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Listen to thisSaskatchewan's Advocate for Children and Youth is once again calling for fundamental change in his 2015 annual report.
While Bob Pringle acknowledges improvements have been made, he adds in the poverty strategy, the government's plan "is vague and lacks target dates". Over the last six years, the issues of children's care in the province has been at the forefront.
In 2009, a report was issued into overcrowding in foster homes after the death of "Jake". In 2010, recommendations to transform the child welfare system were put forward and following that,the report into the death of Lee Bonneau at the hands of a 10-year-old called for fundamental overhaul.
Despite all that work and blueprint forward, Pringle maintains not much has changed. "The magnitude of the transformation that was envisioned in the child welfare review has not occurred, and appears to be abandoned as a policy and program direction in the province," he wrote.
More than half of the issues the children's advocate dealt with in 2015 were about the Ministry of Social Services or its agencies. The most common complaint was about case planning or management, parents not being told what is happening to their children or their issue. In 2015, the children's advocate was notified of the deaths of 26 children – half of those involved aboriginal children. Fifty per cent were children under five in cases such as fires or drowning, with two of the deaths being intentional.
In that case, Pringle finds there was inadequate reporting of suspected abuse and two instances where child protection investigations were not completed.
In the report, Pringle touches on a number of issues that need to be addressed.
Pringle documented the case of "Troy", a child in a wheelchair. His foster parents were no longer able to care for him but wanted to keep him until a new home was found. They requested specialized equipment for him but because of the pending move, the Ministry of Social Services wouldn't provide it. Pringle maintained a child's needs should always be put first, and his office's advocacy efforts ensured the equipment was provided.
The number of "apprehended" children in the First Nations system in 2015 totalled 6,493. Pringle wrote, "this is an indication that there is not enough focus on early intervention and prevention services to keep families together".
Pringle also took a youth in custody and documented the case of "Ethan" who struggled to adjust to his incarceration and became violent. He was segregated and was confined to his room for the majority of the day, given 15 minutes to shower and one hour to exercise, which involved walking in a small space. Ethan described feeling like "a caged animal".
With his advocacy, Pringle wrote a psychologist and work with the facility have allowed Ethan more freedom and improved behaviour.
This is Pringle's last report as children's advocate; his term ends in October 2016.
http://battlefordsnow.com/article/513004/sask-youth-advocate-continues-call-change-childrens-welfare
The number of children in foster care across the country is driven not solely by child abuse and neglect, but by states' varying politics and approaches to social problems, a new University of Washington (UW) study finds.
States with more punitive criminal justice systems tend to remove children from their homes far more frequently than those with generous welfare programs – meaning that two states with similar rates of child abuse and neglect could have very different rates of foster care entry.
Those findings are the basis of a study published online today that will appear in the June print edition of the American Sociological Review. Author Frank Edwards, a UW doctoral student in sociology, concludes that child welfare policies are heavily influenced by how states address social problems overall.
"We see across the board that politics are great predictors of policy," Edwards said. "If a state prefers more punitive criminal justice and less generous welfare benefits, then it's very likely that it will prefer a certain approach to child welfare as well."
Edwards, who previously worked with children in foster care in Texas, undertook the study to determine whether factors beyond child abuse and neglect were driving rates of foster care in various states. While previous studies have looked at the role of incarceration and welfare programs on parents' ability to care for their children, Edwards said none have statistically examined how states' differing policies for addressing social issues influence child welfare systems.
And those variations, Edwards found, lead to big differences in the rates of foster care between states, after controlling for population differences. For example, Edwards found that states with punitive criminal justice systems are expected to place an average of 1.5 more children per 1,000 into foster care annually than states with less punitive criminal justice systems. For the national state average of about 1.47 million children, that translates to 2,200 additional foster care entries annually.
States with generous and inclusive welfare programs are expected to place 0.8 fewer children per 1,000 into foster care, compared to states with meager welfare programs.
Edwards analyzed federal foster care data for 2002 to 2011 for each state to determine rates of foster care entry; he also looked at how frequently states put foster children in residential treatment centers or other restrictive settings.
