Situation at the DYP | ” I am desperate “

The former vice-president of the Laurent commission empties his heart in an interview with The Press

Katia Gagnon
The Press

“I’m more than discouraged, I’m desperate. »

Nine months after the report of the Special Commission on Children’s Rights and Youth Protection was submitted, André Lebon, who was its vice-president, launched a real cry from the heart in an interview with The Press. The situation is worse than ever at the directorate of youth protection (DPJ) and it is the tablet that awaits the report written by the commissioners after two years of consultations, he fears.

“If I hadn’t seen any, reports going back to back, if I hadn’t signed any, reports that were never applied, I would say: I trust. So the person who comes to tell me: “Yes, we are serious”, I answer him: “You are the 30^and serious that I meet and the others have never delivered. So get on with convincing me. Me, I want dates, deadlines, ball carriers, ”he says.

His exit is not directed against the Minister Delegate for Health and Social Services, Lionel Carmant, he takes care to specify. “I respect the minister and I take his word for it. But the minister, he has a machine, he has a context, he doesn’t have unlimited money, there are elections coming up. Sorry but show me the money. »

However, the members of the National Assembly have just finished examining Bill 15, which significantly modifies the Youth Protection Act in a parliamentary committee. But this bill, not only does it not go far enough, but “it’s the tip of the iceberg of the commission’s report”, believes Mr. Lebon.

However, the follow-up plan for the other recommendations, nicknamed “the doily” in the community by some because of the size of the paper on which it is printed, is extremely vague, he denounces. On most of the elements, some of which are crucial, it is simply specified that there will be “a site”.

“Honestly, 10 million later, 4000 people who have spoken, and we are going to do construction sites? Are we going to talk about this again? With whom ? How long ? Do you feel discouraged? Yes, I am discouraged! We are told that we have not forgotten it, that it will happen. If it’s not done in the spring, when will it be done? On the other side of the election? he wonders. I am more than discouraged, I am desperate. »

A detailed plan exists at the Department, with specific timelines. But very few people saw it, says André Lebon. “Another cursed problem of secrecy. A few happy few have seen it. This lack of transparency is problematic. »

But beyond the future of the report, there is the reality on the ground at the DPJ. And this is what worries the former vice-president of the Laurent commission the most. Social services, he believes, are in a situation as, if not more, precarious than at the start of the Commission’s work in May 2019. How does he come to this conclusion? For four reasons.

1. The DYP waiting lists are longer than in May 2019.

The figures for the waiting lists indeed show that the current situation is worse than when the Laurent commission was launched. In January, 4,096 children were waiting for an assessment across Quebec. This is a figure higher than that of May 2019, the date of the establishment of the commission. At that date, there were 3,788 children on the waiting list for an assessment.

The situation is particularly critical in Montreal, and has been for many months. As of Tuesday, 437 children were on the waiting list. Barely a few weeks earlier, there were nearly 630 children that the DPJ wants to “see as quickly as possible to [s’]ensure their safety and well-being,” Assunta Gallo, director of youth protection at the CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l’Île-de-Montréal, said at the time.

And this critical situation is not only episodic: it has been going on for months. Last October, Mr.^me Gallo deplored an “unprecedented situation”, which had lasted six months. Some 426 children were then on the waiting list for an assessment.

In addition to this CIUSSS du Centre-Sud waiting list, there are also children who come under the DPJ Batshaw, linked to the CIUSSS de l’Ouest-de-l’Île-de-Montréal. There, another 443 children are awaiting assessment. In total, on the island of Montreal, therefore, nearly 900 children are waiting for their case to be assessed following a report to social services that has been retained.

2. The first line is still ineffective.

During the hearings of the Laurent commission, researcher Nico Trocme, of McGill University, came to tell the commissioners that a large majority of children under protection could very well have done without the services of the DYP if they had received front-line support, i.e. family physicians and CLSC psychosocial services.

For him, there is a “cultural problem” among first-line workers, particularly that of voluntary intervention. The interveners at work in the CLSCs give up at the first refusal of a difficult clientele, denounces Mr. Lebon.

“They say that Madame is not collaborating, so we close the file. We must use our capacity for conviction to speak with people. They can’t just tell us, “I don’t want to.” It works, that! he exclaims. These are not SWAT teams that work in youth protection. They have the same basic training as someone who works in a CLSC! »

3. We continue to work in silos.

One of the crucial problems raised by the Laurent commission: stakeholders from different networks and community organizations all work in silos. When they should join forces for the sake of children.

“The revival of the intersectoral, everyone wants it: we have to stop working in silos. I can’t hear that anymore. I became like Michel Chartrand: after 53 years of fighting, I’m in crisis all day long. Because I’m being told nonsense I was told 40 years ago. And the civil servant who told me that as if he had just made a discovery, I said to him: “Do you know how many of you have repeated this sentence to me which does not go anywhere?” »

In the dock: the famous confidentiality, golden rule at the DPJ. A concrete example ? A teacher who has a DYP child in her class may be totally unaware that the child who reacts badly in her class has experienced a tragedy the day before. How will she then be able to react appropriately? asks André Lebon.

4. The exodus of staff continues.

Minister Lionel Carmant has increased the budgets for youth protection. “There was the sensitivity of a minister who listens, who fought to bring in more money. As soon as he had suggestions, he hastened to comply. And yet, the exodus of personnel continues, observes Mr. Lebon.

“There is an issue of coaching, of professional supervision. All those things have been diluted, there are no more. Youth protection workers find themselves in very difficult situations. They flee the boat, it continues to flee the boat at full speed. »

Result: the workers in the field have very little experience. “I would be curious to see a survey, a photo of each DPJ, and you would see that the age and the baggage of experience must be less than eighteen months, two years of experience. It’s young people. They don’t toughen up. They go elsewhere. »