181 search results for
2018
Recommendation 30:
The Ministry of Housing and Municipal Affairs must immediately improve the number and accessibility of shelter options to ensure that everyone in BC always has access to a physical location where they can sleep, store belongings, and attend to personal care and hygiene in safety and without threat of displacement or sanctions. To do so they must:
- work in partnership with BC Housing to reinstate nightly turn-away counts at shelters and use data to ensure that there are adequate shelter beds to address the level of need in each municipality;
- with the exception of temporary Extreme Weather Response shelters, recognize that overnight-only shelters are untenable for residents and provide funding to expand shelter hours; and
- provide shelter residents an accessible and independent complaint process.
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Recommendation 10:
The Ministry of Housing and Municipal Affairs (MHMA) must make a province-wide commitment to supporting homeless people to maintain their belongings and to ensuring that homeless people have access to services without fear of losing their possessions. The MHMA must partner with local governments in collaboration with groups of people with lived experience, to train local bylaw officers:
- to recognize and respect the belongings of homeless people; and
- to work effectively with people experiencing homelessness to clean up or discard belongings where there is a pressing public safety, access, or environmental need to do so.
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Recommendation 29:
The Legal Services Society of BC must provide legal support for appeals where a person has been denied income assistance or disability assistance.
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Recommendation 13:
The incarceration of one parent often results in various forms of hardship for the rest of the family, particularly the children. Imprisonment disrupts positive, nurturing relationships between many parents—particularly mothers who are often the sole or primary caregiver—and their children. Children and their families suffer economic strain and instability when a parent is imprisoned. Family members are not guilty of anything. All agencies and services involved with the families should try to mitigate the impact on family members at all stages of the criminal justice system, ensuretheir rights are upheld, and ensure they are not discriminated against because of the actions of their family member. Supporting the families and strengthening the children’s positive family connections are necessary to ensure a healthy child development. Different forms of support are needed.
- Encourage the various agencies and services involved with the children to work towards positive family outcomes and to adopt consistent practices in the support of families and positive life outcomes for the children.
- Ensure that families understand the criminal justice process and are aware of the supports available.
- Provide information to families and ensure that the information provided is timely and accurate.
- Encourage and support parents and caregivers to explain procedures, decisions and the truth of the situation to children in an age appropriate manner.
- Ensure that families have access to information and assistance on a range of issues such as housing, benefits and finances, legal issues, health, or childcare.
- Facilitate appropriate contacts between family members and the incarcerated parent.
- Provide guidance to agencies dealing with families of parents in conflict with the law.
- Conduct family impact assessments when new policies and practices are developed that may affect the families of people in conflict with the law.
- Keep incarcerated parents informed about the situation and well-being of their children and other family members, and support them in managing family concerns as appropriate.
Enhancing the Protective Environment for Children of Parents in Conflict with the Law or Incarcerated: A Framework for Action
Group/author:
Elizabeth Fry Society of Greater Vancouver, International Centre for Criminal Law Reform and Criminal Justice Policy, University of the Fraser Valley – School of Criminology and Criminal Justice
Elizabeth Fry Society of Greater Vancouver, International Centre for Criminal Law Reform and Criminal Justice Policy, University of the Fraser Valley – School of Criminology and Criminal Justice
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2018
2018
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Recommendation 20:
The incarceration of a parent, particularly a mother who is a primary or sole caregiver or who has very young children, can have very detrimental impact on the child/children. Various measures can be taken during incarceration, when appropriate, to help maintain the bond between children and their parent, facilitate, contacts between them, and prepare for their eventual reunification. Contact between a child and his or her incarcerated parent can positively impact the child.
- Prior to, or on admission, enable individuals with parental responsibilities to make arrangements for those children, taking into account the best interests of the child.
- Ensure that prison administrations collect information at intake and later regarding the children of detainees, keep that information up-to-date, and protect its confidentiality.
- On admission and on a prisoner’s transfer, assist prisoners (who wish to do so) to inform their children (and their caregivers) of their imprisonment and whereabouts or ensure that such information is communicated to them.