Then Edwards set out to measure how punitive states' criminal justice systems were, using the number of death sentences, incarceration rates, and numbers of police officers per capita as a benchmark. He also measured the relative generosity of states' welfare systems by their level of welfare benefits, enrollment in various assistance programs, and welfare workers per capita.
Comparing the data for various states, Edwards found that states with more punitive criminal justice systems generally had higher rates of foster care and tended to put children in treatment centers or other restrictive environments more often. Conversely, those with more generous welfare structures had lower rates of foster care, and lower rates of restrictive confinement for children in foster care.
However, states with both generous welfare benefits and large bureaucracies tended to have slightly higher rates of foster care than those with generous benefits and smaller bureaucracies, since bringing more families into contact with service providers increases the ability to identify abuse and neglect.
"The idea of including all these other factors is that it's not just the direct effects of abuse and neglect that are involved," Edwards said. "If a state has a punitive criminal justice system, or a generous system of welfare provision, that indicates a stable way that legislators and bureaucrats think about and respond to problems like crime, poverty, and child abuse.
"These ways of understanding how to solve a particular problem get institutionalized, and play a large role in determining how a state designs and implements social policy across the board."
The study notes the often contradictory nature of child protection agencies, which are tasked both with providing support and resources for struggling parents and taking action when parenting falls short of expectations. That intervention resulted in an average of 1.4 percent of U.S. children coming into contact with the foster care system annually between 2002 and 2011, Edwards found.
There were a few anomalies in Edwards' findings – for example, some southern states had high incarceration rates and low welfare benefits but also low foster care rates, which he said could be due to less-developed child welfare infrastructures. And there were some limitations to the data. Up to 75 percent of all cases of children being placed in foster care with family members, for example, occur without taking children into state custody and therefore are not recorded in federal foster care statistics.
But overall, Edwards said, the study shows that there is enormous variation in foster care rates across the country that is driven largely by states' politics and policies.
"If we want to understand why some states are putting more kids into foster care than others, we need to look at the policy environment," he said. "A state that prefers to punish people when they break the rules is also a state that might put families in situations such that abuse and neglect are more common. It's also a state that is likely to think that removing a child from the family is the only way to respond.
"The story of foster care is not just the story of child abuse and neglect. It's the story of policymaking and politics, writ large."
American Sociological Association
19 April 2016
Capital & Coast District Health Board today opened New Zealand’s first forensic inpatient mental health secure service (Nga Taiohi – Our Youth) for young people today. CCDHB Chair Dr Virginia Hope said this is a dedicated secure facility providing services for up to 10 clients, who have offended and have complex mental health (alcohol or drug) issues.
“This is an innovative service that will contribute to the Government’s goal of improving the outcomes for vulnerable young people in this country through intensive interventions.”
The name for the new service was gifted by Ngati Toa. Prior to the official opening the facility was blessed by Kaumatua Taku Parai from Ngati Toa.
“The unit is for people between the ages 13 and 18 and is a national service that will take the most in need clients from around the country. Nga Taiohi will provide specialist services focussed on treatment and rehabilitation for young people. We are extremely proud to open this service,” Dr Hope said.
The construction cost of $15.3 million is jointly funded by the Ministry of Health and CCDHB. The first sod was turned in 2014 by Health Minister Jonathan Coleman.
General Manager of Mental Health, Addictions, and Intellectual Disability Services 3 DHB, Nigel Fairley, said, it’s really important that these young people are able to access the right service. This unit will provide a safe environment with onsite 24 hour a day care from a specialist multi-disciplinary team.
“There will be an emphasis on Maori cultural therapeutic practices to meet the intention of a bicultural service. There is also a strong educational component integrated into the service programme.”
He said he believed this unit has the potential to make a real difference in the lives of these young people.
21 April 2016
USA
More than half of homeless youth become homeless for the first time because they are asked to leave home by a parent or caregiver, and more than half say they have tried to stay at a shelter but it was full. Those findings resulted from a study released today by the Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families (ACF).
