The provincial government has struck a new all-party ministerial panel to examine Alberta's child intervention system and to make recommendations for improvements.
With the panel's work focusing on some of the most vulnerable citizens in the province, its findings and suggestions are sure to impact many, many young people and their families today and in years to come.
As such, panel members are encouraged to focus their efforts on what really matters - the health and well-being of young Albertans in need of care.
One of the panel members is Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre Wildrose MLA Jason Nixon.
The panel's work will include the following:
ï Identifying recommendations to streamline and strengthen the child death review process, including receiving updates on the status of all internal reviews.
ï Identifying which agency should have primary authority for conducting these reviews.
ïExamining internal communications protocols to ensure timely access to information for relevant agencies.
ï Developing possible criteria for which deaths would be reviewed. This could include all
children, all children in care, all children receiving child intervention services or some
combination of the above.
ï Making recommendations for legislative changes.
The panel will review legislation, policies, current practices, literature, other relevant data, and recommendations, including from the Office of the Child and Youth Advocate and the Office of the Auditor General.
The panel is expected to release a report that will address "root causes and factors that contribute to child and family involvement in the child intervention system," "current funding and resource levels for the child intervention system as well as assessment of workplace culture and staff morale," and "existing support for families, including supports for kinship caregivers, foster parents, and families at risk of needing child intervention services."
This new ministerial panel has a vital job to do. As such, members are encouraged to put aside any and all political considerations and work together for the betterment of Alberta's young people and for the community at large.
Dan Singleton is the Mountain View Gazette editor
