52 search results for
Representative for Children and Youth
Recommendation 11:
That the Ministry of Education work with the British Columbia Council for Administrators for Inclusive Supports in Education (BC CAISE) to support staff training and development needs for educators and school staff who work with children and youth with FASD or suspected FASD, and their families, and build on evidence-based and promising practice approaches to better support inclusion and improved learning outcomes for children and youth with FASD. Ministry of Education to work with BC CAISE and partners to support the implementation of staff training and development to better support inclusion and improved learning outcomes for children and youth with FASD and related disorders by Sept. 1, 2022.
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Recommendation 10:
That the Ministry of Education update its Inclusive Education Policy and supporting documents and incorporate information to increase awareness and understanding of the specific learning needs of children and youth with FASD and related disorders into the supporting documents. Ministry of Education to update Inclusive Education Policy and supporting documents and incorporate information to enhance awareness of FASD and related disorders by Sept. 1, 2021.
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Recommendation 3:
MCFD to complete a comprehensive review of evidence-based and promising practices specific to serving children and youth with FASD, including from the Key Worker Parent Support Program, for integration into the CYSN framework. In the meantime, MCFD to take immediate action to ensure that the KWPSP has consistent quality service across all regions of B.C. and is accessible to all families of children and youth with FASD. MCFD to take immediate action to ensure equitability and accessibility of the KWPSP by Sept. 30, 2021 and complete the best practice review by March 30, 2022.
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Recommendation 2:
Pending full implementation of Recommendation 1, that MCFD immediately include suspected or confirmed FASD, based on an assessment of functional needs, in the eligibility criteria for CYSN Family Support Services, thereby allowing children and youth with FASD and their families to access services available to others with specific neuro-developmental conditions. The ministry should seek appropriate funding to expand the capacity of these services to adequately support the number of newly eligible FASD families so that this recommended expansion of service eligibility does not lead to reduced services or longer wait lists for other CYSN families. MCFD to secure immediate funding enhancements and begin implementation of the expanded eligibility criteria by Sept. 30, 2021.
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Recommendation 1:
MCFD to conduct a systemic needs analysis of cultural and family support resources required to ensure that social workers are better supported to promote a sense of belonging and identity for First Nations, Métis, Inuit and Urban Indigenous children and youth in care in relation to their families, culture and cultural community over time and at different stages in their lives and identity development. This review will inform the development of a longer-term resourcing and implementation plan. However, given the urgent need to address the significant over-involvement of the child welfare system in the lives of Indigenous children and families and poor outcomes for Indigenous children in the child welfare system, a substantive investment of new resources should be made immediately that can be considered a down payment on the resources identified for the longer-term plan.
Funding for immediate and substantive new resources to be secured and implementation to begin no later than April 1, 2022.
Needs analysis and resourcing plan to be completed by Sept. 30, 2022 with longer-term, sustained funding secured and implementation of new resources beginning by April 1, 2023.
The needs analysis of cultural support resources must be informed by meaningful consultation and collaboration with First Nations, Métis and Inuit entities in accordance with obligations under DRIPA and recognizing that Indigenous people hold the expertise, and inherent right of responsibility, over their children. Without limiting the foregoing, the ministry should consider enhancing social workers’ capacity to do the required work; Roots workers/Family Finders; working with communities to create cultural support circles, matriarchal circles or other circles deemed appropriate by individual communities; cultural reconnection and reunification actions such as visits to home communities and places of connection; support for case re-assessments and family/community reconnection; support to family member visitations regardless of where the child lives; participation in cultural activities; and children in care being supported to visit their traditional territories for significant family or milestone ceremonies and at minimum twice a year.
Funding for immediate and substantive new resources to be secured and implementation to begin no later than April 1, 2022.
Needs analysis and resourcing plan to be completed by Sept. 30, 2022 with longer-term, sustained funding secured and implementation of new resources beginning by April 1, 2023.