The first-of-its-kind study, funded by ACF’s Family & Youth Services Bureau and conducted by researchers at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, focused on 873 youth ages 14 to 21 in 11 cities. Respondents included street youth receiving services from ACF’s Street Outreach Program grantees and street youth who were not currently using services from SOP grantees. The study found the following:
• The average youth spent nearly two years living
on the streets.
• More than 60 percent were raped, beaten up, robbed,
or otherwise assaulted.
• Nearly 30 percent of participants
identified as gay, lesbian or bisexual, and nearly 7 percent identified
as transgender.
• About half of youth had been in foster care and
youth with a foster care history had been homeless for much longer (27.5
months on average) compared to youth who had never been in foster care
(19.3 months, on average).
More than half of respondents also needed a safe place to stay, help with education, access to laundry facilities, a place to study, rest, or spend time during the day, and a phone.
The Street Outreach Program provides services to runaway and homeless youth on the streets or in areas with increased risk of abuse and sexual exploitation. The program aims to help young people get off the streets and promotes efforts by its grantees to build relationships between street outreach workers and homeless street youth. Grantees also provide support services to help move youth into shelters or stable housing, and prepare them for independence. Homeless youth also use Street Outreach-supported drop-in centers to shower, eat a hot meal or obtain food coupons, receive hygiene kits, and obtain referrals for medical, dental, mental health, or social services.
To coincide with the release of the Street Outreach Report, ACF is also releasing a new public service announcement campaign targeting runaway and homeless youth. The new television PSAs feature homeless youth sharing their personal stories and is aimed at connecting runaway and homeless youth with services and resources.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development regularly estimates the number of people experiencing homelessness. While this exercise does not include a count of young people who are doubled up or temporarily living with others, it identified 45,205 unaccompanied children and youth experiencing homelessness in the United States on a single night in January 2014.
Quick facts
• On average, youth became homeless for the first
time at age 15.
• The study was designed to increase our
understanding of the services young people need when they are on the
streets.
• The majority of participants needed help with job training
or finding a job, transportation, and clothing.
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/media/press/2016/federal-study-increases-understanding-homeless-youth
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IRELAND
While politicians wrangle over power, it’s time we listened to what children want and need from the new Government. Barnardos spoke with dozens of children from around the country to hear what they would prioritise if they were in Government.
June Tinsley, Head of Advocacy, Barnardos, said, “It’s been six and a half weeks since the General Election and we are still without a Government. While the political parties have been squabbling over who holds the balance of power, the country lacks leadership at a crucial time for children.
“As we know, children were disproportionately affected during the recession and the danger is that the problems of child poverty, homelessness and educational disadvantage will fester the longer we are without clear political leadership.
“It is absolutely crucial that children’s needs are at the forefront of the 32nd Dáil and the new Government leading it. We spoke with children across the country and they put these scrapping politicians to shame with their clear-sighted vision of what needs to change so they and their peers are better supported.
“Education features strongly with calls ‘to give poorer children more opportunities for education’. Also important is the impact of drugs on their communities; the need for more child-friendly spaces and better resourced schools. Food poverty and the housing crisis also featured in their concerns.
“Tellingly, a number of the young people also said if they were Taoiseach they would listen to children more – which really puts it up to whoever ends up in that position!”
Five-year-old Dylan from Clonmel said if he was Taoiseach he would deliver ‘more books or better books for children to read in schools,’ and, ‘a light and curtains in every child’s room’.
A 13-year-old from north Dublin said, ‘Monitor bullying in schools better to prevent it from happening.’
Ten-year-old Craig from Limerick said he would call for ‘More respect between teachers and students.’
A four-year-old from Tallaght said she would ‘invent stuff like food machines to make sure there is enough food’ if she was Taoiseach.
Torie, aged nine and from Tallaght, said; ‘People are homeless and dying on the streets, they need more money and a home’.
