AN EXTERNAL CHILD AND YOUTH ADVOCATE

Nova Scotia does not have a child and youth advocate contrary to most other provinces. Is a child advocate necessary to address the current system of service for children and youth? Are there enough checks and balances already in the system to ensure that persistent problems get addressed? If childhood is seen on a continuum with interventions beginning from birth to three years, at preschool/day care, at the entrance to the education system (primary, junior high and senior high), and finally on to adulthood, can we identify the children and youth who are repeatedly left out? If we look first at the vivid examples of youth at the end of the spectrum such as their mental health, involvement in crime, unmanageable/aggressive/self-destructive behaviour, sexual violence, bullying and cyberbullying, and the impact of social media to mention a few, it becomes obvious that intervention needs to occur early in the childhood cycle. If we could intervene early we might be able to identify those children who will develop problems later in life.

The government has at least two strategies that have been developed to address the problems of children and youth. The Child and Youth Strategy, “Our Children are Worth It” (2007) developed after the Nunn Commission Enquiry Report (2006) recommended a stronger collaboration and cooperation between the four government departments of Community Services, Health and Wellness, Education and Early Childhood Development, and Justice. The Child and Youth Strategy makes an honest effort to find new ways of providing services to children and youth, some of which are experimental, that tries to make access easier and to fill gaps. Its legacy will be a more coordinated approach to service provision from the top government level to the service provider at the community level.

Over the past six years the Child and Youth Strategy has experimented with a number of initiatives that have been tested and found to meet qualitative tests to show their effectiveness. One of those initiatives is the SchoolsPlus program which was started under the Child and Youth Strategy and later adopted and expanded by the Mental Health and Addictions Strategy, “Together We Can” (2012) under the Department of Health and Wellness.

The SchoolsPlus program follows the lead of several other national and international jurisdictions. It uses the school as a platform to launch services to meet the needs of children, youth and families as well as traditional education. An important initiative of the program is the placement of mental health clinicians in SchoolsPlus schools. This is particularly significant in rural communities where resources are scarce or located at long distances.  The program offers a familiar space for families to meet and encourages the co-location of community-based services.  However, how effective is this program in terms of early identification of learning, developmental and mental health problems? Does it provide better access to services? Are gaps in services for certain services identified? Does it diminish long wait times for services? Is it adequately resources with qualified professionals? All these questions depend on adequate financial resources. Is the government committed to provide these resources without which the program and strategy may fail?

Shedding light on these questions is where an independent Child and Youth Advocate with a broad mandate would be effective. The government strategies have made progress and have identified the direction that needs to be taken in order to meet the needs of children, youth and families. What is required now is an independent authority with broad powers to investigate complaints about the system, gather information, analyse outcomes, report its findings and recommendations to the Legislature, and to encourage government to make changes. Some gaps in services that persist and continue to impact child and youth mental health are: relevant and accessible information programs that address problems parents encounter raising their children; follow-up of high risk children between the ages of three and five when home visits end and until they enter school; children under 12 who commit crimes of violence or destroy property but cannot be charged; high risk youth between 16 and 18 years who are between the child welfare mandate and age of majority; children’s over exposure to the viewing of violence in films and video games; the influence of social media on individual and family relationships; the service gaps between different geographic regions especially in rural areas; and service gaps in programs for diverse cultures. The strategies have addressed some of these gaps but an advocate for children and youth could independently identify and focus attention on the ones requiring urgent attention.

A child and youth advocate would provide the oversight that would identify gaps in services as experienced by the service users. It’s time for Nova Scotia to join the other eight provinces with advocates in place to independently examine the strategies to address problems expressed by children and youth and to advocate for effective change.

