ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

Date: July 6, 1999

Author/Local:A.Montani/6032

RTS No. 851
CC File No. 4102

P&E: July 29, 1999

TO:	Standing Committee on Planning and Environment
FROM:	Child and Youth Advocate
SUBJECT:	Progress Report - Child & Youth Advocate

INFORMATION

The Child & Youth Advocate submits this report for INFORMATION

POLICY

Vancouver Children’s Policy

The Vancouver Children’s Policy was adopted by Council on March 12, 1992. It is a statement of commitment to the children of Vancouver and includes: Children’s Policy, Statement of Entitlements and an Action Plan. (See Appendix 1 for copies of the policy and statement of entitlements.)

Vancouver Civic Youth Strategy (CYS) Policy

The Vancouver Civic Youth Strategy was adopted by Council on March 28, 1995. It is a statement of commitment to work in partnership with youth and the larger community to:

… Ensure that youth have “a place” in the city,
… Ensure a strong youth voice in decision-making,
… Promote youth as a resource to the city,
… Strengthen the support base for youth in the city.

The implementation of the CYS is an on-going venture in which policy, objectives and principles of the CYS are translated into action. (See Appendix 2 for an overview of the Strategy.)

Vancouver Child and Youth Advocate - Practical Model of Advocacy

This policy was adopted by Council on April 27, 1995, following on Council’s approval of the Social Planning report on the position of the Child and Youth Advocate.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The term of the third Child & Youth Advocate for the City of Vancouver began in August 1996. On March 24, 1997 City Council approved the Advocate’s workplan for 1997/98. The purpose of this report is to summarize for Council the scope of the Advocate’s work over the past two years in relation to this workplan and to bring outstanding work commitments as of July 31, 1999 to the attention of Council.

SUMMARY

This report describes the major areas of activity the Child and Youth Advocate has been involved in over the past two years on behalf of the city’s children, youth and families. Work has focused on strengthening the network of child and youth services through increasing collaboration and cooperation, advocating for a social environment that is supportive of parents and families, improving inclusion of Aboriginal and culturally diverse populations, supporting youth to have a direct voice on civic and other issues and raising public awareness of the rights and needs of children and youth in Vancouver.

The concluding section outlines for Council current projects and priorities for the Advocate position and areas of work in progress that will need immediate attention as of July 31, 1999.

DISCUSSION

The Child & Youth Advocate is mandated to focus on issues of concern to children and youth up to the age of eighteen. The Civic Youth Strategy (CYS) stretches that mandate to the age of twenty-four. In practice, it has been difficult to give equal attention in this term to the issues affecting children and youth across the full age spectrum. The implementation of the Civic Youth Strategy was still quite new in the fall of 1996. Consequently the Advocate felt a responsibility to work hard to develop and sustain this area of work. While some of the implementation work, particularly in the area of strengthening the network of services for children and youth, has overlapped with work affecting younger children, more time has been spent in the first two years on youth issues than on other areas the workplan was designed to address.

The work on youth issues has involved working directly with youth to support them in articulating their priorities and concerns and in taking action to achieve their goals. Through the Civic Youth Strategy Core Committee the youth have focused on the goals of improved youth participation in civic government, improved access to safe social and recreational activities in the city, improved understanding of and access to employment or work experience opportunities within the civic workforce, and the needs of disadvantaged or marginalized youth. The Advocate has also focused on the needs of the most vulnerable youth: those involved in street life, Aboriginal youth, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth, immigrant and refugee youth and youth living in poverty.

Bringing attention to the issues of child and family poverty and the importance of preventative supports and services for children, youth and families have been deliberate focuses throughout these two years of work. These issues were continually reinforced as priorities through information-gathering visits to meet with over 100 local service providers and numerous meetings and forums with parents, youth and community advocates. (See Appendix 3 for details of community contacts.)

