Alec Stratford: “The stories of both prisoners and their advocates paint a picture of a system that overuses solitary confinement, has untrained and unscreened guards, provides poor health care, has unsanitary conditions and is an unsafe environment for both inmates and guards.”
The government’s decision, to not strengthen family life for vulnerable children and youth through core investments, will significantly impact our province’s child protective services, writes Alec Stratford, executive director of the NS College of Social Workers in this excellent piece on this week’s provincial budget.
Media release: The Nova Scotia College of Social Workers (NSCSW) is urging the N.S. government to invest in supports to strengthen family life for vulnerable children and youth in their submission to Budget Talks 2018. “The Nova Scotia Government has a responsibility to our children and youth and must ensure the atrocities of Canada’s colonial and racist past are not repeated. They need to invest wisely to keep vulnerable children and youth in their homes and communities.”
The Nova Scotia College of Social Workers in this news release adds its voice to those opposed to the Glaze Report recommendations.
“Our province consistently fails to truly understand the structural issues that impact child and youth welfare. Nova Scotian children and youth education is profoundly impacted by stressors including income and food insecurity, colonial and racial biases, and our failure to understand trauma.”
Recent changes to the Child and Family Service Act have made the fight against child poverty even more difficult, writes Alec Stratford, executive director of the NS College of Social Workers. Shortened judicial timelines, the expansion of the definition of neglect and the overall lack of resources have amounted to greater penalization of families struggling to afford the cost of housing, food, childcare, clothing and transportation.
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