SCHOOLSPLUS

SCHOOLSPLUS – A Nova Scotia program that places vital human services in safe and convenient locations in both rural and urban communities. The program delivers vital support services from government departments and community agencies including Justice, Mental Health, Addiction, Education, Community Services and other service providers in local community schools. Known as SchoolsPlus it has been in operation for the past three years and is part of a growing community schools movement that emphasises integrated/ collaborative service delivery. First proposed in 2007 as a pilot program as part of the provincial Child and Youth Strategy known as “Our Children Are Worth It” and also the Mental Health Strategy known as “Together We Can” (2012), it has undergone extensive evaluation during 2010, 2011 and 2012. The final evaluation completed in September 2012 by an independent evaluator analyses data collected from sites in all eight school boards in the province. The final evaluation confirmed that the program has been received positively by those involved and as a result has been continued and expanded with a substantial financial commitment over the next few years.

NOVA SCOTIA UNVEILS PLAN TO ADDRESS BULLYING

(Reported in the Chronicle Herald, February 28, 2013) – The long awaited strategy to address bullying has finally been released by Ramona Jennex, Minister of Education. After over a year of consultation and research, the plan is restorative in approach, rather than a strategy based on punishment. Ms. Jennex stated: “This is a plan that’s going to address the root causes of bullying. Therefore, this is going to be a slow, methodical, comprehensive approach.” Relying on the justice system is not effective and what needs to happen is a preventative approach that focuses on peer relationships and the culture of bullying in the school and community. Dr. John LeBlanc, a paediatrician at the IWK Health Centre and a member of the Cyberbullying Task Force, agrees with the province’s approach and states: “That’s why the ‘justice’ approach, finding out who did what, doesn’t work.” “Effective bullying programs deal a lot with peer relationships.” Parents also need to be more involved and social workers are well positioned to offer their expertise in the efforts to improve parent-child relationships, as well as educate and help in understanding the characteristics of bullying. Unfortunately for some families there is not the kind of connection or relationship between parents and their children that will bring bullying out in the open. See the 17 page report: “Speak Up: An Action Plan to Address Bullying and Cyberbullying Behaviour” at:  http://www.ednet.ns.ca/files/reports/R1240223-AntibullyingActionPlan-WEB2.pdf

TIME TO RECONSIDER RENT CONTROLS

People are beginning to see large increases in rent by some landlords in Halifax. This is especially devastating to persons on low income and fixed incomes. Shane O’Dell writing in the Chronicle Herald on January 12, 2013 quoted the monthly rent for a two bedroom apartment as $145 higher than a similar one in Montreal which has rent control (CMHC statistics). The concern is that with rent controls, landlords will refuse to build more rental units and will go to areas of the country where they are free to set their own rents based on the market. Without rent controls the market will set the going rents and the fear is that when the community experiences a boom time in the economy, as might occur with the proposed ship contract between the federal government and the Halifax Shipyards, large increases in rents will be the norm. According to Mr. O’Dell’s article, Nova Scotia had rent control at one time but it was removed in 1993 and the Minister of the day promised, “If we find one landlord taking advantage of the tenants of this province, we will reactivate the rent review program immediately.” See Mr. O’Dell’s article at: http://thechronicleherald.ca/opinion/415437-rent-control-empowers-citizens-on-limited-incomes#disqus_thread

NOVA SCOTIA SHOWS UP IN THE ECONOMIST

The Economist Newspaper (magazine) is the weekly ‘go to’ publication that the business community and others have been reading for 170 years since it was first published in 1843. The publication promotes the idea that social reform and the economy are closely tied together and contains articles from countries around the world on business, finance and economics, science and technology, education, religion, culture, social unrest, democracy and other topics.  It was interesting to see an article on Nova Scotia which would lead one to believe that important things have been happening that have captured the attention of the editors. The writer recites the many projects that are on the drawing boards and points out that these could spell success, lead the province to prosperity and a needed change in the province’s demographics. The hope is that young people will no longer need to consider moving out of the province in order to find employment. Nova Scotia is considered a “have-not” province and depends on transfer payments from the federal government in order to pay for public services and goods. If workers can find employment here they will stay and raise their families and contribute to the economy. Read the article and other interesting ones at: http://www.economist.com/search/apachesolr_search/A%20New%20Nova%20Scotia