Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth – Mandate

The duty of the Office, as simply stated in the Bill, is to:

1.”provide an independent voice for children and youth including First Nations children and youth and children with special needs by partnering with them to bring issues forward”; and

2.”encourage communication and understanding between children and families and those who provide them with services”; and

3.” educate children, youth and their caregivers regarding the rights of children and youth”

As of March 2016:

• Increased Mandate
• Includes an investigation branch now

Advocacy

• Youth focus – advocate for youth only
• Children and Youth must call themselves (don’t hear from parents)

http://provincialadvocate.on.ca/main/en/about/advocacy_services.cfm

Investigation

• Anyone can call on behalf of children and youth
• Hear mainly from parents
• Cant reverse any prior decisions
• Make recommendations – in hopes they will be adopted

http://provincialadvocate.on.ca/main/en/investigations/index.html

Parental Voice

• No voice for parents in and of themselves, but do work with parents calling on behalf of their children

Provincial Advocate Contact:

http://provincialadvocate.on.ca/

Meet the Provincial Advocate

In October of 2007, the Office of the Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth was established with the passage of Bill 165 by the Legislature of Ontario. On July 14, 2008 an all party panel of the Legislature appointed Irwin Elman to provide leadership to the new Provincial Advocate Office as it strives to promote the voice of children and youth across Ontario.

Of Interest on the Advocates Website:

Serious Incidents Report http://provincialadvocate.on.ca/documents/en/SOR_Preliminary_Report_022016_En.pdf

Experience of Black Youth Survey

http://provincialadvocate.on.ca/storyofmyhair/index.htm

Child Deaths

http://provincialadvocate.on.ca/inquest/en/home/

The Minister’s response letter to Premier Wynne, outlining the results achieved on key mandate priorities in 2014-15.

January 11, 2016

The Honourable Kathleen Wynne
Premier of Ontario
Room 281, Main Legislative Building
Queen’s Park
Toronto, Ontario
M7A 1A1

Dear Premier:

I am pleased to advise you on the progress we are making on the items outlined in my September 2014 mandate letter. Our success at the Ministry of Children and Youth Services (MCYS) is achieved in collaboration with partner ministries, other levels of government and the public and private sectors.

Progress for the children and youth of Ontario is built on the foundation that all components of society have a role to play in supporting positive child and youth outcomes. I am pleased to report that our work at MCYS is garnering national and international attention, as other jurisdictions are looking to us for best practices in helping children and youth reach their full potential.

Child Welfare

• We continue to work with children’s aid societies (CASs) to emphasize prevention so that, wherever possible, children can remain with their families with appropriate supports.
• We have doubled the number of adoptions and permanency placements in recent years, and we are introducing new subsidies and supports to ensure even more kids have access to forever families.
• We have increased our focus on transparency and accountability by introducing cyclical reviews and common performance measures for all CASsand through the passage of Bill 8, which gives the Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth investigatory functions over CASs.
• We continue to work with the Ministry of Education, school boards and CASson improving the educational outcomes of children and youth in care, and are now rolling out a provincial IT system for CASs to improve safety for children across the province.
• We will continue to raise public awareness of the duty to report suspected child abuse or neglect.
• We continue to work with our partners to improve the child welfare system and outcomes for children, building on the advice of the Commission to Promote Sustainable Child Welfare and other inputs.

For responses regarding poverty, the law in conflict with our kids, autism, indigenous child and youth services…..

NDP DEMANDS PREMIER TAKE IMMEDIATE ACTION ON “KATELYNN’S PRINCIPLE”

Support Meetings Every Week

Please join us each week for either or both of these weekly support groups:

• East End Meeting – Support GroupSouth Riverdale CHC at 955 Queen St. E on Tuesday from 5-7pm
• West End Meeting –  Support Group (PARC) 1499 Queen St. W – No Meetings Until Further Notice