The Advocate’s work has been shaped by a number of external factors as well. Shortly after the start of the term, the provincial government created the new Ministry for Children and Families (MCF). This massive reorganization of government and contracted services to children, youth and families occurred in a time of fiscal restraint. The Advocate worked hard to support local community members and organizations in their individual and collective efforts to have a say in the re-design of children’s and youth services across the city. The reorganization of the Vancouver School Board and the Vancouver Richmond Health Board also had impacts on the services available to children, youth and families. Cutbacks and policy changes to student services within the school district have generated significant anxiety for parents. Throughout these changes, the Advocate has worked to encourage child and youth serving systems to improve their communication, coordination and collaborative efforts.

In the context of these influences, events and consultations, and guided by the Vancouver Children’s Policy and Statement of Entitlements, the Advocate’s workplan targeted four priorities:

A. Collaboration and cooperation in strengthening the network of child and youth services.

… Vancouver Coalition for Children and Youth (VCCY)

This Coalition has expanded its original focus on youth to include all children’s and youth services. Members include community-based non-profit organizations and staff from government-mandated programs. Its primary goals are service improvement through networking and coordination, professional development andsupport, joint analysis, problem-solving and advocacy regarding service gaps and policy issues, and encouraging the delivery of culturally competent and diverse programs. The goals are consistent with and serve to put into action the commitments made in the Vancouver Children’s Policy.

The Coalition has worked on issues related to School Board policies and cutbacks in education, initiated a project on high school drop outs, supported enhanced services for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth, supported the Buddy Programs for new immigrant children and youth around the city, and offered a variety of training opportunities for youth workers. The Coalition is currently engaged in developing a citywide campaign on the issue of the commercial sexual exploitation of children and youth. The It’s A Crime! Conference on April 30 and May 1, 1999 was held to launch this campaign.

The Advocate is a member of the Coalition’s Steering Committee and chairs the Advocacy Subcommittee.

… Ministry for Children and Families (MCF)

In the early months of the Ministry’s creation, the Advocate worked as a member of the Vancouver Regional Planning Group, (which has since dissolved). The Advocate then served for about a year as the City representative on the Ministry’s Program Management Committee. This committee was designed to facilitate joint planning and cooperation in service delivery for children, youth and families among relevant provincial ministries (Children and Families, Human Resources, Advanced Education, Training and Technology), and local institutions (School Board, Park Board, Health Board, City, Mental Health Services, Children’s Hospital).

The Advocate served for a year on the MCF Ethno-Cultural Advisory Committee. The City continues to be represented by a member of the Social Planning Department.

Twice in the past year and a half the Ministry has begun work on a Vancouver pilot project for Youth Agreements (a still unproclaimed section of the Child, Family and Community Services Act that would facilitate enhanced services for high risk youth who are living independently without the support of their families). The Advocate has encouraged direct input from youth in the design of services and worked to ensure the needs of youth from minority ethno-cultural groups were addressed. A provincial working group on Youth Agreements, made up of community advocates, has also formed and the Advocate is a member of this group. Serious concerns remain about the current ability of our community and governments to meet the needs of these vulnerable young people.

The Advocate is currently gathering evidence of the impacts new MCF policy directives are having on young people who cannot live at home.

… Services to “at risk” and “high risk” youth

A particular focus of work in this area is to support the direct involvement of current and formerly street-involved youth in setting priorities and planning services. Successes such as the Dusk to Dawn Youth Resource Centre and Street Youth Job Action (a casual employment service for street youth) have demonstrated the value of helping youth put their good ideas and knowledge into action.

A Street-Involved Youth Forum was held in collaboration with the City’s Family Court/Youth Justice Committee. Youth participants described their unmet needs for basic food and shelter, drug and alcohol treatment services, appropriate educational and employment services, and improvements to their relationship with the police. As a follow-up to the forum, the Advocate has supported a working group of youth and their adult supporters to initiate a dialogue with the Police Chief, and to continue to work on the other issues raised at the forum.

