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Residential Services Review Panel

In May 2016, the Residential Services Review Panel provided advice to the ministry in its report, Because Young People Matter. The panel’s mandate was to build on the foundational work of previous reviews and reports, and to provide advice on improvements to residential services for children and youth. The review provided a crucial perspective on the needs of children and youth in residential settings. The panel made recommendations in 10 key areas focusing on improving the everyday experiences of children and youth, including quality of care, which were critical in shaping this Blueprint.

The Office of the Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth

The Office of the Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth undertook extensive engagement with youth with lived experience. The voices of these young people were captured in the report, Searching for Home: Re-imagining Residential Care. The report and its recommendations were also influential in developing this Blueprint.

The Child and Youth Residential Services Reference Group

The reference group, comprised of representatives from the mental health, child welfare, special needs, and youth justice sectors, including the voice of an Indigenous partner, helped to shape and frame the Blueprint. There was a strong commitment of the reference group to ensure the voices and needs of children and youth are at the core of our reforms. Our continued partnership and collaboration will be essential as we implement this Blueprint.

The Residential Services Youth Panel

Together with the Office of the Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth, we established a panel of young people with lived experience of residential services to share their stories and help define quality of care.

These remarkable young people helped to shape our understanding of what high-quality care means to children and youth in residential services. Their voices, experiences and expectations serve as a cornerstone of this Blueprint. Every dimension of this Blueprint for reform is anchored by the work of the youth panel. The youth panel’s input into this Blueprint can be found in its entirety in its report Envisioning Better Care for Youth: Our Input to the Blueprint.

We will continue to engage with these young people as we move forward.

Our thanks and best wishes for a bright and successful future to:

• Allison Caroline Guzman
• Amanda Owusu
• Ashley Jack
• Chloe Hockley
• Chrednick Kakekagumick
• Christopher Cottle
• Kiki
• Lisa Klassen
• Lucie Langford
• Mόnica-Margurita Rosas
• Shyanne
• Standing Hawk, Niibawi Gekek from Saugeen First Nation Ontario

The youth panel members have been identified here in their chosen manner.

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Anti-oppression and inclusion

• Those from marginalized social locations may not have the same access to power and resources as more dominant groups, and they can often be over-represented in child welfare and other social service sectors. In order to address power imbalances, caregivers and organizations involved in residential services should continuously reflect on their own social location so as to not inadvertently act in ways that recreate patterns of systemic oppression during their interactions with children, youth and families.
• An anti-oppression approach includes a professional and organizational analysis of power imbalances based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation and identity, including Indigenous identity, ability, age, class, geographic location and other social factors. These factors can affect a person’s social location, and in particular their access to power, privilege and resources. Key strategies for working from an anti-oppression approach include taking into consideration the impact of historical and systemic oppression on marginalized groups, authentically listening to the identified needs of children, youth and families, and not taking the position of “expert” when working with children, youth and families (Standards for All Phases of Child Protection Service Delivery, Ontario Child Protection Standards (2016)).

Cultural relevance, diversity and accessibility

• Children and youth must have meaningful opportunities for learning about and engaging with their family history, heritage, culture, race, religion, identity and orientation, and language and Indigenous communities. Every child and youth must be given the freedom to embrace, express and engage with their chosen identities and cultures.
• The care and services that children and youth receive must, in all cases, be culturally relevant and reflect the principles of diversity, inclusion and accessibility. Francophone children, youth and families must be able to access French-language services, where possible. Children and youth wishing to maintain connections with their heritage must be supported to do so. In order to facilitate this, all service partners must work together to improve the access and availability of culturally relevant care and create accepting environments.

Consistent, responsive and high quality care

• Children, youth and families must receive consistent, responsive and high-quality residential care that provides children and youth with the best opportunity to succeed. No matter which sector is serving the child or youth, the services must be provided in a way that responds best to the unique needs of the child or youth and will most positively affect their outcomes.
• Their needs may require brief or extended placements. Services must, therefore, be provided in a manner that responds best to the unique needs of the child or youth and positively impacts their outcomes. Children and youth will be served by appropriately qualified, experienced caregivers and foster parents who are supported to deliver the best care and service. Residential services will also support children, youth and their families, where appropriate, as they transition between service sectors and out of residential services. Effective transition supports will help ensure that the gains made during their placements continue to be maintained post-placement.

Strong oversight and a commitment to improvement

• The ministry must support the delivery of services through strong oversight and enforcement practices that result in compliance and, in turn, ensure that children and youth are receiving high quality care and services. The ministry will also work with stakeholders and partners in the mental health, child welfare, special needs and youth justice sectors to continuously implement improvements in an effort to provide the best care and service possible for children and youth.

Respect for the knowledge, customs and rights of First Nations, Métis, Inuit and urban Indigenous communities

• Given the unique history, geography, legal status and socioeconomic realities of Indigenous communities, licensed residential services must give consideration to Indigenous knowledge, customs and rights.
• Further, service partners must be mindful of the current and historical relationships Indigenous communities have with government child welfare and youth justice systems and deliver services to Indigenous children and youth in partnership with their communities.

