Nova Scotia child welfare law includes older teens, faster adoptions

Nova Scotia's child welfare law is being overhauled for the first time since 1990, extending protection for abused and neglected youth up to the age of 19 if they request it.

The changes are contained in a proposed law introduced in the Nova Scotia legislature on Thursday.

Joanne Bernard, the Minister of Community Services, said amending the Children and Family Service Act "will offer better protection and support to vulnerable children and families."

The most significant changes include:

• Extending protection to include teens between the ages of 16 and 19.
• Expanding the definition of abuse.
• Streamlining court processes for children in care.
• Speeding up adoptions.

As it stands, the province can only intervene when they are alerted to possible child abuse or neglect if the child is under 16 years old. That leaves minors who are 16 to 19 years old without the protection offered to younger children.

Older teens protected

Bob Parker has met some of those teens as part of his volunteer work with the Halifax Society for Children, Youth and Families. He said this change to include older teens under the law is a major step forward.

"You think of all that happens to a kid at 16 years old when they don't have a support system," said Parker.

"Homelessness, drug problems, mental health issues — if they don't have a place to go, they don't have a place to be safe, they get into trouble.

"They have all kinds of difficulties that lead them down the wrong roads. Having the ability to have those services is, I mean, it's really, really huge."

What constitutes abuse under the law is also changing to include "emotional harm, inflicted by a parent or guardian of the child or caused by failure of a parent or guardian to supervise and protect the child adequately."

Nurturing critical

Bernard said that was a vital component of this new act.

"If they're not nurtured, if they're not hugged, if they don't have that human contact with the person that is supposed to provide that in the home — children can't catch up once they've missed that boat between the ages of infancy and up to seven," she said.

The minister offered a brutally frank assessment when it comes to the time it takes for courts to decide the fate of children in care.

"We see children at the young ages of two or three languishing in the court system until they're teenagers," said Bernard. "We know those outcomes are not going to be positive for that young adult."

The proposed legislation set deadlines for decisions by the court and eliminates some of the procedures that slow down the process.

Department officials said the extension of protection to youth up to 19 years of age could see an additional 100 cases added to the child protection system.

Department statistics for 2014-15 show that 1,200 children came under supervision orders while 460 were taken into temporary care and 114 required permanent care.

Bernard said the changes will not be passed until the fall to allow for consultation.