Better prevention education through schools and family supports were also priorities the youth identified at the Forum. The Advocate has provided support to a number of youth-driven initiatives, such as PIE (Prevention in Education, a youth theatre group) that make use of the skills and knowledge that youth with experience on the street are eager to share with other youth. PIE is now gaining access to secondary schools with their powerful prevention message.

… Other coordination work

The Advocate helped convene a number of meetings to explore and encourage senior staff from the School Board, Park Board, MCF, Health Board and the City to discuss the possibilities for high level cooperation and coordination of services for children and youth. Efforts to achieve better cooperation and collaboration at this level are now being focused through the Vancouver Coordinating Committee for Children, Youth and Families. There is great potential for more collaborative long-term planning, e.g. around the use of facilities or the cross-system impacts on children and families of each system’s policies and practices. The Advocate represents the City on this committee.

Through discussions between the Social Planning Community Services Grants team and the Park Board Youth Services staff, progress was made in agreeing on their respective responsibilities for neighbourhood- and agency-based youth workers.

The School Board held a number of interministerial meetings, including the Advocate, to develop an integrated planning model that included schools in apartnership role with community agencies, other government services and parents. The model was presented to the School Trustees for adoption and was to be subsequently communicated as a district direction to all school administrators.

B. Supporting Parents and Families

The importance of universally accessible, preventative services for all children, youth and families is easily overlooked in times of competition for scarce service dollars. The Advocate has consistently emphasized that a debate over allocating social resources to prevention/early intervention versus crisis intervention/treatment only diverts our attention from our fundamental responsibility to meet the needs of all children and youth. The benefits of investing in prevention and early intervention supports and services are well-documented and increasingly recognized. At the same time, we cannot abandon responsibility for those children and youth who are currently in need of other kinds of services.

… Windows of Opportunity

The Advocate is working as a member of the Coordinating Committee of the Windows of Opportunity project designed to enhance preventative services for children, youth and families during early childhood and key transition times in children’s lives. This project is now engaged in an intensive fifteen-month planning and community development phase with support from Health Canada funding. It is being linked to the province-wide Spotlight on Children and Youth Campaign just launched by the First Call Child and Youth Advocacy Coalition.

… United Way Steering Committee on the Future of our Community’s Children

This cross-sectoral committee is focused on promoting the well-being of children 0-5 years old. It includes representatives from municipalities, provincial and federal government ministries, business, and children’s service and advocacy organizations. The Advocate participated as a speaker at the launch of this campaign, and is the City’s representative on the Steering Committee and the Child Care Working Group.

The Committee has chosen the following six priority areas for action: services for young children and their families (including services for Aboriginal and Metis children), child care, family friendly workplace practices, services for Aboriginal and Metis children, poverty and income inequality. It hopes to raise public awareness of the importance of meeting young children’s needs.

… B.C. Council for Families Work Life Collaboration

This is a new initiative that the Advocate is encouraging the City to participate in. Employer representatives from private business, public institutions, not-for-profit andlabour organizations are establishing a local model of mutual support and collaboration on programs and practices that enhance their employees’ abilities to balance the demands of work and other responsibilities.

… Brief to City Council in response to the proposal to withdraw the compressed work week for City employees

The Advocate’s brief asked Council to give careful consideration to commitments made in the City of Vancouver Children’s policy, Civic Child Care Strategy and the widespread recognition of the value of more family-friendly workplace policies and practices, prior to making its decision.

… Anti-poverty work

The work in this area has included public speaking engagements to raise awareness of child and family poverty, letter-writing to government and newspapers, participating in the Working Group on Poverty and the Campaign 2000 working group, and advocating for changes to B.C. Benefits with parents and youth. The provincial government was urged to add “social condition” (i.e. poverty) to the protections covered in the B.C. Human Rights Code.

A report on the inadequacies of BC Benefits legislation regarding street youth was commissioned and submitted to the provincial government. As a follow up, the Advocate took a delegation of youth and service providers to Victoria to meet with senior government officials to press for changes. Some of our suggestions for removing the waiting time for youth to access training and support programs are now being piloted by the Ministries of Human Resources and Advanced Education, Training and Technology.

