A new Rapid Response Team, a review of all MCFD-involved young people living on the Downtown Eastside and a service-provider awareness campaign are part of government’s operational response to issues outlined in the Representative for Children and Youth’s report, Paige’s Story.

“The Paige report talks about systemic issues in the Downtown Eastside, which is why a fulsome response requires engagement from partners across the health, education, justice, Aboriginal and child and family-serving service sectors,” said Children and Family Development Minister Stephanie Cadieux. “There is a collective responsibility that needs to be reinvigorated, and the first and most important step is to bring together decision-makers who can collaborate to create solutions that might not yet exist within our system. That’s part of what we are doing with our rapid response team.”

“We also recognize that real and meaningful change on a systemic scale will be an ongoing process. To be successful, we need to examine – from the ground up – the way this province supports our most vulnerable young people.”

Government is responding with immediate and longer-term steps to address the recommendations made in the ‘Paige’ report. Steps completed to-date include:

• A Rapid Response Team to allow service providers to reach out and directly address the needs and safety of the highest-risk youth in the Downtown Eastside.
• A review of all children and youth in care or receiving ministry services who reside in or frequent the Downtown Eastside.
• An awareness campaign to reinforce the duty of service providers to report to MCFD whenever a child or youth may be at risk of harm.
• Interviews with ministry staff to get their perspectives about the needs of high-risk youth and how best to serve this population.
• A policy roadmap to help front-line practitioners better understand their roles and responsibilities under the Child, Family and Community Service Act and more effectively apply policies and standards when handling cases involving high-risk youth.
• A cross-jurisdictional review to explore services to young adults from care and inform service options in B.C. for high-risk youth transitioning to adulthood.
• A review of secure care models across Canada, with consideration to secure care as part of the cross-ministry work on Child and Youth Mental Health services in B.C.
• Revised policy to allow case reviews of fatalities of former youth in care up to 20 years of age who were in care until turning 19 years of age, and of any child or youth fatality that occurs while the young person is in the care of the director.

“I am buoyed to see that MCFD and government have begun to grapple with these important issues and that progress will be improved outcomes for these youth – far too many of whom are Aboriginal children who have endured incredible journeys of hardship and who deserve our full attention,” said Representative for Children and Youth Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond. “Government has also released details of its plan today, which is a step toward improved transparency.”

“Our response to this report is just a beginning,” said Cadieux. “The issue of supporting at-risk youth on the Downtown Eastside is more than a question of policy, practice or even legislation; it is a question of societal values. How do we address issues like intergenerational poverty? How do we reach out and help those who may not be receptive to service? How can we, as a province, do more to prevent children and youth from succumbing to a life of hopelessness and addiction? These are some of the issues we are grappling with and I believe we have put ourselves on the right track to make changes for the better.”

Read government’s response: https://news.gov.bc.ca/files/BG_Paige_Report.pdf