"Child and youth care (CYC) practitioners at two community centres in Vancouver’s downtown eastside help create a relational culture where all staff share a sense of responsibility in reporting child protection concerns. However, for many staff who may have had negative experiences with child protection this can create hesitation and activate previous trauma. The CYCs are also at risk for burnout constantly trying to assist youth in these matters and running into systemic barriers. As a proactive response, we have pioneered a new robust child protection training model that is both trauma informed and based in child rights. This training has included buy-in and direct articipation from the office of the Representative for Children and Youth, social workers from both the Ministry of Child and Family Development (MCFD) and Vancouver Aboriginal Family Services Society (VACFSS), and lawyers from the Child and Youth Legal Clinic (CLC). Some of the challenges faced in advocating for children and youth in child protection are also addressed, and we present some possible child rights-based techniques to help improve the process."