… Child and Youth Friendly Communities

At the invitation of the Society for Children and Youth of B.C., the Advocate has joined a working group that aims to educate and advocate for greater recognition of what makes a community child and youth friendly. The focus is on child and youth friendly physical environments, policy environments and attitudinal environments. As this work develops, there should be great scope for widespread civic involvement, both within municipal government and in the community at large. There are many natural links between this initiative and the Spotlight on Children and Youth Campaign and the Windows of Opportunity planning process.

… Miscellaneous activities

The Vancouver School Board has initiated a Parent Advocates Program. In response to the many requests for individual advocacy from parents about their children’s school experiences, the Advocate has been helping to raise awareness of this new service

The Advocate assisted the Mental Patients Association to get a hearing at the Vancouver Regional Child and Youth Committee, and a dialogue with the City, Mental Health, and MCF on their proposal for a supported housing facility for single, mentally ill mothers and their children. The project is still not funded at this time.

C. Inclusion of Aboriginal and Culturally Diverse Populations

The Advocate strives to make inclusion and respect for diversity a priority in all her work in coalitions, on committees, in the community, with youth and in dialogue with government.

… City-supported Youth Workers

The Advocate has worked with community agencies, Social Planning and Park Board staff to improve services to some higher risk youth populations, namely Aboriginal youth, LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) youth, and Vietnamese youth. Aboriginal and LGBT community organizations were supported in their successful requests for additional resources.

… Vancouver Aboriginal Council

The Advocate helped to develop stronger relationships with Aboriginal community service providers, youth and community advocates, in order to find ways to build better linkages with non-Aboriginal service providers, including City services and departments. Support for the formation of the Vancouver Aboriginal Council holds potential for greater self-determination and cooperation within the Aboriginal community.

The Advocate is working with the Council’s Children and Families Portfolio and the Youth Portfolio.

… Inner City Foster Parents Project

The Advocate is a member of the Inner City Foster Parents Project Advisory Committee, with a key focus on improving the experiences of Aboriginal children in care by recruiting and supporting First Nations foster parents in the city.

… National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation

With encouragement from the Advocate, the City supported and participated in the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation’s Youth Career Fair at the Vancouver Trade and Convention Centre.

… Urban Multipurpose Aboriginal Youth Centre Program

This new federal initiative to provide funding for urban Aboriginal youth services is intended to include youth in making decisions on allocations. With others, the Advocate is providing support to youth in this work.

… Urban Native Youth Research Project

Led by the Urban Native Youth Association, work is proceeding on securing financial support for a research project on the profile and service needs of street-involved and high risk Aboriginal youth. The Advocate is a member of the Advisory Committee for this project.

… Red Wire Magazine

The Advocate is helping urban Aboriginal youth find stable support and funding for this youth-created publication.

D. Public Education and Civic Consultation

… Public speaking engagements

The Advocate has addressed eighteen different audiences of children, youth and adults, on topics such as child poverty and abuse, advocacy, children’s rights and services, child development, child and youth friendly community centres, and youth issues. (See Appendix 4 for a list of speaking engagements.)

… Responding to public and media enquiries

The Advocate frequently responds to requests for information and comment on child and youth issues, services and the City’s policies from reporters, other civic governments, students, researchers and members of the general public.

… Up-dated Fact Sheet on Children and Youth in Vancouver

A new fact sheet will be completed once the 1996 census data is incorporated. (Complete data was not available until spring 1999.)

… Civic Youth Consultations

Current projects arising out of the work of the Civic Youth Strategy Core Committee, in partnership with Vancouver Youth Voices, Environmental Youth Alliance and other youth-driven organizations, are focusing on four areas: (1) youth participation in civic elections, (2) employment and mentoring opportunities through the City, (3) enhancing safe evening social/recreational opportunities for teens in their neighborhoods, and (4) improving safety and legitimacy of late night entertainment activities for older youth.