- Make information available about contact and visiting modalities, procedures and internal rules in a child-friendly manner and in different languages and formats as necessary.
- Give due regard in decisions regarding the transfer of the incarcerated parent to the best interests of the child when considering the rehabilitation purpose of the transfer.
- Enforce restrictions on contact of incarcerated parents in a manner that respects the children’s right to maintain contact with their parent.
- Consider significant events in a child’s life, such as birthdays, first day of school, graduation, or hospitalization when granting prison leave to parents.
- Ensure that children are allowed to visit an imprisoned parent, when appropriate, as soon as possible following the parents’ detention and, on a regular and frequent basis, from then on.
- Organize children’s visits so as not to interfere with other elements of the child’s life, such as school attendance.
- Allow arrangements for a qualified person to accompany the children during prison visits if the children’s caregiver is not available to accompany the child.
- Ensure that the prison visit context is respectful to the child’s dignity and right to privacy, including providing child-friendly spaces when possible, facilitating access and visits for children with special needs, and taking into account the children’sdevelopmental needs (physical contact, food, and play).
- Arrange the children’s visits in a flexible manner, particularly when the children’s parents are imprisoned far away from home.
- Use information and communication technology (e.g., video-conferencing, mobile and other telephone systems, internet, including webcam and chat functions), when a family is unable to visit regularly, to facilitate communications between parents and children.
- Assist imprisoned parents with the costs of communicating with their children if their means do not allow it.
- Facilitate imprisoned parents’ participation in the parenting of their children, including communicating with school, health and welfare services and taking decisions in this respect, except in cases where it is not in the child’s best interests.
- Facilitate home leaves for the parents, in particular during the period before their release in order to provide opportunities for them to prepare for fully resuming their parental role and its responsibilities on release, when appropriate.
- Offer programs to incarcerated parents that support and develop a positive child parent relationship.
Enhancing the Protective Environment for Children of Parents in Conflict with the Law or Incarcerated: A Framework for Action
Group/author:
Elizabeth Fry Society of Greater Vancouver, International Centre for Criminal Law Reform and Criminal Justice Policy, University of the Fraser Valley – School of Criminology and Criminal Justice
Elizabeth Fry Society of Greater Vancouver, International Centre for Criminal Law Reform and Criminal Justice Policy, University of the Fraser Valley – School of Criminology and Criminal Justice
Year:
2018
2018
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Recommendation 12:
The Government of Canada must amend the Criminal Code to prevent the use and prosecution of discriminatory or destructive behavioural conditions of interim release and sentencing, specifically:
- legislate that conditions imposed on interim release be reasonable and proportionate to the nature and seriousness of the alleged offence and the circumstances of the accused;
- define “drug paraphernalia” as harm reduction medical equipment and prohibit the imposition of conditions that would interfere with the ability to access or possess harm reduction equipment;
- prior to imposing an abstinence condition, require that courts consider a person’s dependence on drugs or alcohol. Abstinence conditions shall not be imposed on people living with addictions, except where doing so is necessary to protect the safety of a victim, witness, or the public, and harm-reduction measures shall be preferred over abstinence;
- limit “red zone” conditions to situations where there is a substantial likelihood that, if released without a red zone, the accused will commit an offence involving violence or serious harm within the red zone and ensure that any red zone is tailored to the alleged offence, the principles of judicial interim release or probation, and circumstances of the individual;
- remove paragraph 504(2.1) (g), the power for police to impose “abstinence” conditions; and
- eliminate criminal sanctions for non-violent breaches of behavioural conditions.
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Recommendation 9:
The Director of Police Services must work with the Independent Investigations Office and the Coroners Service to audit deaths and serious injuries in city cells in BC over the past 10 years, including an analysis of race, disability, housing status, and gender, and, make the findings and recommendations for reform publicly available.