Lisa, 15, from Tallaght, put it succinctly ‘I would give the same opportunities to everyone, as everyone has the right to the same thing.
Ms Tinsley added, “From talking to children across Ireland, it is clear that our younger constituents want to see fairer outcomes for all children. Our elected representatives could learn a thing or two from listening to them.”
11 April 2016
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As it torments West Africa, Boko Haram is increasingly turning to children to carry out its crimes
One of every five suicide bombers deployed by Boko Haram in the past two years has been a child, usually a girl, according to a report released Tuesday by Unicef.
Boko Haram used 44 children in suicide attacks last year, compared with only four in 2014, the report found. The youngest bomber so far was thought to be 8 years old.
The report seeks to quantify one of the most chilling elements of Boko Haram, an Islamist extremist group that has assaulted the Lake Chad region of Africa for years with thievery, beheadings, kidnappings and the torching of entire villages. The group has killed thousands of people and caused a food crisis, leaving the area hungry and in tatters.
Toby Lanzer, the United Nations humanitarian coordinator for that region, said Boko Haram’s use of children as suicide bombers “really beggars belief.”
“To me that’s the epitome of evil,” Mr. Lanzer told reporters during a briefing at the United Nations headquarters in New York about his recent trip to northeastern Nigeria. “I cannot think of anything more horrifying.”
It was two years ago this week that the group kidnapped nearly 300 girls from a school in Chibok, Nigeria. Several dozen escaped early on, but most are still missing. Intelligence officials believe they are being used as human shields for Boko Haram leaders hiding in the Sambisa Forest in northeastern Nigeria.
Last year, the Nigerian military engaged in a new offensive against Boko Haram, and the initiative has been joined by four other nations in the region as well as the United States, which is offering intelligence and other assistance. Militants who once controlled numerous villages have been scattered.
Unable to control as much terrain as in the past, the group has deployed suicide bombers to markets and mosques and even camps where people fleeing Boko Haram have taken refuge.
According to Unicef, the overall number of suicide bombings increased from 32 in 2014 to 151 last year. In 2015, 89 attacks were carried out in Nigeria, 39 in Cameroon, 16 in Chad and seven in Niger.
Cameroon has had the highest number of attacks involving children, Unicef said. Government and defense officials in Cameroon have said most of the attackers there have been girls ages 13 to 15. People who have escaped Boko Haram have reported a systematic program for training women and girls to be bombers.
Local reports compiled by the American State Department outline the grim details of the attacks carried out by girls.
In one episode last month, a woman and a young girl entered the village of Tolkomari early in the morning and were identified as suspicious. Locals on the lookout for bombers tore after them, causing panic in the village. Worn out by the chase, the two suspects ran into a home and detonated their bombs, killing only themselves.
In its report, Unicef said it needed $97 million to provide vaccinations, schooling, drinking water, mental health aid and other assistance to families affected by Boko Haram. It said it had received $11 million so far.
The report also noted that more than 1.3 million children had been forced from their homes.
Another report released Tuesday, from Human Rights Watch, focused on how Boko Haram had devastated education in some areas. It said that between 2009 and 2015, attacks by the group destroyed more than 910 schools and forced at least 1,500 more to close. At least 611 teachers have been deliberately killed, and 19,000 have been forced to flee. The group has abducted more than 2,000 civilians, many of them women and girls, including large groups of students.
12 April 2016
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Ministry of Children and Youth Services
Ontario is announcing the 31 grassroots projects that will receive $7.7 million this year from Ontario's Youth Opportunities Fund to help at-risk youth succeed.
Tracy MacCharles, Minister of Children and Youth Services, visited LAB B in Brampton today to highlight the 31 selected projects. LAB B, Brampton's first co-working space, home to creative freelancers and entrepreneurs, is receiving $300,000 over 36 months to create a Creative Economy Co-op program that will help youth in Peel Region gain entrepreneurial skills through mentorship.
