La loi vos droits

Teachers - Youth protection

The role of the Director of Youth Protection

Pedro is the assistant coach for a peewee hockey team. He recently found out that the younger brother of one of his players was sexually abused by his step-father. As far as Pedro understands, the D.Y.P. got involved in the case. Like most people, Pedro has heard of the Director of Youth Protection or D.Y.P., but he only has a vague idea about what it does. Pedro is curious about a few things: what is the D.Y.P.? When must it intervene in a child’s life? Once the D.Y.P. is informed about a case of child abuse, what can it do?

In this Infosheet, Éducaloi informs you about the Director of Youth Protection and its role with respect to children who are mistreated or otherwise in danger.

When must the D.Y.P. get involved?

The D.Y.P. must intervene when the following happens: it receives a report that a child’s security or development is in danger, the report is retained, and the D.Y.P.’s investigation determines that the reported facts are true. (See the Infosheet entitled Reporting a case to the Director of Youth Protection  (http://www.educaloi.qc.ca/en/loi/teachers/393/).)

A child’s security or development is considered to be in danger in the following cases:

• The child is abandoned;
  
• his mental or emotional development is threatened;
  
• his physical health is threatened;
  
• his material needs are not being met;
  
• his parents are behaving inappropriately;
  
• he is doing unacceptable work;
  
• he is the victim of sexual abuse;
  
• he is suffering ill-treatment;
  
• he has serious behavioural problems.

A child may also be considered in danger if he is of school age but not regularly attending school, he is a runaway, or he has been abandoned in an institution by his parents. To find out more about each of these situations, see the Infosheet entitled When can the Director of Youth Protection get involved  (http://www.educaloi.qc.ca/en/loi/teachers/394/).

How can the D.Y.P. intervene in emergency situations?

Following an evaluation by a D.Y.P. employee, it may be determined that a child is urgently in need of immediate protection. Examples would include a child who is living with a sexual aggressor or a young child who is left alone at home. In such cases, the D.Y.P. employee will apply “urgent measures” and the child can immediately be taken from his regular environment. To find out more, see Côtécour, Court of Quebec – Youth Division  (http://www.educaloi.qc.ca/en/cotecour/court_quebec/youth_division_youth_protection/proceedings/) under the heading “Youth Protection” in the section entitled “Step-by-step guide to procedure”.

If the D.Y.P. employee determines that the report is well-founded (true and serious), she has to make a choice: she can propose the application of voluntary measures or she can seek a judgment from the court to protect the child.

What is an agreement on voluntary measures?

An agreement on voluntary measures is a written agreement signed by the parents, the social worker of the DYP, and the child if he is 14 years old or older. This agreement contains a description of the situation that compromises the child’s security or development. It also contains a commitment to work together and to take the necessary means to correct the situation.

For example, this agreement could include a commitment from the child to attend school every day or a commitment from the parents to attend workshops on how to become better parents. The agreement could say that a mother, who is a victim of conjugal violence, will join a support group. It could also say that everyone agrees that the child needs the services of a professional (psychologist, speech therapist, optometrist, etc.) and that his parents promise to take him to his appointments. If the child has problems with his behaviour, a DYP delegate can help the parents set house rules with the child as well as the consequences for breaking them.

The possible solutions vary from situation to situation and from region to region, depending on the services available in each community.

The agreement on voluntary measures is valid for a defined period of time that is a maximum of one year. The child’s situation must then be reassessed by the DYP. Another agreement can be signed if necessary and if the parents and the child agree, and another and another. However, the total duration of all the agreements on voluntary measures cannot exceed two years.

Court intervention is not necessary when the agreement on voluntary measures comes to an end and the security or the development of the child is no longer compromised. On the other hand, the DYP will have to undertake legal proceedings in court to get a judgement on child protection if the agreement is not followed or if the situation isn’t corrected.

When can the D.Y.P. ask the court to intervene?

There are various reasons that might lead the D.Y.P. to seek a court judgment to protect a child who is in danger.

This might be the case if the parents refuse to admit that the D.Y.P.’s intervention is necessary, or if the parents, child and D.Y.P. employee fail to reach an agreement on voluntary measures. In such cases, the D.Y.P. will begin judicial proceedings at the Court of Quebec, Youth Division, so that a judge can determine the appropriate steps to take in the child’s case.

During these proceedings, a person authorized by the D.Y.P. explains the child’s situation to the judge and sets out the measures suggested by the D.Y.P. The parents and the child are of course involved in these judicial proceedings and can come to court to contest them if they are not in agreement.

What exactly happens during the court hearing?

During the court hearing, the child is almost always represented by a lawyer. The parents can also be represented by a lawyer if they want. The judge renders a decision after listening to everyone’s side of the story, evaluating the evidence and considering the solutions proposed by the D.Y.P., parents and the child.

Based on the evidence before him, the judge first has to determine whether the child is in one of the situations that requires the D.Y.P.’s intervention under the law. If not, the file is closed and the D.Y.P. immediately ends all involvement with the child and his family – this is true even if the D.Y.P. decides to contest the judge’s decision before the Superior Court of Quebec. The D.Y.P. will only be able to intervene again if it receives another report or if the Superior Court of Quebec eventually modifies the decision.

