Performance Reporting — Continued

Goal 2: To promote an environment that supports the health and safety of our highest risk youth.

Youth at high-risk with factors leading them to the justice system or into exploitative activities must receive supports facilitating safety, security and positive transition to adulthood. Services the ministry provides to assist in a transition to healthy adulthood include support workers and outreach, rehabilitation programs, and a variety of community-based supports. Children and youth with serious mental health issues need community supports that promote their well-being and productive functioning. By providing resources to enable young people to manage or overcome difficult issues, they can develop greater potential and resiliency to help increase their life chances towards growing up into healthy, positive, self-sufficient adults.

Core Business Area: Youth Justice, Child and Youth Mental Health, and Youth Services

Objective 2.1: To facilitate the rehabilitation of youth in the justice system.

Progress on Strategies in 2002/03:

• remained a leader in alternative measures, restorative justice, intensive support and supervision, and community alternatives, to custody, to rehabilitate youth in the justice system.
• continued to emphasize effective community-based custody alternatives to incarceration as appropriate.
• closed Boulder Bay and Centre Creek youth custody centres and maintained high-quality services.
• added 10 specialist probation officers for restorative justice conferences.

Performance Measures and Targets

Performance Measure	2000/01 Actual	2001/02 Actual	2002/03 Target	2002/03 Actual	2002/03 Variance	Target Met?
(a) Number of youth forensic psychiatric assessment services	1,700 Baseline	1,600	Maintain baseline or lower	1,350	250 better than target
(b) Number of youth forensic treatment services	1,900 Baseline	2,050	Maintain baseline or higher	2,050	Consistent with target
(c) Rate of youth in custody based on a proportion of all 12-17 year olds (per 10,000)	9.0 Baseline	7.8	Maintain baseline or lower	6.9	2.1 better than target
(d) Number of family group conferences	N/A	N/A	Establish baseline	4 conferences held in pilot project	Baseline established

Analysis:

The number of assessment services has declined, which is consistent with the decline of youth entering the youth justice system. This reduction in assessments, combined with the maintenance of treatment services, indicates that youth forensic resources are being focused on those youth most in need of service (e.g., those with the most significant issues such as violent and sexual offences, which are generally longer term and more intensive treatments).

Four family conferences were held in one pilot project in the Burnaby Youth Court. Lower than anticipated number of conferences was due to the closure of Burnaby Youth Court. However, other benefits, such as enhancing community capacity and the creation of a template for developing conferencing training, did occur.

Explanation of Changes to Measures

Youth forensic psychiatric services assessment and treatment measures are counts of services, not youth served (a youth may receive more than one assessment or treatment service).

Note: The baseline for youth forensic psychiatric services assessments and treatments have been updated from the 2001/02 Annual Report and the Estimates materials in order to reflect a more accurate method of counting treatments. This accounting includes both "new" and "ongoing" assessments and treatments (i.e., all treatments delivered during the fiscal year). The assessments baseline has been updated from 1,334 (2001/02 Annual Report) and the treatments baseline from 2,356 (2001/02 Annual Report).

Objective 2.2: To improve the functioning of high-risk youth in the community.

Progress on Strategies in 2002/03:

• continued working with the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General on a three-year plan to find effective ways to reduce the incidence of violence youth experience in the sex trade and help sexually exploited youth exit harmful situations.
• progressed plans for a public discussion paper and consultations towards introducing Safe Care legislation in 2004/05, with related services to follow in 2005/06.

Performance Measures and Targets

Performance Measure	2000/01 Actual	2001/02 Actual	2002/03 Target	2002/03 Actual	2002/03 Variance	Target Met?
(a) Number of Youth Agreements that are active at the end of the fiscal year	161 (March) Baseline	141 (March)	200	161 (March)	39 below target

Analysis

Starting in the summer of 2001, some regions introduced restrictions on the use of Youth Agreements. Following the introduction of these restraints, the use of Youth Agreements steadily declined until August 2002. Use of Youth Agreements began to steadily rise after changes to child protection policy during the summer of 2002 regarding investigation and service planning for youth 16 and older. It is expected that use of Youth Agreements will likely continue to rise as a viable alternative for youth in need of assistance.

Objective 2.3: To establish coordinated, community-based mental health services for children and youth.

Progress on Strategies in 2002/03:

• completed and received Cabinet approval of a provincial Child and Youth Mental Health Plan, which will significantly increase resources over the next several years.
• progressed work on new inter-ministry policies and protocols to transfer children and youth with mental health issues from hospital to community-based services.
• continued new inter-ministry policies and protocols for more effective child-to-adult service transitions.

Performance Measures and Targets

Performance Measure	2000/01 Actual	2001/02 Actual	2002/03 Target	2002/03 Actual	2002/03 Variance	Target Met?
(a) Number of children and youth receiving community child and youth mental health services	10,400	10,400 Baseline	Establish baseline	Baseline established using 2001/02 data 2002/03 actual is 10,400	Baseline established, which meets 2002/03 – 2004/05 Service Plan expectations
(b) Progress on the development of a Child and Youth Mental Health Plan	N/A	Plan under development	Plan developed	Plan presented and endorsed at Feb. 7, 2003 Cabinet meeting	None

Analysis

The Child and Youth Mental Health Plan has been developed and approved by Cabinet. Work currently is focusing on the implementation of the Plan, which will enhance the quality of services delivered to children and youth with mental health concerns. Also, the baseline for measure 2.3(a) has been established at 10,400 clients, using 2001/02 data. This reflects consistent levels of service since 200/01.

Explanation of Changes to Measures

Information on measure 2.3(a), including the baseline and year-to-date, has been recently updated to reflect a file "clean up" of the Child and Youth Mental Health data system and to give a more accurate view of the status of this measure. Therefore, this number replaces all previously published figures, including those in the 2003/04 – 2005/06 Service Plan.