Other projects receiving funding this year will help at-risk youth gain skills like computer coding, software design, and music; learn about positive body image, healthy relationships and self-confidence; and get active in sports and physical activity. Some recipient organizations have a special focus on Indigenous, racialized, newcomer, Francophone and LGBTTQ youth.
These grants will benefit at-risk youth in communities across Ontario, including Akwesasne, Fort Albany, Hamilton, Kingston, Moose Factory, Naughton, Ohsweken, Ottawa, Peterborough, and Sachigo Lake. Projects will also include a focus on youth who are in the child welfare or youth justice systems and kids with special needs.
Ontario is also announcing that next year's Youth Opportunities Fund will be expanded to a total of $12.95 million. The Youth Opportunities Fund is part of the province's $55-million enhanced Ontario Youth Action Plan – Ontario's largest investment to date to help children and youth in high-priority communities across the province.
Every child deserves the opportunity to thrive and have the best possible start in life. Increasing supports for children and youth is one way Ontario is working to support families and create positive environments so all children and youth can reach their full potential.
Quick facts
• Since its launch in 2013, the Youth
Opportunities Fund has provided $18.7 million to 73 community groups
benefitting more than 100,000 youth.
• Grants are awarded by the
Ontario Trillium Foundation based on how well projects address desired
outcomes in Stepping Up: A Strategic Framework to Help Ontario's Youth
Succeed.
• The application period for next year’s grants will launch
this summer.
11 April 2016
https://news.ontario.ca/mcys/en/2016/04/ontario-expanding-youth-opportunities-fund.html
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The Andrews Labor Government is providing more funding to keep young people off the streets and connected with family and friends.
Minister for Housing, Disability and Ageing, Martin Foley, today announced $3.39 million funding for the Kids Under Cover studio program, which provides relocatable one and two bedroom studio accommodation for young Victorians aged 12 to 25. The program provides safe housing within the family home, allowing more space for families and independence to young people. Kids Under Cover helps alleviate family tensions, keeping family and support networks together.
According to the 2011 Census, almost 10,000 people experiencing homelessness in Victoria were under the age of 24, representing 43 per cent of the homeless population on any given night.
The Labor Government’s investment will mean 60 families facing overcrowding or family breakdown will be able to install a unit, and stay together on the one property.
Research shows young people who experience homelessness are more likely to be homeless long term, so it’s important young people facing the risk of homelessness due to overcrowding or family breakdown get the support they need.
For more information about the Kids Under Cover studio program, visit www.kuc.org.au
Quotes attributable to Minister for Housing, Disability and Ageing Martin Foley:
“There are too many young Victorians becoming homeless as a result of family breakdown, trauma, or overcrowding. We’re changing that.”
“The Kids Under Cover studio program will ensure more young Victorians have a safe and secure place to call home – and one that keeps them connected with family and friends.”
“Initiatives like these help break the cycle of disadvantage, and change the lives of young Victorians for the better.”
http://www.premier.vic.gov.au/labor-government-keeping-young-people-under-cover-and-off-the-streets/
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UNICEF today launched a series of animated films to help frame positive perceptions towards the tens of millions of children and young people on the move globally.
Called Unfairy Tales, the three animations – true stories of the flight of children from conflict – explain the horror behind why they fled. They have been animated in the style of a fairy tale and will be supported by an interactive e-book experience also called Unfairy Tales.
The Unfairy Tales are part of an initiative, #actofhumanity, emphasising that children are children, no matter where they come from, and that every child has rights and deserves a fair chance.
“No matter where they are in the world, when refugee and migrant children reach their destination, it is the beginning of another journey, not the end of the road,” said Paloma Escudero, UNICEF’s head of communication. “Every day, everywhere, people are helping them out with small acts of humanity. These acts rarely make news but they are making all the difference in the world to individual refugee and migrant children. UNICEF wants to showcase these #actofhumanity to inspire others and show the way forward,” Escudero said.
One story – “Ivine and the Pillow” – animates the true story of 14-year-old Ivine and her pillow, Pillow. After a perilous escape from Syria, Ivine settles at a refugee camp in Germany only to face new challenges. “Malak and the Boat”, tells the tale of a young girl’s voyage in a leaky boat. The third animation depicts the story of Mustafa, who after fleeing his home, wonders who is left to be his friend.
