Quebec puts an end to “baby alerts”, which consisted of reporting to the Department of Youth Protection (DPJ) an unborn baby in an environment presumed to be at high risk of abuse. The practice, considered discriminatory, is replaced by a prevention program.
The minister responsible for social services, Lionel Carmant, confirmed on Friday the abolition of reports at birth. An internal directive has been sent to the health and social services network in this regard.
A person worried about an unborn child could until now alert the DPJ so that birthing establishments can exercise increased vigilance after birth and report the situation, if necessary. However, this practice was deemed to discriminate against certain groups who found themselves overrepresented in the youth protection system.
In a report by The Press published in 2021, Indigenous women recounted having given birth in anguish that their baby would be snatched from their arms. They demanded the abolition of “baby alerts”, which led to “inhuman” and “traumatic” situations.
Note that when the security and development of the child seem to be compromised, the obligation to report this remains after the baby is born.
The old mechanism is replaced by the “implementation of a plan of preventive and intensive services in the prenatal period”, the details of which have not been specified. “The latter makes it possible to ensure tight and proactive supervision from pregnancy when a child is likely to be born in a family context at high risk of abuse”, indicates the press release.
Nor is it detailed who will take on this new responsibility, although the announcement mentions “front-line responders” and “community organizations”. According to Minister Lionel Carmant, these professionals “remain in the best position to direct parents to the necessary resources and offer early care that will benefit the parents, but also the unborn child”.
A “very evasive” minister
In the benches of the opposition parties, the reactions are mixed. “It is a decision that can help fight against a form of systemic discrimination, and that, I salute. There are communities that are afraid of the DPJ, it has been denounced and we must take concrete means to fight against it, ”says solidarity Christine Labrie from the outset.
PHOTO JACQUES BOISSINOT, CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES
Quebec solidaire’s critic for social services, Christine Labrie
But it brings nuances. “Where I am concerned about today’s announcement is that we have no details on how the government is going to act in prevention, and who is going to do it. »
“Right now, we hear from the DPJ network that they barely have the capacity to put out fires, and that they are not at all equipped to do prevention. And in the community sector, which we seem to want to involve, they are just as underfunded to do prevention. The minister’s plan is very evasive, we have no answers, ”continues the member for Sherbrooke.
Same story with the Parti Québécois. “The new prevention program must be rigorous and the government must ensure that there are enough trained workers available to respond to requests to properly support parents and children,” says MP Joël Arseneau.
At the Alliance of Professional and Technical Personnel in Health and Social Services (APTS), Vice-President Josée Fréchette says she is “concerned about the end of unborn baby alerts”. “Our organization will remain vigilant. We must never lose sight of the fact that all youth protection interventions must serve the interests of the child above all,” she maintains.