EDMONTON – The Standing Committee on Legislative Offices invites Albertans to provide their thoughts on the Child and Youth Advocate Act. The Act enables the Advocate to represent the rights, interests and viewpoints of children and youth receiving intervention services or who are involved with the youth criminal justice system.
“While they are our greatest resource, children and youth are among the most vulnerable members of society,” said David Shepherd, chair of the committee and MLA for Edmonton-Centre. “The Child and Youth Advocate Act was established to safeguard Alberta’s most vulnerable children and to give them a voice in matters that affect them. I invite all interested Albertans to provide their thoughts on this most important legislation.”
The purpose of this review is to seek areas of improvement with regard to the legislation that governs the Office of the Child and Youth Advocate (OCYA). An independent officer of the Legislature, the Child and Youth Advocate works with children and youth in the foster care system, the youth justice system and those receiving help under the Protection of Sexually Exploited Children Act.
The committee is accepting feedback until October 14, 2016. Interested members of the public can submit their thoughts online at assembly.ab.ca/committees/
An informative discussion guide is also available online for those seeking details on the Act.
This review is being conducted in accordance with section 23 of the Act, which stipulates that a committee of the Legislative Assembly must complete a comprehensive review and report to the Legislative Assembly within a year of beginning its review. The Legislative Assembly referred the Child and Youth Advocate Act to the committee on June 2, 2016.
The Standing Committee on Legislative Offices is a multi-party committee consisting of 11 Members of the Legislative Assembly.
Please note that submissions from members of the public will remain confidential upon request; otherwise, they will be made public with the names of submitters and all third-party personal information removed.