Child and youth voice at the centre, with a family-focused approach

• A child and youth-centred and family-focused approach to service delivery is critical in order to create environments where children and youth feel that they are included, belong, are safe and respected, and are able to have their voices heard. Children and youth must be viewed as active participants in the decisions that impact them. A core component of child and youth-centred care requires incorporating the voices of children and youth in a meaningful way at every stage of their care journey. Family involvement and capacity building is also an important influence on a child’s or youth’s outcomes and these voices must be heard before and throughout residential care, where it is appropriate.
• Children and youth must also be supported to develop and maintain safe, nurturing and long-lasting relationships with their peers, caregivers, family, and members of the community, as appropriate. These relationships play an important role in advancing a child’s or youth’s development and facilitating positive self-awareness and wellbeing.
• Services must also engage and respond to the needs of the families, as appropriate, in recognition that family involvement is an important influence on a child’s or youth’s outcomes. As services are provided, consideration must be given to the needs of the entire family. This builds the capacity of the family to support the needs of the child and prevent placement into residential services, where possible, or maintain the gains made when the child or youth returns to living with the family following a placement.
• Collaboration and partnership with children and youth, as well as their families, caregivers and communities as appropriate, is essential to securing their best outcomes during and after placement.

Services in the right place, at the right time, for as little time as necessary

• When a residential service placement is necessary, an appropriate placement must be arranged in the right place and at the right time. The right place means that the placement must be responsive to the needs of the individual child or youth, which may change over time and require a placement change. Placements must be made only for as long as necessary, with the ultimate goal of securing permanency and a stable home for the child or youth. Children and youth must be supported to transition into permanent and stable living situations that fit their care and needs.
• Respite placements must also be arranged with the same degree of care and consideration given to the suitability of the setting. The right place may be as close to or as far away from home as necessary, depending on the comfort, safety and individual needs of the child or youth, and reflecting their voice and perspective. The right place also means that the placement must be responsive to the needs of the individual child or youth.
• As the needs of a child or youth change over time, a placement change may become necessary. In these instances, care must be taken to ensure placement changes are in the best interests of the child or youth and that the decision is informed by consultations with the child or youth, as well as their family, their Indigenous community or band, and caregivers, as appropriate.

Data-driven transparency and accountability

• The right data must be collected, validated, and used in a transparent and responsible manner to inform placement decision-making, to assess the performance of individual service providers, and to monitor and improve the quality of services. The ministry, and service providers and caregivers, share accountability for the impact residential services has on children, youth and their families.
• Data is required to measure the quality of residential services and assess both whether the needs of the children, youth and families are being met and whether services are available where they are needed across the province. Performance of services and key outcomes for children and youth must be measured and reported on regularly to promote transparency in the provision and management of services. As partners, we must work together to foster a culture of continuous improvement aimed at increasing the quality of services and securing better outcomes for children and youth.

A home for now

• Whether they are staying in residential care for a few days or years, children and youth must have their needs met, and be treated with dignity and respect. Where appropriate, children and youth will be supported to return to living with their families as soon as they are ready to do so, and should receive the necessary supports required to make this transition successful. If returning to home is not possible, children and youth should receive the necessary supports to achieve permanency in a stable setting.

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Roles and Responsibilities

The Ministry of Children and Youth Services has an overall responsibility for licensing, including enforcement and compliance, currently under the Child and Family Services Act. The ministry licenses service providers to deliver residential services. The ministry does not directly provide services to children and youth, except in the case of youth justice and the Child and Parent Resource Institute.

Licensees are responsible for operating in compliance with the requirements of the Child and Family Services Act. They have a responsibility to provide residential care in a manner that promotes children and youth’s health, safety and welfare.

Agencies, such as Children’s Aid Societies and Indigenous Child Well-being Societies, place children and youth in licensed residential settings. They are responsible for choosing a placement for the child or youth appropriate to their needs that also meets all requirements of the Child and Family Services Act. The placing agency is responsible for the planning and continuity of services while the child or youth is in care.

Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017

The Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017, which received Royal Assent on June 1, 2017, is an important step towards achieving the transformation envisioned within the three quality pillars. This legislation focuses our attention on children and youth — on their voices, their opinions and their goals, not just the issues facing them. It sets the course for bold changes to residential services in Ontario, including enhancing our licensing and oversight mechanisms and strengthening adherence to new expectations. The ministry will also develop an implementation and training plan to support the sector to put these new changes in place.

The act strengthens the rights of children and youth, supports enhancements to the quality of services, improves the consistency of supports offered to children, youth and their families, and increases the accountability and oversight of service providers.

The act also acknowledges Ontario’s unique relationships with First Nations, Métis, Inuit and urban Indigenous communities and provides opportunities for their involvement and decision-making in the care of their children and youth. The act will help to make services more inclusive and culturally appropriate for all children and youth, including Indigenous and Black children and youth, so that every child receives the best possible support.Under the act, children and youth will have the right to:

• Express their views freely and safely about matters that affect them.
• Have their views given due weight in accordance with their age and maturity.
• Be consulted on the nature of services provided to them, and advised of the decisions made in respect of those services.
• Raise concerns or recommend changes about the services provided to them without fear of coercion, discrimination, or reprisal.
• Access their personal information held by service providers.
• Be informed of their rights and about the existence and role of the Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth.

The legislation also sets new rules about privacy, protection and information sharing between service providers in order to, among other things, give children, youth and families more control over how their personal information is shared among service providers, and to help them avoid having to tell their story repeatedly.

The act provides a framework for strengthening and modernizing oversight for licensed residential settings for children and youth and for enhancing the quality of care provided in those settings. These changes help to better promote the health, safety, and wellbeing of children and youth in licensed residential care.

One notable provision enhances the authority to conduct unannounced licensing inspections by allowing a broader range of inspectors to conduct them. This will support the monitoring of residential services to assess compliance with licensing requirements. The act will enhance the criteria to obtain and keep a licence for residential settings, as well as the criteria for refusing to issue, renew or revoke a licence.

Collectively, these changes are intended to strengthen safety, quality of care and accountability of licensed residential services. These changes will enable the related regulatory, policy, program and operational changes detailed in this Blueprint.

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