”The stories of the three children are not unusual. At least 65 million children and young people globally are on the move – escaping conflict, poverty and extreme weather – looking for a more stable life and a place to call home,” Escudero said.
UNICEF paid tribute to the ad agency 180LA for conceiving and fully producing the series with help from animation houses Consulado, House of Colors, Bubba’s Chop Shop and Gilles+Cecilie Studio, along with Media Monks, which produced the interactive e-book.
180LA Executive Creative Directors Rafael Rizuto and Eduardo Marques said, “The Unfairy Tales picture with heartbreaking detail what it’s really like to be a child in that situation, showing that some stories were never meant for children. We needed to tell these stories to make everyone think about it."
UNICEF will engage audiences with social media messaging and intends to produce more animations. UNICEF’s ask is simple: Show an #actofhumanity towards refugee and migrant children and young people. Use #actofhumanity to share stories and inspire us and others.
The Unfairy Tales, plus the real stories behind the animation and other media assets can be downloaded here: http://weshare.unicef.org/Package/2AMZIF3BZ9S
29 March 2016
http://www.unicef.org/media/media_90760.html
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Screenies Children's Film Festival and MINA (Mobile Innovation Network Australasia) join forces to engage children and youth creatively with mobile video production.
“Young people today have in their hands powerful tools to create and tell stories. We want to give them a clear pathway to learn the craft and then see their own stories on screen,” says Janette Howe, Festival Founder/Director.
Starting with school holidays workshops MINA and Screenies are looking at ways to engage children and youth from 7 to 15 yearsold to make and share their stories using a smartphone, a phablet or a tablet.
Some participants will be eligible for MINA Youth Mentorship in order to further develop their mobile video production skills and stories as well as increasing their chances to get their mobile film to be selected for the #MINA2016 International Mobile Innovation Screening in Melbourne (AUS), 30th November and 1st December 2016. Selected videos will also screen at Screenies Children’s Film Festival 22–25th September at TAPAC in Auckland (NZ).
“We are thrilled to collaborate with Screenies and to engage with the very young – with our potential future creative leaders. It is also important for MINA to develop such national partnerships in order to foster further mobile video production development and expertise in New Zealand.” says Laurent Antonczak, MINA cofounder.
MINA is an international network to promote cultural and research activities that examine and expand the emerging possibilities of mobile media in New Zealand, in the Pacific region and more broadly internationally. MINA aims to explore the possibilities of interaction between people, content and the emerging mobile industry. Simultaneously MINA provides an opportunity for audiences, spanning from community groups to industry consultants, to engage with new developments or training in the field of mobile technologies.
Screenies Children’s Film Festival launched in 2015 to engage children with diverse stories on screen in a dedicated space like other children’s film festivals around the world. Media is an influential part of our children’s world and providing access to diverse stories and empowering them to tell their own stories helps to build identity and a sense of place in the world. In 2016/7 Screenies will include kids and youthmade content through the initiative with MINA.
6 April 2016
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU1604/S00082/children-and-youth-empowered-to-tell-stories.htm
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4 APRIL
IRELAND
The Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Dr James Reilly, today announced the reform of the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Higher Capitation model to support capacity building and quality development across pre-schools. The changes will take effect from September 2016.
From September 2016 in ECCE services, Higher Capitation will be paid to individual ECCE sessions (or rooms) which are led by Early Years professionals with a relevant Level 7 qualification or higher. This changes the current model where the higher capitation rate is only paid if all sessions / rooms in the service are led by staff qualified at Level 7 or higher. This reform will allow more services to benefit from extra capitation. From September, services that have multiple ECCE rooms, but only one with a Pre-school Leader with the necessary higher capitation qualification, can avail of this higher funding for part of their service.
