A new multi-stakeholder pilot project aimed at making sure babies and small children are protected and sheltered from family violence is a very worthwhile initiative that should be expanded across the province as soon as possible.
Launched last month, the Alberta Vulnerable Infant Response Team (AVIRT) project will provide immediate support and services to at-risk families with vulnerable infants.
The team is made up of Alberta Children and Youth Services caseworkers, public health nurses, police officers and others who will work together to assess risk, develop safety plans, and give families guidance, support resources and other related services.
“Parenting is an important and demanding responsibility,” says Yvonne Fritz, Alberta's Minister of Children and Youth Services. “For those dealing with issues such as addictions, mental health challenges or domestic violence, the added responsibility can be overwhelming.
“Working directly with parents, this team will help at-risk families with challenging life situations, keep their infants safe through learning parenting and coping skills and the provision of access to addictions and family violence counselling.”
Children and Youth Services and Alberta Health Services have each provided half of the $1 million project funding for AVIRT.
Under the program, information will be collected about the extent and scope of the issues related to vulnerable infants, she said.
“This will assist with the development of a model that will be expanded to other regions in the province,” she said.
With domestic violence continuing to plague communities across Alberta – and youngsters all too often counted among the victims – any and all efforts to combat it at the grassroots level are certainly to everyone's benefit.
As such, bringing a variety of stakeholders together to address family violence issues, as this AVIRT project is doing, is putting things on the right track.
Although the pilot project is currently based in Calgary, such efforts would certainly pay dividends in smaller communities such as Olds, Innisfail, Sundre, Didsbury, Carstairs, Penhold and elsewhere.
The bottom line is that every Alberta community, without exception and including those in this region, would benefit from having an AVIRT in place to keep youngsters safe.
“This highly specialized team can provide immediate and ongoing assistance, before a crisis occurs,” said Minister Fritz. “The earliest intervention possible can help to ensure the safety and well-being of the baby, in the first months when they are most vulnerable.”
With those true words in mind, the provincial government should move to fast track this very worthwhile pilot project, making it provincewide without delay.
