By Aditya Parihar
The Office of the Child and Youth Advocate (OCYA) is an office independent from the government, Children’s Services or Youth Justice. It is mandated to provide individual and systemic advocacy for children and youth receiving “designated services” as defined under the Child and Youth Advocate Act.
This includes young people receiving or attempting to access government services or those involved with the youth justice system. The OCYA also provides access to legal representation for young people receiving child intervention services, offers public education and conducts investigations of serious injuries and deaths of young people receiving designated services.
In short, the OCYA ensures the rights, interests and viewpoints of vulnerable youth are acknowledged and considered by the courts and policymakers.
As the OCYA notes, “advocacy is not a neutral activity. All staff at the OCYA are driven by a shared concern for young people, and a commitment to doing all we can to improve the services they receive, often through very difficult circumstances in their lives. It is these young people, who have the courage to let us know what they need, who make all our efforts worthwhile.”
Primary responsibilities
The group’s work falls into six areas:
Access to legal representation: Providing legal representation for young people who are involved in matters under the Child, Youth and Family Enhancement Act or the Protection of Sexually Exploited Children Act.
Engagement and education: Raising awareness about the rights of young people and building advocacy capacity in communities, with staff participating in educational events.
Indigenous engagement: Building strong relationships with Indigenous communities and serving the needs of Indigenous youth.
Individual advocacy: Providing support to young people to be heard by decision-makers, including politicians to ensure their interests are considered.
Investigative reviews: Conducting investigative reviews into systemic issues arising from the serious injury to or the death of a youth, and identifying opportunities for service improvements.
Systemic advocacy: Efforts to influence change at a broad level including making recommendations to improve services for young people.
Child abuse/neglect are separate issues
The OCYA does not investigate allegations of child abuse or neglect. Anyone with concerns about a child who being abused or neglected should call 1-800-638-0715. This hotline is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The role of legal counsel
The group’s Legal Representation for Children and Youth (LRCY) program provides lawyers for young people in child intervention court matters. An independent lawyer from the OCYA roster meets with the young person to explain the court process and help them understand the court decisions.
“Whenever possible, the lawyer takes direction from the young person,” states the OCYA. “When they are not able to provide direction, the lawyer explores the young person’s legal entitlements, interests, and rights and presents them to the court. The judge is the final decision-maker about what is best for the child or youth.”
According to Legal Representation of Children in Canada by the Ministry of Justice, “the lawyer appointed by LRCY must assume an instructional advocacy role when representing a child/youth who is able to express a wish, opinion, or position unless there are conditions present that would preclude counsel from doing so. Counsel must assess each child/youth individually to determine whether there are conditions present that would preclude the lawyer from assuming the role of an instructional advocate.”
The guidelines further state “counsel must assess each child/youth individually to determine whether there are conditions present that would preclude counsel from assuming the role of an instructional advocate.”
Conditions that would preclude counsel from representing a child would include:
- the child is preverbal or is an infant;
- it is apparent the child has low cognitive functioning; and
- the child has a mental impairment due to illness or intoxication.
According to the OCYA Policy Manual, lawyers who have been appointed to represent a child/youth must “conduct all telephone and face-to-face meetings with the child/youth, and to attend the initial hearing or application and all other hearings of substance. The lawyer must attempt contact (e.g. by telephone) with the youth or the child’s caregiver (for younger children) within three working days after the appointment is made to introduce him/herself.”
If taking an instructional advocacy role, the lawyer must have at least “one face-to-face contact with the child/youth every 12 months after the appointment date plus one contact with the child/youth within each three-month period after the appointment date, such as face-to-face, phone, email or text.”
In order to “understand and put before the court the child/youth’s views, preferences and interests,” the lawyer must evaluate the youth’s views based on considerations that include:
- the autonomy, strength and consistency of the child/youth’s views and preferences;
- the circumstances surrounding the child/youth’s views and preferences; and
- all other relevant evidence about the child/youth’s interest.
‘44 deaths is a catastrophe’
The OCYA’s 2022-2023 report shows there was a record-high number of deaths of children who had received intervention services. The group assisted more than 1,400 Alberta children and youths during that period of whom 88 suffered serious injury or death.
Of those 88, 50 youths died while receiving intervention services, 19 were in care at the time of death and 31 deaths involved young people who had previously received intervention services within the past two years. Seven children were seriously injured.
The report also details the ages and demographics of the deceased: 30 per cent were aged 12-17, with 67 per cent were Indigenous youths.
“One death of a child in care is one too many, 44 deaths is a catastrophe,” said Bradley Lafortune, executive director of Public Interest Alberta. “This represents a massive 29.4 per cent increase in deaths of children in care over last year. This is an outrage.”
The Public Interest Alberta report states that one in six children in Alberta live in poverty, “which leads to a cascade of issues including academic difficulties, poorer health outcomes, and a far higher likelihood of living in poverty as an adult.”
Contact the OCYA or us
Youths who need legal help or advice can contact the OCYA at (780) 422-6056 (northern Alberta) or (403) 297-8435 (southern Alberta). If no one is available to take your call, leave a message and phone number and an intake worker will contact you. People can also email [email protected]
Ensuring the proper care and well-being of children can be difficult after the breakdown of a relationship. The team at Demas Schaefer can assist families during this time of stress and anxiety. Contact us for a free consultation.