Child Protection and Youth Services

All programs and services within Child Protection and Youth Services are designed to help ensure the safety and well-being of children and youth. When there is concern of maltreatment by a parent, social workers assess the safety and risk to the child(ren). All decisions to intervene with the family are based on the overriding principle of the Children, Youth and Families Act, which is the best interests of the child. Where a child is determined to be in need of protection, the social worker, together with the family, develops a plan to reduce the identified risk. This could involve providing supervision in the home and ensuring the parent avails of supports and intervention services that they require to adequately care for the child. These services may be provided by departmental staff, other departments or agencies of government, or through service providers within the community.

When the health and safety of a child cannot be maintained or assured in the family home, the department provides the following options:

• Kinship Services: providing Kinship Services to relatives or significant others who are willing and capable of providing care to a child who is in need of protective intervention and requires an out-of-home placement. The provision of Kinship Services does not transfer custody of the child to a manager of the Department of Children, Seniors and Social Development.
• Protective Care Agreement: entering into a Protective Care Agreement with parents in situations where they are unable to care for their child and need time to seek help or resolve issues in the family home that could place the child’s safety, health or well-being at risk. In these situations, parents enter into a written agreement that allows them to transfer care and supervision of a child to a manager of the Department of Children, Seniors and Social Development. A Protective Care Agreement does not transfer custody of the child to a manager.

Youth Services

The Department of Children, Seniors and Social Development assists youth in need of protective intervention during their transition to early adulthood. Youth ages 16 and 17 may be eligible to receive services from the Youth Services Program. A youth’s involvement in the program may continue until their 21st birthday if they engage in an individualized plan with their social worker. All services under the Youth Services Program are provided through a voluntary Youth Services Agreement signed directly with the youth. Services include:

• Providing supportive services to young people living in their family home to address issues which could affect the safety, health and well-being of the youth in an effort to preserve the family unit and prevent the youth from having to leave their home.
• Providing residential, financial, supportive and rehabilitative services to youth who can no longer live at home, when they are at risk of maltreatment.

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