The Advocate is providing support to youth in carrying out these projects. Examples of this support include: 1) working with a young person to survey teens about their evening recreational activities and needs; 2) facilitating two meetings between youth and staff from several City departments on the topic of late night entertainment events in Vancouver; and 3) organizing a meeting for youth with civic union presidents to discuss the mutual benefits of partnering on youth employment issues.

When the City proposed new by-laws on panhandling and busking, the Advocate helped youth get information on the proposed changes, and supported interested youth in speaking at meetings and public hearings.

Past consultation events have included: supporting youth in meeting with the Mayor as part of the 1997 City budget consultations; a series of youth consultations to identify important issues, including a larger event held at City Hall during Youth Week 1997.

… Case advocacy requests

The Advocate regularly receives calls seeking help from and for individual parents, children and youth. Most of these calls involve listening empathetically to the caller’s story, exploring options with the caller for solutions to their problem, and providing referral information, if possible, to other appropriate advocacy resources, support services, and/or community programs. On some occasions the Advocate has helped the caller by making an inquiry on their behalf, for example to a government office, or by gathering information to assist the caller to proceed with their own self-advocacy. On a few occasions, more “hands on” assistance was offered, for example helping a parent compose a letter or accompanying a youth or parent to an appointment or meeting.

Besides the value of supporting individuals to find the help they need, this work is instructive in profiling the kinds of difficulties parents, children and youth are encountering. Recurring issues help identify a need for systemic or policy changes. These calls most frequently concern topics such as education services, custody and access matters, child protection issues, and access to housing and income assistance. A summary of individual advocacy requests by topic is provided in Appendix 5.

CONCLUSION: CURRENT AND FUTURE WORKPLAN PRIORITIES

… Updated report card/fact sheet on Vancouver’s children and youth.

… Public awareness and service improvement campaigns regarding:

… The importance of supports and services for young children and their families (United Way Steering Committee and Windows of Opportunity project);
… The commercial sexual exploitation of children and youth (Vancouver Coalition for Children and Youth);
… The 10th anniversary of the government’s commitment to end child poverty (Campaign 2000, Working Group on Poverty); and
… Services for high risk youth (services and supports for urban Aboriginal, Working Group on Section 9 - Youth Agreements, review of medical and non-medical exclusion from schools);
… Equitable access to the arts, sports and other recreational activities for all children and youth.

… Reports to Council and projects arising from recommendations in 1998 Civic Youth Strategy progress report:

… Civic education and civic election participation for youth;
… Enhancing employment opportunities and supports for youth ;
… Opportunities for and obstacles to safe evening social and recreational activities and venues for teens in their neighbourhoods; and
… Opportunities for and obstacles to safe, legitimate late night entertainment activities for older youth.

… Support and training for parent advocacy and involvement in schools.

… Support for the creation of a multipurpose youth development institute.

As of July 31, 1999 the following appointments, projects and committee work will require attention:

… Report back to Council on ways to enhance opportunities for youth employment, work experience and mentorship within civic workplaces
… Report back to Council on the opportunities and obstacles related to late night social/recreational activities and venues for youth within the City
… Recruitment and support of Civic Youth Strategy Core Committee youth participants
… Disbursement and oversight of CYS budget
… Organization of CYS Core Committee and Departmental Representatives meetings
… City representation on the United Way Future of our Community’s Children Steering Committee
… City representation on the Vancouver Coordinating Committee for Children, Youth and Families
… City representation on the Vancouver Coalition for Children and Youth Steering Committee
… City representation on the Vancouver Alliance Against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Youth
… City representation on the Society for Children and Youth of B.C.’s Child and Youth Friendly Communities Working Group
… City Representation to the Vancouver Aboriginal Council Youth Portfolio
… Liaison between street-involved youth and police department

