163 search results for
Indigenous children and youth in care
Recommendation 4:
That the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions actively engage and consult with First Nations, Métis Nation and urban Indigenous health bodies and leadership to develop a process to enable a child or youth to notify their community or Nation of their involuntary admission. To be complete by Sept. 1, 2021.
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Recommendation 7:
That the Ministry of Health work with the health authorities to develop a process to ensure that First Nations, Métis or Inuit children or youth who are either detained under the Mental Health Act or are under 16 and admitted by their parent/legal guardian are offered services by hospital staff who assist Indigenous patients such as navigators, liaison nurses, nurse practitioners and Elders in residence. Process to be developed and operational by Jan. 1, 2022.
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Recommendation 2:
That the Ministry of Health require health authorities to collect and report key information pertaining to children and youth admitted under the Mental Health Act in a way that is standardized across the province and reported regularly, including but not limited to:
- identity factors (ethnicity, gender identity);
- Indigeneity – First Nations, Métis and Inuit identity;
- standardized length of stay data across all hospital settings; admissions of children on a voluntary basis at the request of their parents;
- requests for, and outcomes of, second medical opinions;
- detailed seclusion and restraint data; data related to extended leave;
- outcomes related to quality of care, effectiveness and patient satisfaction.
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Recommendation 8:
That the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions put forward amendments to the Mental Health Act after actively engaging and consulting with health authorities, First Nations, Métis Nation and urban Indigenous communities and leadership and other appropriate bodies, that will ensure children and youth who are detained under the Mental Health Act have the right to retain personal items that do not pose a risk to their safety or the safety of others and continue practices that support their physical, emotional, mental, spiritual and relational wellbeing and their sense of identity. Amendments to be put forward by May 1, 2022.
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Recommendation 11:
That the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions put forward amendments to the Mental Health Act after actively engaging and consulting with health authorities, First Nations, Métis Nation and urban Indigenous communities and leadership and other appropriate bodies to ensure that, for children and youth who are detained under the Mental Health Act, isolation and restraint are:
- only used as a last resort when all other interventions have been exhausted, and
- only used in accordance with specific legislative or regulatory criteria including assessment, time limits, reviews, documentation and reporting requirements.
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Recommendation 14:
That the Mental Health Review Board pilot a new Review Board hearing process for children and youth that centres the young person and is trauma-informed and culturally attuned after actively engaging and consulting with health authorities, First Nations, Métis Nation and urban Indigenous communities and leadership and other appropriate bodies. Pilot to be operational by Oct. 1, 2022.
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Category and theme:
- Access to justice ,
- Corrections ,
- Culture and language ,
- Decolonization and Indigenous rights ,
- Health ,
- Health, wellness and services ,
- Human rights system ,
- Indigenous children and youth in care ,
- Mental health and detention ,
- Policing and the criminal justice system ,
- Poverty and economic inequality ,
- Public services
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Recommendation 2:
That MCFD conduct a comprehensive review and revision of all relevant care-planning and case management standards, policies, practice guidelines and training materials with the goal of aligning those materials with the dimensions of belonging, as described in this report.
Revisions of all relevant materials to be completed by March 31, 2022.
The review and revisions noted above should be aligned with the ‘best interest’ provisions in the federal Act concerning First Nations, Inuit and Métis children and families, informed by meaningful consultations with relevant First Nations, Métis, Inuit and Urban Indigenous entities and include Delegated Aboriginal Agencies as well as the Policy, Practice and Aboriginal Services branches within MCFD to ensure a fulsome and progressive review that advances the changes that are already underway.
Revisions of all relevant materials to be completed by March 31, 2022.
The review and revisions noted above should be aligned with the ‘best interest’ provisions in the federal Act concerning First Nations, Inuit and Métis children and families, informed by meaningful consultations with relevant First Nations, Métis, Inuit and Urban Indigenous entities and include Delegated Aboriginal Agencies as well as the Policy, Practice and Aboriginal Services branches within MCFD to ensure a fulsome and progressive review that advances the changes that are already underway.
