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Child And Youth Advocate Supports Professional Care Homes

Saint John, NB, Canada / Country 94
News
Apr 21, 2021 | 4:41 PM


Child And Youth Advocate Supports Professional Care Homes

New Brunswick Child and Youth Advocate Norm Bossé. (Image submitted)

New Brunswick will establish eight professional care homes to provide full-time care for children with complex needs under the care of Social Development.

The province says it found gaps in care, especially for kids with complex needs, following three reports looking into its child welfare system.

One of those reports was conducted by the auditor general while another was completed by Norm Bossé, the province’s child and youth advocate.

Bossé said the real positive is seeing provincial departments work together on this issue.

“This has to be done by social development, health, their budgets have to deal with this and include education in there and public safety if you need to. This is the way they have to do this in the future,” Bossé said.

Bossé said kids who need this level of help currently live in many situations ranging from groups homes to mental health clinics for children and teens and, in some extreme cases, the regional health facility in Campbellton.

“You have to assess their needs of course. Once you do that, you shouldn’t be putting young people or children in, for example, the regional health facility in Campbellton if they shouldn’t be there, if you can step them down in the community safely for themselves,” Bossé said.

In a news release Tuesday, the provincial government said the direct clinical support to both the child and the parents is a key element in the development of the professional care homes.

Professional care home care providers will receive:

  • a monthly compensation
  • child-in-care rates and benefits to cover the cost specific to the child’s care plan
  • clinical support
  • paid respite/vacation
  • crisis/emergency support
  • extensive initial training and ongoing professional development opportunities
  • specialized services, clinical supervision and extensive support

“Professional care homes will play a key role in addressing mental health issues for children in care,” Health Minister Dorothy Shephard said in a news release.

“The province is privileged to count on many foster families who generously open their homes to children, but we need a new clinically supported model for placement in some cases to ensure they are receiving the level of support they require.”

Provincial officials will launch a recruitment process to establish care homes in the coming weeks. Their goal is to create eight homes this year and say more may be established based on an assessment of this first phase.

 

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