New Brunswick's child and youth advocate has released his second report reviewing the province's child welfare system after new, stand-alone child welfare legislation was introduced last month.
Child, Youth and Seniors’ Advocate Kelly Lamrock's second report, "Through Their Eyes," found some progress in the system, identified deficiencies in information gathering and noted a lack of recognition of the rights of children in care.
Lamrock says he spoke with hundreds of children who had been in the child protection system, as well as front-line workers.
The report is urging the legislative assembly to consider the voices of children in care and entrench their rights in the proposed legislation, which is overhauling New Brunswick’s entire child welfare system.
“It is a significant error that we have an act that calls for children in care to be advised of their rights, but then does not entrench any rights. That’s a drafting error that should not happen. Let’s not resist fixing it. Other provinces entrench child rights in legislation, and we have provided possible language to the legislative assembly,”he said.
“We heard too often that children are moved without explanation or consultation. We heard from children who miss their friends and siblings after a sudden move, or that they are moved so often that they cannot stay on a sports team or in extra-curricular activities. We heard from children who overcame so much to get accepted to university and then had to beg for funding. That’s why a statement of child rights matter, so that front-line workers know what is essential.”
Lamrock's report found progress on some issues, like improved use of kinship care options and transitional services for young people aging out of care.
However, it also found significant deficiencies in information gathering, group home placement and youth criminal justice.
Lamrock says there are deficiencies in the tracking of information regarding children in care and urged the immediate tracking of academic achievement, graduation rates, health outcomes, behavioural issues and participation in post-secondary education.
“A parent should know how their child is doing in school, or if they are struggling with mental health issues and if they are home at night. We should expect no less from government when it acts as a parent. If we do not know if children in care are succeeding, how do we know if the system is working?” asked Lamrock.
Lamrock goes on to say the government has fallen short on what a parent should do in too many cases, and insists things must get better.
"We can, and must, do better. The government deserves credit for having addressed some of these issues in the proposed Child and Youth Well-Being Act,” he said.
“A number of the issues raised in this report, such as transitional services for children aging out of care, better collaboration between departments and more child participation in decisions that affect them, are addressed in this act and that is good to see. Now is the time to make amendments that address the remaining issues.”
The youth advocate’s second report made 21 recommendations based on information gathered by hundreds of children who were interviewed, including:
- Renewing a commitment to Integrated Service Delivery in government, in which departments collaborate automatically on sharing information and providing services to youth-at-risk.
- Enhancing the Child’s Rights Impact Assessment (CRIA) process in all government decisions that affect children.
- Providing children in care with adequate and effective legal counsel when they are in the court system, including private counsel where appropriate.
- Allowing social workers to seek guidance and advocacy for their clients through the office of the Child and Youth Advocate.
“This report is the most direct input children in care have had into the government decision-making process” said Lamrock. “Our office has worked hard to honour their stories and their lived experience, as well as the suggestions they have made. We hope that the government will honour it as well.”
Lamrock's first report on the province’s child welfare system, "Easier To Build," was released on May 13. It called on the province to introduce a new Children’s Act to streamline protections of children’s rights within the system.
The report said consolidating all laws and policies that affect children and youth under one act would close gaps that currently exist, and ensure children's rights are at the centre of policy decisions.
If implemented, Lamrock recommended the act undergo a mandatory review every five years.
Five days later, the New Brunswick government introduced new stand-alone legislation aimed at promoting the interests, protection, participation and well-being of children and youth, along with the health and well-being of families.
In a review of the proposed act, Lamrock said the new legislation has significant improvements in comparison to the existing laws.
However, he also highlighted 12 areas where he noticed the proposed legislation could use improvements.
Lamrock also proposed nine amendments to consider, which consist of ideas ranging from a Bill of Rights for children in care, to having support for young adults aged 19 to 26 in care.
Lamrock also noted the proposed legislation doesn't recognize the rights of children in care to services including health care and education, culture and recreation, and security and permanency to families.
New Brunswick said the act and its supporting regulations will be developed in the coming months, and will take effect by early 2023.