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Recommendation 2:
The children of parents in conflict with the law have the same basic needs as any other child, but they face different challenges due to the situation of their parents and, generally speaking, the negative social reaction to persons in conflict with the law and their families. These children are at risk of being ostracized and stigmatized by people around them, being victimized in various ways, or developing behavioral problems (including finding themselves in conflict with the law). These risks are real and should be kept in mind, but not overly dramatized so as to avoid further stigmatizing children. Most importantly, the needs and circumstances of these children must be taken into account to provide them with opportunities comparable to those of other children and parents.
Enhancing the Protective Environment for Children of Parents in Conflict with the Law or Incarcerated: A Framework for Action
Group/author:
Elizabeth Fry Society of Greater Vancouver, International Centre for Criminal Law Reform and Criminal Justice Policy, University of the Fraser Valley – School of Criminology and Criminal Justice
Elizabeth Fry Society of Greater Vancouver, International Centre for Criminal Law Reform and Criminal Justice Policy, University of the Fraser Valley – School of Criminology and Criminal Justice
Year:
2018
2018
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Recommendation 19:
The best interests of the child should be considered when dealing with offenders with parental responsibilities. Decision making at the time of sentencing can be improved by ensuring that the impact of the decision on the offenders’ children is considered. Minimize children’s separation from their parents in conflict with the law by limiting the use of imprisonment whenever possible and appropriate.
- Provide courts with accurate information about an accused’s family situation and the potential impact of sentencing and bail decisions on family members, including through a pre-sentence, Gladue or cultural impact assessment report.
- Introduce the use of children/family impact assessments or statements at the time of sentencing.
- Where a custodial sentence is being contemplated, take into consideration the rights and best interests of any affected child and a child’s right to have their views considered.
- Use alternatives to detention or community-based sentences, as far as possible and appropriate, especially in the case of a parent who is a primary caregiver.
- Ensure that non-custodial sentences take account of an offender’s parental responsibilities.
Enhancing the Protective Environment for Children of Parents in Conflict with the Law or Incarcerated: A Framework for Action
Group/author:
Elizabeth Fry Society of Greater Vancouver, International Centre for Criminal Law Reform and Criminal Justice Policy, University of the Fraser Valley – School of Criminology and Criminal Justice
Elizabeth Fry Society of Greater Vancouver, International Centre for Criminal Law Reform and Criminal Justice Policy, University of the Fraser Valley – School of Criminology and Criminal Justice
Year:
2018
2018
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Audience:
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Recommendation 17:
The arrest of a parent can be a traumatic experience for children. It is almost always very disruptive and stressful for the family. It is important to try to mitigate these effects on the children. Also, temporary care arrangements must be made when the parents is the sole caregiver for the child.
- Try to mitigate the impact that arrest of a parent may have on any child present.
- Wherever possible, carry out the arrest in the absence of the child or, at a minimum, in a child-sensitive manner.
- Inquire, at the time of arrest, about the arrangements made for the children.
- Give the arrested parent who has sole custody of a child a reasonable opportunity to select a caregiver unless the arrest is for child abuse or neglect.
- Work together with local agencies to find appropriate ways to support children and other family members during and after an arrest. For example, prior to a planned arrest, agencies and community resources could be made aware, when appropriate, of any dependent or family members that might be present at the arrest.
- Develop protocols and policies concerning arrests and temporary care of children of the arrested individuals.
- Provide guidance to all concerned agencies and organizations, and their personnel, on how to support children and family members during and after an arrest.
Enhancing the Protective Environment for Children of Parents in Conflict with the Law or Incarcerated: A Framework for Action
Group/author:
Elizabeth Fry Society of Greater Vancouver, International Centre for Criminal Law Reform and Criminal Justice Policy, University of the Fraser Valley – School of Criminology and Criminal Justice
Elizabeth Fry Society of Greater Vancouver, International Centre for Criminal Law Reform and Criminal Justice Policy, University of the Fraser Valley – School of Criminology and Criminal Justice
Year:
2018
2018
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Audience:
Groups affected:
Location of recommendation: