At the dawn of a parliamentary commission on the revision of the Youth Protection Act, as former directors of youth protection (DYP), we would like to make a few observations and comments. Retired for most of us and often involved on an ad hoc basis, we still have the protection of children tattooed on our hearts.
First of all, we would like to highlight the colossal and invaluable work of the Special Commission on Children’s Rights and Youth Protection (Laurent Commission) and the involvement of all the commissioners. The relevance and quality of the report produced, entitled Building a caring society for our children and youthwill undoubtedly lead to major and necessary transformations in the protection services for our children in Quebec.
This work led to the tabling of Bill 15, which aims to improve the Youth Protection Act. In more than forty years, this Act has been amended several times, constantly adapted to the evolution of social and judicial practices, so that it better meets the needs of children and their families.
We recognize that Bill 15 responds to several recommendations of the Special Commission’s report. It affirms loud and clear that the interest of the child must be the determining reason for all the decisions taken in his regard and that the continuity of care and the stability of the ties must be ensured by the maintenance of the child either in his family environment or in an alternative environment.
Bill 15 introduces the responsibilities of the National Director of Youth Protection, who will ensure better coordination of youth protection intervention for all of Quebec. It relaxes several rules favoring the exchange of information in order to better meet the needs of children. It re-emphasizes the active participation of children and their parents in decisions that concern them through recourse, among other things, to mediation processes. It brings together in a new chapter all the special provisions that affect Aboriginal communities to better ensure their cultural safety.
Worry
Beyond all the improvements brought about by this bill, however, we have a great concern. We know very well that for the vast majority of children, it is in their family that they will be supported and protected, even after a temporary placement. However, for the children who will not be able to return and who will very often experience numerous displacements, the changes proposed in Bill 15 are clearly insufficient. It should be noted that the Youth Protection Act as a whole is under the responsibility of two departments, namely the Department of Health and Social Services and the Department of Justice. However, as in several previous amendments to the Act, the articles under the Ministry of Justice, concerning the importance of guaranteeing children a family for life, have not been adapted to incorporate the recommendations of the Special Commission.
A more accessible permanence
There should be more affirmation that judicial decisions must ensure continuity of care and stability of relationships for a child. These decisions should also define and specify how they will meet the best interests of the child. When a decision orders the orientation of a child towards another permanent family, it should obligatorily rule on the contacts with the parents and transfer the exercise of the attributes of parental authority. To make permanency measures such as guardianship and adoption more accessible, we believe it is essential to review the eligibility criteria. Another measure such as simple adoption, which allows adoption without breaking the bond of filiation, should also be introduced.
Admittedly, amendments to the Youth Protection Act are desired and necessary, but we must remember that the Special Commission invites us to make even more fundamental changes. We are thinking here of upstream intervention, which would ensure that children and their families receive the support and services that meet their needs before resorting to the heavy artillery of youth protection. We are also thinking of the recognition that the protection of children is a collective responsibility that must mobilize all actors in society before, during and after the intervention of State authorities in the lives of families. We always have a “Quebec crazy about its children” at heart.
*This text is co-signed by 14 other former DPJs, namely Denis Baraby, Luc Cadieux, Maryse Davreux, Monique Gevry, Jean-Pierre Hotte, Louise Jessop, Dominique Jobin, Linda Keating, Diane Lafleur, Simon Lapointe, Sylvain Plouffe, Éric Salois, Marc Turcotte and Robert Vyncke.