The needs analysis of cultural support resources must be informed by meaningful consultation and collaboration with First Nations, Métis and Inuit entities in accordance with obligations under DRIPA and recognizing that Indigenous people hold the expertise, and inherent right of responsibility, over their children. Without limiting the foregoing, the ministry should consider enhancing social workers’ capacity to do the required work; Roots workers/Family Finders; working with communities to create cultural support circles, matriarchal circles or other circles deemed appropriate by individual communities; cultural reconnection and reunification actions such as visits to home communities and places of connection; support for case re-assessments and family/community reconnection; support to family member visitations regardless of where the child lives; participation in cultural activities; and children in care being supported to visit their traditional territories for significant family or milestone ceremonies and at minimum twice a year.
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Recommendation 4:
As a first step toward realizing fundamental changes in practice that address racism, stigma and bias, MCFD, in collaboration with DAAs, community service agencies and caregivers, to conduct a review of existing FASD awareness training and the training needs of all front-line staff working with children and youth with FASD. MCFD, working with DAAs, to use this review to support the development of evidence-based, culturally attuned and regularly updated training materials that ground a required training program for current staff across the range of MCFD service lines and, in particular, CYMH, CYSN, child welfare and youth justice. This awareness training should then be incorporated into basic entry training for newly hired staff and made accessible to community service agencies and caregivers. MCFD to complete the reviews and curriculum development and begin training by March 31, 2022 and complete training of all relevant ministry and agency staff by March 31, 2023.
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Recommendation 1:
That the Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) fully fund and implement a CYSN service framework and plan, fully inclusive of children and youth with FASD. The formation of the service framework and plan must extensively engage Delegated Aboriginal Agencies (DAAs) and all appropriate partners. This framework must articulate a comprehensive and accessible array of CYSN services, delivered based on both an assessment of functional needs and diagnosis and, therefore, fully including children and youth affected by FASD. MCFD to begin implementation by Sept. 30, 2021 and complete full implementation of the
CYSN service framework and plan over a three-year period ending March 31, 2024.
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Recommendation 4:
MCFD should evaluate the current emergency measures in place due to COVID-19 that allow young people to continue to stay in their foster home or staffed residential placements past their 19th birthday. Our Office anticipates that such an evaluation would reveal benefits and feasibility on an ongoing basis. If that is the case, the ministry should implement changes that would allow for continuing foster home or staffed residential care on a voluntary basis, with the length of extension based on the young person’s readiness to transition out of care. Priority consideration should be given to youth and young adults who have disabilities and other physical and mental health needs who are not ready for independence at 19, and not eligible for Community Living BC services.
MCFD is to complete the evaluation by December 31, 2021 and develop and implement an approved plan of next steps by April 1, 2022.
MCFD is to complete the evaluation by December 31, 2021 and develop and implement an approved plan of next steps by April 1, 2022.
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Recommendation 9:
MCFD should also begin a full learning and development initiative, for all service lines, to train staff on the use of child-centred, person-first and identity-first, destigmatizing language when speaking to, and documenting the lives of, children and youth in the child-serving system.
To be implemented by Sept. 1, 2024.
To be implemented by Sept. 1, 2024.
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Recommendation 3:
In the interest of improving practice, that MCFD distribute Skye’s Legacy: A Focus on Belonging to all staff who work with and plan for children and youth who are in care or who may come into care, and then meaningfully engage in discussions with those staff about belonging for children and youth in the context of case planning, decision-making and the development and implementation of care plans. These discussions should be informed by the Circle practices developed in the APPF in order to foster strength-based, holistic and restorative work that centres child and youth well-being and belonging and should be designed to promote thoughtful reflection and enhance understanding. This process of engagement should not be a one-time process and should occur regularly to support strong practice development and reflection.
Report dissemination to be completed by Aug. 31, 2021 and initial Circle discussions to be completed by March 31, 2022.
Report dissemination to be completed by Aug. 31, 2021 and initial Circle discussions to be completed by March 31, 2022.
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