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On behalf of the membership of the Child Welfare League of Canada (CWLC), we wish first to express our appreciation to the Standing Committee for inviting our contribution to this all-important review of Canada's Young Offenders Act (YOA) and related services. We are eager to share our commitment to the well-being of children, families and communities, all of whom are affected by youth crime, as well as our expertise and knowledge regarding services which fulfill this commitment.
The CWLC is a federally incorporated national organization committed to protecting and promoting the well-being of at-risk children, youths and their families, with particular attention directed to those who are disadvantaged in the areas of physical, social, emotional, and mental health. Among our services figure public awareness initiatives, promotion of internationally recognized standards for services to children and their families, publications, interprofessional and interorganizational exchanges, access to the Canadian Resource Centre on Children and Youth, and assistance for agencies seeking accreditation.
The CWLC has a broad and varied membership base. This brief was prepared in collaboration and consultation with members and supporters from across the country. Contributors included senior managers from a number of child welfare agencies, a senior family and youth court judge, a criminologist specialising in international crime prevention, social science researchers, and university social work faculty members. A common approach to and understanding of youth criminality emerged from the consultation process as did important information regarding regional experiences with the issue.
All contributors wished to focus on issues related to youth crime itself, such as causes and costs, deterrents, family involvement, offending by children under 12, and the state of adult and youth knowledge and opinion about young people in conflict with the law. These issues will all be addressed in the first section of the brief, where we develop a description of the problem of youth crime that includes not only the role of young people, but that of families, communities and the State. Issues more directly related to the youth justice system and the YOA, while not the main focus of this section, will also be addressed where relevant to the discussion.
Such a perspective holds out much hope for the prevention of youth crime. Changes can be brought at a number of levels. In the second section of the brief, we will present both a general model and individual programs which have demonstrated positive results in preventing youth crime. These measures involve youth, their families and communities, and all levels of government at various stages of a young person's life and experience. Encouraged by the Honourable Allan Rock's recent statement to this committee that the Federal Government has a role in funding preventive programs, yet mindful of the fiscal restraints on all levels of government at this time, we are promoting preventive measures which have all proven cost effective. As a key element to our submission, we will show how much can be saved by investing in these programs and thus reducing the incarceration of our young people, a measure which entails not only a serious financial burden, but great social costs as well.
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