New Brunswick youth advocate calls for new act to better protect children's rights

New Brunswick’s child and youth advocate is calling on the provincial government to introduce a new Children’s Act to streamline protections of children’s rights within the system. 

Advocate Kelly Lamrock says 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, it’s recommended that the act would undergo a mandatory review every five years.

“We’ve absolutely got to reclaim a sense of urgency in our response to children at-risk,” Lamrock said.

In a report released by the advocate’s office Friday, case studies outline how the current system in New Brunswick has failed children in the past.

In one case, a teen was open to treatment options for addiction, and the advocate’s office suggested the teen attend a “place of safety in the community,” where there are different levels of security for youth at risk of harming themselves. However, no such place was available to the teen.

The advocate’s office had recommended five such facilities be built in different communities across the province three years ago, but the report states there are still none available.

The report also finds that “child welfare cases can drag on because of a lack of resources and a mistaken focus on parental rights.”

The research for the report included interviews with over 200 youth who are, or once were, in the system.

There are five recommendations in total, including that the Department of Social Development and attorney general’s office work together to ensure independent legal representation of children in child protection proceedings, especially if the child is under eight years old, and that the province should improve a child’s participation in decisions that affect them.

Lamrock says “silos don’t work for young people,” and that there should be a “cabinet-level responsibility” given to a minister to ensure the integrated service delivery model is integrated across all departments.

This report is the first of two looking at the child welfare system in New Brunswick.

The second report, "Through Their Eyes," will be released sometime over the next three weeks.