* * * * *

Vancouver Children’s Policy
March 12,1992

Whereas, the City of Vancouver believes that children are our most important resource and represent our hope for the future, and
Whereas, the City of Vancouver believes that all are enriched by the presence of children in our community and that children are valued and welcomed members of our neighbourhoods, and
Whereas, the City of Vancouver recognizes that the care and nurture of the City’s children is a shared responsibility between families and the broader community and requires the commitment of private and public resources to support the development of every child, and
Whereas, the City of Vancouver recognizes that public policies must strengthen and protect the ability of families and communities to care for their children, and
Whereas, the City of Vancouver believes that every child has the right to the material, social, cultural and emotional sustenance necessary for healthy development, and
Whereas, the City of Vancouver recognizes that meeting children’s needs requires closer integration of economic, social and environmental policy, and
Whereas, the City of Vancouver recognizes that children’s needs cross many governmental and jurisdictional boundaries,

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT THE CITY OF VANCOUVER WILL:

OVERVIEW OF THE CIVIC YOUTH STRATEGY

1. The Civic Youth Strategy is a municipal government initiative designed and developed in consultation with youth. On March 28, 1995 the City Council of Vancouver unanimously approved the CYS.

2. The CYS is civic government’s formal statement of commitment to work in partnership with youth and the larger community on issues affecting youth. The implementation of the CYS is an on-going venture in which the policy, objectives and principles of the CYS are translated into action.

3. The Civic Youth strategy includes:

… A Policy Statement on the City’s relationship with and commitment to youth.

The City of Vancouver commits to involving youth as active partners:
1. In the development, assessment and delivery of civic services which have direct impact on youth, and
2. In broad spectrum community consultations and initiatives.

The City of Vancouver promotes and supports youth-driven youth groups as a key consultation resource to the City to ensure that the voices of youth are heard.

… Four Core Objectives
#1. Youth have “a place”/belong in the City:

a) services are accessible and user-friendly
b) there are youth-dedicated spaces

#2. Youth have a strong voice in decision-making
#3. Youth are seen as a resource in and to the City
#4. There is a strong support base for youth in the City.

… Three Principles of Action to guide work related to meeting the objectives:
- strong youth involvement at the local level
- partnership in planning and implementation
- assistance and support rather than control and management.

… Leadership structures to sustain the Strategy - a coalition of municipal government, the Vancouver School Board and youth; a core working committee.

… Current action plans for implementation of policy and objectives.

COMMUNITY CONSULTATION

Liaison with service providers and programs:

… Youth Safehouses (3)
… RayCam Community Centre
… Dusk to Dawn Youth Resource Centre
… Children’s Foundation
… Youth and Family Worker (Douglas Elem.)
… Child, Youth and Family Support Coalition
… Multicultural Family Support Services
… Immigrant Services Society of B.C.
… The Gathering Place
… Residential Caregivers Network
… Downtown Eastside Youth Activities Society/Youth Action Centre
… Urban Native Youth Association (A.W.A.Y., Aries, Safehouse, Outreach)
… GAB (The Centre)
… Vancouver Police (ride-along)
… Frog Hollow Neighbourhood House
… Kiwassa Neighbourhood House
… Adolescent Services Unit, Ministry for Children and Families
… Westcoast Child Care Resource Centre
… Early Childhood Advisory Committee
… Aunt Leah’s Independent Life Skills Society(Annual General Meeting)
… Nisha Family and Children’s Services Society (Annual General Meeting)
… Mt. Pleasant Community Centre
… South Vancouver Family Place
… Britannia Community Centre (Latin American youth worker)
… Trout Lake Community Centre (Vietnamese youth worker)
… Greater Vancouver Mental Health Services, Child & Youth Services
… Strathcona Elementary School and Community Centre
… S.U.C.C.E.S.S.
… First Nations programs, Vancouver School District
… Cedar Cottage Area Services Team
… Downtown Eastside Coalition (on Juveniles in the sex trade)
… Hastings SunriseYouth Workers Network
… Aboriginal Friendship Centre/Head Start Project
… Brenda Carr Studio
… Living Wall Garden Project
… Westside Family Place
… Covenant House
… Affiliation of Multicultural Societies and Service Agencies
… Prostitution Alternatives Counselling and Education (PACE)
… Vancouver Aboriginal Council
… Family Services – Family Life Education Programs
… Street Youth Job Action
… Inner City Foster Parents Project
… Street Level Drop-in
… Renfrew Colllingwood Youth Services
… Street Youth Services and Creative Opportunities for Youth, Family Services of Greater Vancouver
… West Coast Youth Net Society
… Gordon House Youth SEARCH
… Crabtree Corner
… Vancouver Foundation Youth in Philanthropy group
… The Mentoring Partnership
… VanCity Place for Youth
… Urban Youth Allliance

