The evaluation of the new Youth Protection Act sought to examine the introduction and implementation of the new provisions of the Act, and their impact on the stability and living conditions of children under youth protection. While most youth protection centre professionals agree with the principles of stability for children, contribution of significant persons and increased parental participation that underlie the modifications to the Act, they note that the implementation of certain provisions has encountered a number of obstacles.
It will be necessary to provide follow-up of the new Act.
The results show that the maximum duration of foster care is a stress factor for some parents; support measures are not always readily available or adequate; strategies for ensuring the optimal use of significant persons are not yet fully developed; and, finally, collaboration between different youth protection stakeholders within and outside of youth protection centres is still not entirely successful.
Nonetheless, the initial findings on the situation of children under youth protection are encouraging, as they reflect changes consistent with the objectives of the new Act. However, the magnitude of the change is modest. This is hardly surprising, considering the short time that the new Act has been in force. It will be necessary to provide follow-up of the new Act to ensure that the obstacles to its implementation are overcome and to monitor its impact on the stability of children.
Main researcher: Daniel Turcotte, Université Laval
Original title: Évaluation des impacts de la nouvelle Loi sur la protection des la jeunesse au Québec
