Office of the Child and Youth Advocate
April 18, 2017

The Child and Youth Advocate Releases Investigative Report

The Office of the Child and Youth Advocate released an investigative report today entitled The Case for Culturally Responsive Services. This case involves a family that relocated to Newfoundland and Labrador from another country and lived here for four years. During this time they were involved with the Department of Children, Seniors and Social Development and the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary.

The Child and Youth Advocate identified three primary systemic areas for improvement, (a) diversity and cultural competence (b) collaborative practice for joint removals and (c) mental health services. This report makes four recommendations to the following departments: Department of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour, the Department of Children Seniors and Social Development, the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. While the Department of Advanced Education, Skills, and Labour as well as the RCMP were not involved with this family, they have a role to play in future services in these types of cases. Their acceptance of the recommendations demonstrates a willingness to take a preventive approach and to work towards avoiding a recurrence of this situation in the future. All departments have provided their responses to the recommendations and these are included within this report.

Jackie Lake Kavanagh, Child and Youth Advocate, stated “Government’s commitment to the Immigration Action Plan provides an appropriate and timely opportunity to respond to this report in a meaningful way. I look forward to seeing how the recommendations in this report related to cultural competence will be advanced and implemented. Coordination of services remains an ongoing issue and one where we will remain vigilant.”

The report can be accessed through the following link:
www.childandyouthadvocate.nf.ca/pdfs/CulturallyResponsiveServicesReport2017.pdf PDF file

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Media contact:

Karen Gray
Office of the Child and Youth Advocate
709-753-3888
karengray@ocya.nl.ca

2017 04 18                              1:55 p.m.