Other meetings and forums attended with community members and advocates:

… Symposium on the Rights of the Child
… Society for Children and Youth (Board meeting, Child & Youth Friendly Communities Roundtable)
… C&Y Population Health Advisory Committee, Van./Richmond Health Board
… Environmental Youth Alliance (Shakti project, Youth-Driven conference)
… Urban Youth Alliance (Housing forum)
… Native Youth Movement
… Mid-Town Youth Services Forum
… Street Youth Forums at the Gathering Place (2)
… Citywide Youth Initiative, Vancouver School District (2 events)
… Parents Voice meetings
… MacDonald Elementary School
… Grandview Elementary School
… Hastings Sunrise parents meeting
… First Call Child & Youth Advocacy Movement (Spotlight on Children Campaign)
… Office of the Provincial Child, Youth and Family Advocate
… Ombudsman’s Office (2 forums re children’s rights)
… Out From the Shadows International Summit on Sexually Exploited Children and Youth
… Vancouver Coalition for Children & Youth Forum and Conference on Sexually Exploited Children and Youth
… End Legislated Poverty (poverty and child apprehension)
… Downtown South Youth Services Planning Forum
… Working Group on Poverty
… MOSAIC (Human rights and immigrants and refugees forum)
… Section 9 Working Group (youth agreements pilot)
… Early Childhood Educators Conference
… Campaign 2000 (children’s poverty focus)
… Red Wire Magazine (Aboriginal youth)
… Pregnant and Parenting Teens meetings
… Riley Park Youth Leadership Group
… Coalition of Child Care Advocates of B.C.
… Vancouver Aboriginal Council - Youth Portfolio
… Vancouver Aboriginal Council - Children and Families Portfolio
… SUCCESS Youth Leadership Millennium Leadership Training Program

Speaking engagements:

… Cedar Cottage Area Services Team
… Yokohama visiting delegation
… Nisha Family and Children’s Services Society Annual General Meeting
… South Vancouver Family Place Annual General Meeting
… Park Board (Youth Services Evaluation)
… Urban Native Youth Association A.W.A.Y. program
… UBC students (Japanese students and Faculty of Education)
… Douglas Elementary School Challenge Class
… Youth Worker Advocacy training
… GVRD Social Issues Committee
… Partners at Work student orientation
… National Indo-Canadian Council Conference
… Community Centre Associations Conference
… Repeal S. 43 of the Criminal Code (corporal punishment of children) rally
… West Coast Youth Net youth group
… SPARC of BC Annual General Meeting
… United Way Future of Our Community’s Children Breakfast Launch
… National Council of Jewish Women

SUMMARY: INDIVIDUAL CASE ADVOCACY REQUESTS

Help requested by:

… Parent or caregiver 40 calls
… Service provider 21 calls
… Youth 11 calls
… Other 3 calls

Types of problems prompting calls:

… School related concerns 27%
… Child protection concerns 27%
… Financial support problems 16%
… Custody and access concerns 13%
… Housing problems 9.5%
… Justice system problems 8%
… Miscellaneous 9.5%

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(c) 1998 City of Vancouver