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Recommendation 10:
Strengthen the legal duty of the Ministry to consider less disruptive measures by:
- Adding legislative language in the CFCSA that explicitly directs the Ministry to actively and diligently pursue and implement less disruptive measures on an ongoing basis;
- Including a non-exhaustive list of less disruptive measures that the Ministry must consider on an ongoing basis including an order of preference of placements akin to that set out in section 16 of Bill C-92;
- Adding legislative language in the CFCSA that directs the Ministry to establish in court that social workers have made active efforts that proved unsuccessful to return the child to their family;
- Where parents and Nations have identified less disruptive measures, the CFCSA should direct the Ministry to provide prompt, clear, and written reasons for rejecting these less disruptive measures.
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- Access to justice ,
- Accessibility ,
- Classism ,
- Courts ,
- Decolonization and Indigenous rights ,
- Disability and parenting ,
- Discrimination and hate ,
- Health, wellness and services ,
- Human rights system ,
- Indigenous children and youth in care ,
- International human rights ,
- Policing and the criminal justice system ,
- Poverty and economic inequality ,
- Public services ,
- Racism
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Recommendation 5:
The Canadian legal system also requires specialised training of professionals working with children, including mental health professionals, lawyers, and judges (Bala & Birnbaum, 2019; Collins, 2019; Paetsch et al., 2018). This is particularly important for legal professionals working on cases involving parental alienation and/or family violence (Elrod, 2016; Martinson & Jackson, 2016). These types of cases require judges and mental health professionals who are experienced in discovering and addressing problems in the family, as there can be multiple reasons for a child refusing contact with a parent or guardian, including family violence that can continue to put the child at risk if left unaddressed in custody and access decisions (Elrod, 2016; Martinson & Tempesta, 2018).
Specific recommendations for children’s legal counsel include: ensuring democratic communication, in which lawyers and child both share information about themselves to build trust in preparation for proceedings; having lawyers inform children about the court process and what it means to have a lawyer represent them; having lawyers pose questions to children to better recognize how children understand the court process; and getting lawyers to emphasize flexibility in the child’s options to share their views, not share them at all or change their instructions to the lawyer (Bala & Birnbaum, 2019; Koshan, 2020; Horsfall, 2013; Paetsch et al., 2018). Those working at family courts should receive specialised training on family violence and high-risk cases, which can have a substantial impact on children’s rights (Koshan, 2020; Martinson & Raven, 2020a). From a scholastic perspective, much more research is needed to understand which of the many strategies implemented across Canada (and the world) might be most helpful to children’s legal participation (Birnbaum & Saini, 2012). This requires ongoing cooperation and collaboration between the legal and academic communities, to guarantee specialised and sensitised approaches to this topic.
Specific recommendations for children’s legal counsel include: ensuring democratic communication, in which lawyers and child both share information about themselves to build trust in preparation for proceedings; having lawyers inform children about the court process and what it means to have a lawyer represent them; having lawyers pose questions to children to better recognize how children understand the court process; and getting lawyers to emphasize flexibility in the child’s options to share their views, not share them at all or change their instructions to the lawyer (Bala & Birnbaum, 2019; Koshan, 2020; Horsfall, 2013; Paetsch et al., 2018). Those working at family courts should receive specialised training on family violence and high-risk cases, which can have a substantial impact on children’s rights (Koshan, 2020; Martinson & Raven, 2020a). From a scholastic perspective, much more research is needed to understand which of the many strategies implemented across Canada (and the world) might be most helpful to children’s legal participation (Birnbaum & Saini, 2012). This requires ongoing cooperation and collaboration between the legal and academic communities, to guarantee specialised and sensitised approaches to this topic.
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Category and theme:
- Access to justice ,
- Accessibility ,
- Accessible services and technology ,
- Ageism ,
- Courts ,
- Decolonization and Indigenous rights ,
- Discrimination and hate ,
- Human rights system ,
- Indigenous children and youth in care ,
- International human rights ,
- Policing and the criminal justice system ,
- Poverty and economic inequality ,
- Public services
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Recommendation 125:
Social workers must increase communication with families about what is being investigated, clear timelines and goals, and file status.
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