Federal Government Provides $130,000 in Funding to Create a Child Advocacy Centre for Victoria and Southern Vancouver Island
(firmenpresse) - VICTORIA, BRITISCH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 07/31/15 -- Department of Justice Canada
Today, Dan Albas, Member of Parliament for Okanagan-Coquihalla, on behalf of the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, Peter MacKay, announced funding of $130,000 over two years for the Victoria Child Abuse Prevention and Counselling Centre to support the opening of a new child advocacy centre that will serve Victoria and southern Vancouver Island.
Child advocacy centres (CACs) and child and youth advocacy centres (CYACs) help child and youth victims and their families navigate the criminal justice system. They provide a safe child- and youth-friendly environment where a coordinated team of professionals works to meet the specific needs of each person. The work of a multidisciplinary team in a CAC or a CYAC can greatly reduce the emotional and mental harm to child and youth victims involved in the criminal justice system.
In Economic Action Plan 2015, the Government of Canada committed to provide additional funding to CACs and CYACs. Starting in 2016-17, the Government will provide $5.25 million over four years, and $2.1 million on an annual basis thereafter, to make the support and services provided by CACs and CYACs more accessible in communities across the country.
Quick Facts
Quotes
"Our Government acknowledges that young victims need specialized care and services. I am pleased to see that the years of planning and development for a child advocacy centre for Victoria and southern Vancouver Island are coming to fruition."
Peter MacKay, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
"We are proud to assist CACs like Victoria''s to get off the ground and start operations. This initiative that will support the co-location of services and supports for victims of sexual assault and those for young victims that have experienced other child abuse. The investment we are making in CACs across Canada reflects our commitment to the victims of crime who are the most vulnerable: our children."
Dan Albas, Member of Parliament, Okanagan-Coquihalla
"It is our hope that with the creation of this child advocacy centre we can build a stronger community by helping children heal. This project addressees the critical need for a non-institutional venue to serve children and youth to improve trauma informed response, remove barriers to service, and increase service access to populations currently under utilizing available programs. Our new CAC will improve access to justice and make for better outcomes for children and youth who have experienced abuse."
Sandy Bryce, Executive Director, Victoria Child Abuse Prevention and Counselling Centre
Related Products
Associated Links
Backgrounder
Federal Victims Strategy and Victims Fund
The Federal Victims Strategy brings together federal efforts to give victims of crime a more effective voice in the criminal justice system. It was created in 2007 and made permanent in 2011. The objective of the Strategy, which is led by the Department of Justice Canada, is to give victims a more effective voice in the criminal justice system. The Department works in close collaboration with other federal departments and agencies, as well as victims, victim advocates, provincial and territorial governments, service providers, and others involved in the criminal justice system. The Department develops policy and criminal law reform, funds various programs to meet the needs of victims of crime, explores best practices to address victims'' needs, and raises awareness about the concerns of victims of crime and their role in the criminal justice system.
Within the Federal Victims Strategy, the Victims Fund is a grants and contributions program administered by the Department of Justice. More than $13M is available each year to provinces, territories and non-governmental organizations whose projects, activities and operations support the objectives of the Federal Victims Strategy.
The Victims Fund provides funding to projects and activities that:
Since 2006, the Government of Canada has allocated more than $158 million to give victims a more effective voice in the criminal justice system through initiatives delivered by the Department of Justice Canada.
More information is available on the .
Backgrounder
Child Advocacy Centres and Child and Youth Advocacy Centres
The Victims Fund provides grants and contributions to support projects and activities to help support victims of crime. More specifically, the fund promotes access to justice, improves the capacity of service providers, fosters the establishment of referral networks, and increases awareness of services available to victims of crime and their families.
Child Advocacy Centres (CACs) are child-focused centres that provide a coordinated approach to investigation, intervention, treatment and prosecution, in child abuse cases. They adopt a seamless and collaborative approach to addressing the needs of child and youth victims or witnesses of abuse to minimize system-induced trauma by providing a child-friendly setting for young victims and their families. Child and Youth Advocacy Centres (CYACs) offer the same services as CACs, but to a broader age-range of victims. Both CACs and CYACs receive funding under the CAC portion of the Victims Fund.
Child Advocacy Centres bring together a multidisciplinary team of police, child protection, medical services, mental health services, victim services, and prosecutors in a child-friendly environment. Professional services offered by CACs include coordinated forensic interviews; examination of the child by a medical professional; victim advocacy, including court preparation and support; trauma assessment; and counselling.
CACs help children and their families navigate the justice system in a number of ways. For example, CACs provide a child or youth with a safe and comfortable environment in which to be interviewed by criminal justice professionals, and they seek to reduce the number of interviews and questions directed at a child. CACs may also provide education and training to justice professionals on best practices for interviewing child victims and witnesses. Ultimately, CACs lead to better communication between agencies supporting young victims and to increased access to services for young victims and their families or caregivers.
It has been shown that investigations conducted by CACs are cost-effective and can expedite decision making by Crown prosecutors laying criminal charges. Parents whose children receive services from CACs are more satisfied with the investigation process and interview procedures, and those children who attend CACs are more likely to say that they were not scared during the forensic interviewing process.
Since 2010, the Government of Canada has allocated a total of $10.3 million to new or enhanced CACs and CYACs. In Economic Action Plan 2015, the Government committed to providing additional funding to CACs and CYACs. It will provide $5.25 million over four years starting in 2016-17, along with $2.1 million on an annual basis thereafter, to make the support and services provided by CACs and CYACs more accessible in communities across the country.
CACs and CYACs that have benefited from Government of Canada funding, either directly or through funding provided to one of their partners, include the following:
The Government has also provided funding for projects that explore the creation, development or adaptation of the CAC model in the following communities:
Backgrounder
Child Sexual Offenders
The Government of Canada remains committed to protecting Canadians and keeping our streets and communities safe.
In Canada, over 4,200 sexual violations against children were reported to police in 2013, a six percent increase in the rate from 2012(1) . That is why the Government has brought forward legislation that better protects children from sexual predators at home and abroad.
The Tougher Penalties for Child Predators Act came into force on July 17, 2015. The new measures build on the significant work that has already been done to combat child sexual exploitation and protect Canadians from online crime. The new measures:
Since 2006, our Government has taken strong actions to better protect children, including:
(1) Statistics Canada. Table 252-0051 - Incident-based crime statistics, by detailed violations, annual (number unless otherwise noted), CANSIM (database).
Follow Department of Justice Canada on Twitter (), join us on or visit our .
Contacts:
Clarissa Lamb
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Justice
613-992-4621
Media Relations Office
Department of Justice
613-957-4207
Themen in dieser Pressemitteilung:
Unternehmensinformation / Kurzprofil:
Datum: 31.07.2015 - 14:20 Uhr
Sprache: Deutsch
News-ID 1376212
Anzahl Zeichen: 0
contact information:
Contact person:
Town:
VICTORIA, BRITISCH COLUMBIA
Phone:
Kategorie:
Government & Administration
Anmerkungen:
Diese Pressemitteilung wurde bisher 450 mal aufgerufen.
Die Pressemitteilung mit dem Titel:
"Federal Government Provides $130,000 in Funding to Create a Child Advocacy Centre for Victoria and Southern Vancouver Island
"
steht unter der journalistisch-redaktionellen Verantwortung von
Department of Justice Canada (Nachricht senden)
Beachten Sie bitte die weiteren Informationen zum Haftungsauschluß (gemäß TMG - TeleMedianGesetz) und dem Datenschutz (gemäß der DSGVO).
