One in ten children in Quebec have reportedly been reported to the Department of Youth Protection (DPJ) this past year for various reasons, particularly neglect. This recent data that appeared in the news is either a statistical exaggeration or the sad reality of our society abandoning its children.
The immediate effect is an even greater overcrowding of youth protection resources and services. The other effect, which is even more complex, is the “living with this incapacity” and the feeling of powerlessness among the workers who cannot manage it. I even have the impression that these feelings are shared by decision-makers who would also like to do better.
Some see in this staggering figure a mobilization of the population to protect children. But, in my opinion, it is rather a form of “not in my backyard”, or “shoveling at the neighbor’s house” or at the State responsible for the protection of vulnerable children or victims.
Every year, statistics have always shown that the system no longer works and that, at the same time, the problems experienced all over the world seem to have negative impacts on communities and families. The level of stress increases constantly, the environment threatens us more and more and the economic conditions become more and more precarious. Raising a child in these conditions brings its share of constraints and a loss of capacities directly related to the problems of development and the protection of children.
A duty
We should not look for culprits, because we are all a little. This is not the right path to take. Nor can we make ourselves believe that by reporting to the DYP, we have done our duty. Our duty begins with a justified report which continues with the awareness of a sick world that must be treated. This results in greater attention on our part to the children and families around us and the establishment of a safety net and local services in the communities, even upstream of the reporting, which could no longer be necessary.
As a promising example, a project currently being tested with the government, which consists of setting up outreach workers in connection with families and services already in place in the community. There are also several other initiatives in the communities that deserve to be known. In the circumstances, the mobilization of citizens and communities is more necessary than ever. The DPJ alone will not succeed.
We can also question the values of our societies and the place of children in these worlds which tolerate, or sometimes even encourage, the non-respect of their rights. We can think of child soldiers, children drowned in the Mediterranean or child slaves. People can certainly also look at us in the mirror and see our poor performance in Canada with respect to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, duly signed by our country.
Together, we could get there, but only with a more concrete and more constant mobilization of people like you and me. When we see our way of treating the poor, the victims and the children, we have nothing to be very proud of. We must be proud of our children and lenient with families who experience great social inequities, and who only ask to do better most of the time.