A newly released report from the province’s Child and Youth Advocate points to the great work being done by many stakeholders to help protect and promote Alberta’s young people.
It also points to the need to continue working to ensure youngsters receive the support they need over the long term.
The Child and Youth Advocate Act was proclaimed in April 2012 and the Child and Youth Advocate was given the mandate to conduct investigations into "systemic issues arising from a serious injury to or the death of a child who was receiving a designated service at the time of the injury or death, if, in the opinion of the Advocate, the investigation is warranted or in the public interest.”
Those designated services include those provided under the Child, Youth and Family Enhancement Act, services under the Protection of Sexually Exploited Children Act (PSECA), and services provided to young people through the youth justice system if the young person was in open or closed custody at the time of serious injury or death.
The advocate’s report details the office’s investigations into deaths and injuries and makes a number of recommendations.
The report included information on more than 250 cases of reported death or injury involving young people between April 2012 and March 2017.
Twenty-one of those deaths were attributed to violence. Of those deaths, more than 40 per cent involved children under six.
"Reducing the risk of violence towards youth requires interdisciplinary efforts focused on home, school and the healthcare system,” the report states. "While youth may be more capable of communicating instances of maltreatment or neglect, targeted efforts are required to identify risk and implement support networks.”
For his part, Advocate Del Graff said, "We must all make sure we do whatever we can to prevent further tragedies for children and their families in Alberta.”
The Child and Youth Advocate has now been in place in Alberta for five years – providing an invaluable service to some of the province’s most vulnerable young citizens in their times of need.
Dan Singleton is the Mountain View Gazette editor.
