Alberta’s Child and Youth Advocate released a report Wednesday that says 15 youth died in provincial hands, most by drug use, between October 2021 and March of this year.
The Office of the Child and Youth Advocate Alberta (OCYA) released its “mandatory” review that included youth between the ages of 6 and 19, noting it was the largest report that has ever been conducted by any advocate.
Terri Pelton, who was sworn into the OCYA earlier this year, says many of the children had “complex needs,” and that they needed “cross system support,” noting that those services were not available or did not exist to meet their needs.
In a statement, Pelton says the Alberta government needs to take action and “provide housing and other immediate supports” to ensure that young people in need are well taken care of.
“Many young people with complex needs are not receiving adequate support and that must be rectified,” Pelton said. “We recognize some promising new initiatives are being developed; however, in the meantime, we need immediate action to address these service gaps and create better outcomes for these children and youth.”
The report says nine of the youth died of confirmed or suspected substance-related causes, and that one child started using substances when they were seven-years-old.
In addition, the report states that 12 of the youths were Indigenous.
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A proposal was made by the last advocate in 2021, saying the government needs to develop an opioid and substance use strategy that is youth-specific. Pelton adds there has been no progress in that recommendation.
“It is critical that the government act so that fewer young lives are lost,” Pelton said.
Pelton is making one new recommendation as a result of the report.
She says Alberta ministries, like education, children’s services, health, and the Justice and Solicitor office, should “develop and publicly report on a coordinated action plan to address service gaps for young people with complex needs while longer-term initiatives are under development.”
The recommendation says there should be targeted activities that can meet the “immediate” needs of young people.
“It is critical that child-serving agencies and ministries provide adequate resources for young people and support their staff with the necessary tools to do this very difficult work,” the Child and Youth Advocacy report states.
“It is important that government and service providers recognize the impact of intergenerational trauma on Indigenous young people and their families and support Indigenous communities as they assume governance for Child Intervention Services through an Act respecting First Nations, Métis and Inuit children, youth, and families.”
-With files from Lisa Grant