When the ECCE programme was first launched in 2010, the Higher Capitation model was introduced as a quality development measure to encourage the development of a qualified workforce to deliver an education focused curriculum to children in pre-school settings. A limited number of childcare staff at the time had higher level qualifications in early childhood care and education. Today, approximately 38% of services participating in the ECCE Programme are currently in receipt of the Higher Capitation grant. These services meet the ECCE Higher Capitation requirements in all of their ECCE Rooms. It is expected that from September 2016 up to 50% of services will qualify. The sector has asked for this change for some time and believes that it will encourage services to expand and to further develop the quality of their service.
The reform of the Higher Capitation model is one of a number of measures being taken by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs to encourage an increase in the number of ECCE places available to meet increased demand from Sept 2016. From then, all children will be eligible for free pre-school from the time they turn 3 until they start in primary school. Children will be eligible to enter pre-school at three entry points after they turn three, September, January and April. The number of places will need to expand from 67,000 in 2015 to 127,000 by April 2017. Minister Reilly recently announced €4million in capital funding, aimed also at expanding the number of ECCE places.
Minister Reilly stated “Reforming the current Higher Capitation funding model will not only help to support the expansion of the ECCE programme that I announced as part of Budget 2016, but also, it gives recognition to the fact that there are increasing numbers of higher qualified staff working in the early childhood care and education sector. As part of the Budget, I also announced the increase in the Higher Capitation rate from €73 to €75 euro per child from September of this year.”
From September, the ECCE Higher Capitation rate will be passed on to services, based on the number of children allowed to participate in the qualifying Higher Capitation room.
Minister Reilly added “Attracting and retaining higher qualified staff into the Early Years sector is good for both children and services. The provision of this higher capitation rate to more services may provide an opportunity for employers to consider passing some of it on to their graduate staff. I am aware that some employers in existing services in receipt of Higher Capitation already do this.”
The Department of Children and Youth Affairs has begun preparing for the administration of this reform and details of qualifying criteria and the application process will be communicated before August 2016.
24 February 2016
http://www.dcya.gov.ie/viewdoc.asp?Docid=3731&CatID=11&mn=&StartDate=1+January+2016
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1 APRIL
National youth organisation InsideOUT have released a new resource for schools today, coinciding with International Day of Transgender Visibility.
The resource, titled ‘Making Schools Safer for Trans and Gender Diverse Students’ is aimed at secondary schools, providing information for boards of trustees, principals, teachers, school staff, parents and guidance counsellors.
“An increasing number of young people in New Zealand are coming out as trans while they are at school,” says Tabby Besley, National Coordinator of InsideOUT. “Schools have an obligation to provide a safe environment for all of their students, but many don’t know where to start when it comes to providing support for a trans young person.”
“This resource aims to walk schools through that process, raising all of the things they might need to think about in order to provide a safe and inclusive environment for trans and gender diverse students. From dealing with bullying to bathrooms and uniforms, to school camps and roll calls, the resource provides best practice solutions in all areas.”
“We want this resource to create visibility for trans and gender diverse young people and their right to safety at school. We know from the Youth’12 study by the University of Auckland that 4 out of every 100 young people in NZ identify as trans or questioning their gender, and over half of them are afraid of being hurt or bullied at school. Our resource gives schools the tools to be able to support these students the best that they can.”
“In 2015 the Ministry of Education released their updated Sexuality Education Guidelines, recommending that all schools provide gender neutral uniforms and toilets, ensure inclusive sports procedures, have health programmes that affirm sexuality and gender diversity and educate against and respond to incidents of bullying in relation to sexuality and gender diversity. These guidelines align with our suggestions in this resource and we believe it is vital to uphold them in order to create safer schools for trans and gender diverse youth.”
The creation of InsideOUT’s resource, Making Schools Safer for Trans and Gender Diverse Students, was a collaborative effort, started by gathering experiences of trans and gender diverse young people across the country and identifying what would or had make them feel supported at school.
Every secondary school across the country will be sent two hard copies of the resource to use. It is available for anyone to view and download for free online at: http://www.insideout.org.nz
31 March 2016
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