News (Media Awareness Project) - CN BC: Province Beefs Up Custody Of Teens |
Title: | CN BC: Province Beefs Up Custody Of Teens |
Published On: | 2000-06-22 |
Source: | Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC) |
Fetched On: | 2008-09-03 18:47:39 |
PROVINCE BEEFS UP CUSTODY OF TEENS
B.C. To Hold High-risk Youths Up To 30 Days
Wide-ranging powers to lock up high-risk young people enmeshed in a
world of drug abuse or prostitution will be set out in a bill to be
introduced next week.
The controversial concept of locking up children and youth against
their will was recommended by the province's secure care task force
two years ago, but Children and Families Minister Gretchen Brewin and
her predecessor Lois Boone delayed bringing in legislation, saying
more consultation was needed.
Brewin said Wednesday that more than 200 groups and individuals have
been consulted and the new law -- which will not be proclaimed for
several months -- will include a set of rights for youth.
``For the first time in B.C. we will have the power to get young
people with life-threatening problems off the streets and to give them
a chance at a better tomorrow.'' she said.
Sometimes young people living in horrendously dangerous situations
reject the help they desperately need and, until now, there has been
nothing anyone could do, Brewin said.
``If the bill seems like a hard one, it's better than the alternative
for these kids. We are talking about keeping kids safe. This is about
saving lives.''
Unlike Alberta's legislation, B.C.'s secure care act will not be
limited to prostitution, but will include other forms of self-harm,
such as severe drug addiction.
An independent secure care board and a director of secure care will be
appointed by the province.
In emergency situations, police, family and friends, Ministry for
Children and Families staff and community service providers will be
able to refer a young person to the director of secure care who can
detain the youth for up to 72 hours in a secure care facility.
The criteria to be used by the director and board are that other
options have been exhausted and the young person is at risk of serious
harm.
A parent, guardian or the director can then apply to have the youth
detained for up to 30 days ``for safety assessment and planning.''
In exceptional cases the board can extend the detention twice more,
meaning a youth could potentially be locked up for three months.
The bill has the support of numerous street and youth organizations,
but there are some remaining civil liberties concerns, said Brewin.
``This is only for the very extreme cases when nothing else has
worked. It's a last resort and the criteria are pretty stringent,''
she said.
It is anticipated that only about two dozen young people a year will
have to be detained, although numbers are uncertain.
The aim is to concentrate on kids between the ages of 12 and 16,
Brewin said.
Although the age of majority is 19, by the time someone is in their
late teens they have a sense of what they are doing to themselves, she
said.
The delay in proclaiming the bill will allow several facilities around
the province to be renovated for secure care, staff to be trained and
follow-up programs to be put in place at a start-up cost of $10
million, she said.
Safeguards to protect the rights of young people include the right to
legal counsel, comprehensive assessments and care plans to be filed
with the children's commissioner, and the youth advocate will be told
about every secure care hearing.
Pat Griffin of the Victoria Youth Empowerment Society said he is in
favour of secure care, but there are caveats.
``There are certainly circumstances where secure care is needed, where
(young people) are not making sound judgments, either because of their
mental capacity or because of alcohol and drugs,'' he said.
An example would be a 13-year-old working as a juvenile prostitute and
72 hours would be enough to get her away from her pimp and into a safe
place, Griffin said.
``We have seen cases where secure care would have made the difference
between living and dying.''
However, one person should not have the power to decide on locking
someone up, even for 72 hours, said Griffin, who would like to see
such decisions made by teams of social workers and police officers.
Liberal opposition critic Linda Reid said secure care is necessary,
but only if it is part of a continuum of care, including detox and
recovery programs.
``This is much bigger than locking kids up. This must be part of a
network of services,'' said Reid, who added she is not optimistic the
NDP government has put any of the backup services in place.
``They have had nine years and they haven't put the building blocks in
place,'' she said.
B.C. To Hold High-risk Youths Up To 30 Days
Wide-ranging powers to lock up high-risk young people enmeshed in a
world of drug abuse or prostitution will be set out in a bill to be
introduced next week.
The controversial concept of locking up children and youth against
their will was recommended by the province's secure care task force
two years ago, but Children and Families Minister Gretchen Brewin and
her predecessor Lois Boone delayed bringing in legislation, saying
more consultation was needed.
Brewin said Wednesday that more than 200 groups and individuals have
been consulted and the new law -- which will not be proclaimed for
several months -- will include a set of rights for youth.
``For the first time in B.C. we will have the power to get young
people with life-threatening problems off the streets and to give them
a chance at a better tomorrow.'' she said.
Sometimes young people living in horrendously dangerous situations
reject the help they desperately need and, until now, there has been
nothing anyone could do, Brewin said.
``If the bill seems like a hard one, it's better than the alternative
for these kids. We are talking about keeping kids safe. This is about
saving lives.''
Unlike Alberta's legislation, B.C.'s secure care act will not be
limited to prostitution, but will include other forms of self-harm,
such as severe drug addiction.
An independent secure care board and a director of secure care will be
appointed by the province.
In emergency situations, police, family and friends, Ministry for
Children and Families staff and community service providers will be
able to refer a young person to the director of secure care who can
detain the youth for up to 72 hours in a secure care facility.
The criteria to be used by the director and board are that other
options have been exhausted and the young person is at risk of serious
harm.
A parent, guardian or the director can then apply to have the youth
detained for up to 30 days ``for safety assessment and planning.''
In exceptional cases the board can extend the detention twice more,
meaning a youth could potentially be locked up for three months.
The bill has the support of numerous street and youth organizations,
but there are some remaining civil liberties concerns, said Brewin.
``This is only for the very extreme cases when nothing else has
worked. It's a last resort and the criteria are pretty stringent,''
she said.
It is anticipated that only about two dozen young people a year will
have to be detained, although numbers are uncertain.
The aim is to concentrate on kids between the ages of 12 and 16,
Brewin said.
Although the age of majority is 19, by the time someone is in their
late teens they have a sense of what they are doing to themselves, she
said.
The delay in proclaiming the bill will allow several facilities around
the province to be renovated for secure care, staff to be trained and
follow-up programs to be put in place at a start-up cost of $10
million, she said.
Safeguards to protect the rights of young people include the right to
legal counsel, comprehensive assessments and care plans to be filed
with the children's commissioner, and the youth advocate will be told
about every secure care hearing.
Pat Griffin of the Victoria Youth Empowerment Society said he is in
favour of secure care, but there are caveats.
``There are certainly circumstances where secure care is needed, where
(young people) are not making sound judgments, either because of their
mental capacity or because of alcohol and drugs,'' he said.
An example would be a 13-year-old working as a juvenile prostitute and
72 hours would be enough to get her away from her pimp and into a safe
place, Griffin said.
``We have seen cases where secure care would have made the difference
between living and dying.''
However, one person should not have the power to decide on locking
someone up, even for 72 hours, said Griffin, who would like to see
such decisions made by teams of social workers and police officers.
Liberal opposition critic Linda Reid said secure care is necessary,
but only if it is part of a continuum of care, including detox and
recovery programs.
``This is much bigger than locking kids up. This must be part of a
network of services,'' said Reid, who added she is not optimistic the
NDP government has put any of the backup services in place.
``They have had nine years and they haven't put the building blocks in
place,'' she said.
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