On the other hand, if the judge determines that the child is in danger, he has to decide what measures should be taken to improve the child’s situation, and how long the measures should last. He then establishes the duration of the judgment. Once the judge concludes that the child is in danger and orders measures to be taken, the D.Y.P. must ensure that the judgment is immediately put into effect (even if the parents or child contest the court’s decision).

To find out more about the judicial process, the different steps involved and everyone’s role, see the section Côtécour Court of Quebec, Youth Division  (http://www.educaloi.qc.ca/en/cotecour/court_quebec/youth_division_youth_protection/), under the heading, “Youth Protection”

If the court concludes that a child is in danger, what exactly can it do?

There are a number of various possibilities. A lot depends on the different programs available in the regions served by the province’s youth centres (“Centres jeunesse”).

If the court decides that the child’s security or development is in danger, it can order that one or more measures be applied for a fixed period. The goal is to end the situation that is placing the child at risk. The court can impose any measure or treatment that is in the child’s interest. For example, it can decide to leave the child in his family environment, or place him with other people or in an institution where he can receive care, services, help, or instruction.

The court can ask the D.Y.P. to keep an eye on the child and his family, and prevent certain people from contacting the child. The court also has the power to take away some of the parents’ rights in connection with their parental authority (custody, supervision, education) and recommend that steps be taken to name a tutor for the child.

More generally, the law grants the judge the power to make any other recommendation that she considers to be in the child’s interest. If the court concludes that a vulnerable child’s rights were violated by certain people, organizations or establishments, it can order that the situation be corrected.

Can a parent’s testimony during a D.Y.P. hearing be used against him in criminal court?

It’s possible, but not in all circumstances. First of all, a parent can choose whether or not to testify in youth protection proceedings. He can only be forced to testify if the judge, D.Y.P. or another party (parent or child) summon him to testify using a document called a subpoena. However, this is rarely done in practice.

In principle, when a person is forced to testify in judicial proceedings, his testimony cannot be used against him in another proceeding to prove that he committed a criminal offence. So let’s say that a parent is forced to testify in youth protection proceedings, because he was summoned as a witness. If there is a criminal trial at a later point based on the same behaviour, the Crown prosecutor cannot use the earlier testimony to prove the parent’s guilt. On the other hand, if the parent voluntarily chooses to testify both during the youth protection proceedings and the trial in criminal court, then his testimony may be used against him.

If the parent is accused of perjury or giving conflicting testimony, then his testimonies can be used to prove the offence. To find out more about these offences, see the Infosheet entitled The main offences against the administration of justice  (http://www.educaloi.qc.ca/en/loi/offenders_and_accused_persons/331/).

Does the child’s lawyer also represent the parents?

No. The child’s lawyer is an independent lawyer whose job is to defend the rights and interests of the child. He cannot represent the rights of both the child and parents at the same time, because this would be a conflict of interests. Moreover, the law states that the judge can appoint a lawyer to represent the child if his interests differ from those of his parents. The parents can also have their own lawyer if they want.

To find out more about when a child can be represented by a lawyer, see the Infosheet entitled The child’s lawyer  (http://www.educaloi.qc.ca/en/loi/parents/272/).

What consequences will an abusive parent face if his behaviour is also a criminal offence?

Sometimes an act committed by an adult or adolescent toward a child is considered to be abuse in youth protection matters, as well as an offence under criminal law. The most common example of this is sexual abuse.

A person who commits sexual abuse may have to answer for his actions in front of two different courts: the Court of Quebec, Youth Division, and the Court of Quebec or Superior Court, Criminal and Penal Division. (To find out more about the jurisdiction of each court, see Côtécour.)

The role of the Court of Quebec, Youth Division, is to determine the child’s protection needs. The goal is to prevent any repeat sexual abuse and to minimize the effects of the past sexual abuse on the child. There is no “accused person” in youth protection matters, so no criminal record or imprisonment is possible. If the Court of Quebec concludes that an adult has sexually abused a child, the consequences for the aggressor will mainly be attached to any future contact with the child. The aggressor may find himself prohibited from having any contact with the child, or if he is one of the parents, he may be limited to supervised visits only. He might also be ordered to undergo therapy before being allowed to see the child again.

As for the criminal trial, it won’t take place before the same judge or at the same time as the youth protection hearing before the Court of Quebec, Youth Division. The potential consequences for the aggressor are also very different. To find out more on this topic, see the Infosheet entitled Possible sentences in Canada  (http://www.educaloi.qc.ca/en/loi/offenders_and_accused_persons/249/).

Since the same sexual act can be considered both a criminal offence and sexual abuse in youth protection matters, the D.Y.P. and the police have certain agreements on this subject. For example, if the police receive a complaint stating that someone has committed a sexual crime against a child, they automatically report the child’s situation to the D.Y.P.

Also, if the police have to question a child, they will only do so in the presence of a D.Y.P. representative. The representative evaluates whether the child is, in his opinion, a victim of sexual abuse. This type of interview is filmed and the video can be used as evidence by both the Crown prosecutor in the criminal trial and the D.Y.P. lawyer in youth protection proceedings. In this way, the child won’t have to testify repeatedly in front of different courts.