The term “D.Y.P.” means the Director of Youth Protection. This is a person in charge of youth protection. There is one Director of Youth Protection in every region of Quebec, except for Montreal, where there are two (one in charge of English services and the other in charge of French services). Each one is in a sense the big boss, ensuring that the Youth Protection Act is applied in her region. It’s her job, along with her team, to receive reports regarding children who may be in need of protection, evaluate the reports and decide whether or not they are well-founded.

The Director of Youth Protection must also determine the appropriate response to every well-founded report. She can propose voluntary measures to the child’s parents, or she can begin court proceedings to obtain a judgment on the child’s case. The Director also proposes measures that she considers appropriate to fix the situation and get the child out of danger. Of course, in reality, every Director has a whole team working for her. But, at the end of the day, she’s the one responsible for all decisions made, and she instructs her team on how to go about their work. In delicate or special cases, the members of her team will let her know about the situation so that she can make the decisions herself.

Not exactly. In French, the D.Y.P. is called “le Directeur de la protection de la jeunesse”. But sometimes, you might hear people refer to “la D.P.J.” as an abbreviation for “la Direction de la protection de la jeunesse” or “Office of Youth Protection”. This is an incorrect way of referring to all the Directors and their services, as there is no such thing as an Office for Youth Protection.

Throughout the Youth Protection Act, reference is made to the D.Y.P.’s duties when a child’s situation is reported. As explained above, the D.Y.P. is a person and one individual obviously cannot visit every family to personally meet with the parents and child every time a report is made. She therefore works with a team of youth protection professionals who can carry out these duties on her behalf.

Each of these individuals is referred to as a D.Y.P. delegate or a person authorized by the D.Y.P. They receive directions, as well as certain powers, directly from the D.Y.P. The D.Y.P. can be personally consulted if there is a difficult question in a particular file. She also provides the delegates with general instructions on their work.

The role of youth centres is to coordinate the services offered under the Youth Criminal Justice Act and the Youth Protection Act. The centres offer local and international adoption services, as well as reuniting services in adoption cases. They are also responsible for managing rehabilitation centres for young people, and evaluating foster families and families who wish to adopt.

There is one youth centre in every region in Quebec, except in Montreal, where there are two centres (one for Francophones and one for Anglophones). Every youth centre therefore has its own Director of Youth Protection.

CLSC stands for “centre local de services communautaires” (local community service centre). You can visit one to see a doctor, get a vaccine, take prenatal classes, etc. CLSCs also offer the services of social workers, psychologists and specialized educators who can help people overcome certain difficulties. These professionals can help a family in difficulty through individual consultations or group workshops. Many CLSCs offer workshops for young children where new parents can learn how to stimulate their children so as to promote their development. Some CLSCs organize discussion groups for parents of teenagers to help them better understand and respond to what their children are going through.

The services offered differ from one CLSC to another. Contact your local CLSC to find out what services are available in your community.

Around ten years ago, there were actually two commissions: the “Commission des droits de la personne” (human rights commission) and the “Commission des droits de la jeunesse” (youth rights commission). These two entities merged to form the Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse du Québec (the Commission). The Commission’s powers are set out in the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms. While the Commission is of course involved in defending the rights of adults, this Infosheet examines its role in youth protection.

The Commission has many responsibilities under the Youth Protection Act (the Act). First of all, it must inform people about their rights and ensure that individuals and organizations respect the children’s rights set out in the Act. To ensure this, it can carry out an investigation into a group home, or the D.Y.P.’s attitude in a certain file, etc. The Commission therefore has special powers allowing it to attend hearings before the Court of Quebec, Youth Division, and it can even have a lawyer represent it and defend its position.

The Commission can even begin proceedings before the court with respect to a child’s situation. It can also carry out studies and research on children and make recommendations to the Minister of Health and Social Services. It can receive complaints from the public regarding the D.Y.P.’s attitude toward a certain child or group of children, and it can carry out an investigation if the complaint calls for one. So whenever a person has good reason to think that a group home or the D.Y.P. has failed to respect a child’s rights, he can contact the Commission to make a complaint.

The term “foster family” refers to one or more adults who take in children who have been removed from their own family. Before becoming a foster family, people must be evaluated by their region’s youth centre and undergo an investigation. The purpose is to check their reason for participating, the condition of their household, whether they have a criminal record, etc.

There are many types of foster families, each with a different role. Some are emergency foster families. These are families who agree to take in children in emergencies, even in the middle of the night, when they urgently have to be removed from their environment for their own security. Such families have a certain number of beds available for children. Children only stay with these foster families temporarily, until a decision can be made on a long-term solution to protect them.

There are also “regular” foster families. This is the most well-known and common type. These are people who take in children for a longer period that is more or less fixed. In general, the role of such families is to ensure the well-being of children while they stay with them, that is, until their parents can take them back. They serve as temporary, substitute parents to the children.

Finally, there are foster families in the “mixed” category. These are adults who have been evaluated on two levels and for two different purposes. First of all, these individuals are evaluated as regular foster families. But they are also evaluated to see if they fulfill the criteria of future potential adopting families. These foster families have to be open to the idea of adopting the child they take in if he eventually becomes adoptable. The D.Y.P. will place children with them who, for example, are at high risk of being abandoned by their parents. If the child becomes adoptable, they can then become the child’s adoptive parents. However, if the biological parents get their situation under control, the child will be sent back to them.

The term “reception centre” can refer to different things.

First of all, there are secure reception centres that offer a high degree of supervision over young people. This is where children are sent if they have serious, violent behavioural disturbances or they are at high risk of running away. These are very structured environments. The educators closely supervise the youths and must know at all times where they are and what they doing. But not all reception centres are like this. Centres can offer a varying degree of control, restrictions and supervision.

A reception centre can also be a group home. This is an apartment or house where around ten young people live with educators who alternate living with them. These children can attend school in the neighbourhood and go out every day without supervision. This is sort of like a large foster family, except that the foster parents are replaced by specialized educators who can help the children deal with their particular difficulties.

For older adolescents, a reception centre can even be an apartment supervised by a youth centre. Certain young people under the D.Y.P.’s protection who are already working and do not have behavioural problems can be prepared for their independent adult life by living in an apartment. A youth centre educator will regularly visit the young person. The educator ensures that the youth has made a budget and is sticking to it, that the upkeep of the apartment is satisfactory, etc. Also, he helps the adolescent fix any problems he might encounter (balancing work and school, dealing with job loss or financial problems, etc.).

It is really important for the young person to develop all these skills. After all, once he is eighteen, he will be considered an adult and will no longer be the D.Y.P.’s responsibility.