Our civilization takes no interest in the plight of its neighbor or that of its youth. If this were really the case, we would not be entitled to another cry of alarm about the waiting lists at the Direction de la protection de la jeunesse (DPJ), which displayed 5,100 names across the Quebec at the start of the year. Youth protection is a mandate that the State struggles to fulfill effectively; an artificial respirator would sometimes do better.
The DPJ was born in 1977. The years go by, the problems grow heavier, the workforce leaves the ship and it takes on water. The DYP manages its mission with the best intentions, but with the consequences that we know. Waiting lists for care are increasing everywhere. They will lengthen again and again, and that will not change the catastrophic situation that prevails.
But forget the numbers for a moment. Waiting lists are nothing if they are just a count. Forget that these are children who appear there. Ironically, some decision-makers have to do this more easily than others. And if the situation was really dramatic, we would have acted a long time ago… Forget all that.
A commission made recommendations. Atrocious dramas have awakened consciences. For a moment, at least. But, unsurprisingly, the waiting list will continue to swell. And it will be as big as La Fontaine’s beef, it’s written in the sky. No, don’t think about the kids on this list. Do not think of those who suffer abuse on a daily basis. The evaluation they expect aims only to measure the intensity of their distress, that which has taken root in their lives.
The DPJ puts out fires, but its business model is mediocre. Nothing to do with the banks and oil companies of this world. What professional would face all this distress, this overwork, this cruel lack of support? The minister responsible for social services, Lionel Carmant, can do nothing about it. Society won’t change that.
No one tolerates seeing people’s distress in real time. And she is doubly unsustainable when it comes to children. But the waiting list at the DPJ is represented in figures, and this is the source of the problem. She does not talk about the situations that these children undergo. Don’t look at this list like you look at a grocery list. Instead, ask yourself how long the suffering of a single child on this list has lasted. Since when parents are in difficulty. Since when have they not been helped, supported. For months ? For years ?
Quebec is not crazy about its children, and it does not give a damn about their distress. If the DPJ were profitable, with supporting financial statements, there would be no waiting list.
Reforms are old-fashioned; the DPJ does not need restructuring, it needs love and consideration. The DPJ needs to be invited to dinner alone to talk about its successes. That’s his greatest asset: the successes that no one talks about. The DPJ exists for one reason, that of ensuring a more promising future for the most vulnerable individuals.
Undoubtedly, society will one day reap the fruits of its labor. The DPJ works miracles, often with little. And that is perhaps the real problem: we have stopped believing in it. Waiting lists are growing in the shadow of our collective indifference. Even the Special Commission on Children’s Rights and Youth Protection, chaired by Régine Laurent, did not change the situation. What more will we need?
Hope is the only tool we have left.