical social work and management practices within the child, youth and family services program. Recommendations of the Clinical Services Review, which can be found at www.gov.nl.ca/cyfs/publications, were fully accepted by the Provincial Government and continue to serve as the department's guiding framework.

“Our government built a new department from the ground up to revitalize child protection programs and services in the province, knowing there were no quick fixes and it would take three to five years to develop it correctly,” said Minister Johnson. “Now in its fourth year, the department continues to make significant progress in creating a culture of accountability, excellence and consistency across all programs of Child, Youth and Family Services in all regions.”

The reports issued today by the Office of the Child and Youth Advocate review cases and services prior to the establishment of the Department of Child, Youth and Family Services and the Provincial Government continues to make great strides in implementing the necessary reforms to safeguard the province’s most vulnerable children and youth. The department has implemented new legislation, the Children and Youth Care and Protection Act; a new Protection and In Care Policy and Procedure Manual; a new organizational model; a new Training Unit; and a new Quality Assurance Division. See the backgrounder below for a more detailed listing of key undertakings that address recommendations of both the Clinical Services Review and the Child and Youth Advocate reports.

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Media contact:
Michelle Hunt
Director of Communications
Department of Child, Youth and Family Services
709-729-5148, 725-1593
michellehunt@gov.nl.ca

BACKGROUNDER
Key Undertakings of the Department of Child, Youth and Family Services

Transition of Child, Youth and Family Services Staff
Over the span of one year, the department successfully transitioned approximately 800 child, youth and family services staff from each of the four Regional Health Authorities, beginning with the Western Region in March 2011; Central Region in July 2011; Eastern Rural in October 2011 and Eastern Urban in November 2011; and concluding with Labrador in March 2012.

Organizational Model
The department redesigned and implemented a new organizational model that ensures frontline staff and managers have required tools and supports to effectively provide services to children and youth in need of protective intervention. Key elements of the new organizational model include additional social workers, social worker assistants and clerical staff, fewer levels of management and more frontline supervisors, more manageable caseloads, and increased delegation of authority with 13 zone managers as opposed to the previous five.

Children and Youth Care and Protection Act
In June 2011, the Child, Youth and Family Services Act was replaced with the new Children and Youth Care and Protection Act. This progressive piece of new legislation better safeguards the province’s most vulnerable children and youth as it provides authority to intervene when a child or youth is the victim, or at risk, of harm or neglect by a parent; strengthens the principle of best interests of the child; serves to better protect children and youth, as well as provide greater clarity to staff, community, clients and the courts; and contains significant updates and changes, which are more child-centred, reflect best practice in clinical work and promote better permanency planning. Specific changes and updates to the act include reducing the number of temporary court orders for children in the care of the province; requiring a detailed plan for the child to be filed with the courts; establishing a process for monitoring all children in care; increasing the age of continuous custody; supporting youth in need of protection longer as they transition into adulthood; recognizing the risk of emotional harm as grounds for protection intervention; introducing a new statutory legislative review process; and, imposing a publication ban that restricts any identifying information about a child and a family subject to a proceeding under the act. Associated policies and procedures were effective on same date of proclamation of the new legislation.

Training Unit
In January 2011, the Department of Child, Youth and Family Services partnered with College of the North Atlantic to announce a new Training Unit dedicated to Bay St. George Campus and ensures a more coordinated, targeted and streamlined approach to professional training for all departmental staff.

Quality Assurance
In July 2011, a new Quality Assurance Division in Grand Falls-Windsor was announced to improve the department’s ability to establish a quality improvement program to ensure greater accountability. This division is responsible for a province-wide program, which includes: auditing clinical files; monitoring and evaluating programs; investigating adverse and serious events; monitoring performance indicators and trends; and, facilitating improvements particularly in the area of risk management.

Information Management and Technology
The Department of Child, Youth and Family Services will implement a new computerized case management system (CRMS), which will support the clinical practice of social workers and help ensure provincial standards can be monitored. The department is also continuing to engage in improved information sharing practices with partners and agencies when involved in a child protection case. Child, Youth and Family Services is continuing to streamline and coordinate the information sharing process between the different parties involved in child protection cases.

2013 03 04             3:40 p.m.