Meeting Summary
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M INISTERIAL P ANEL ON C HILD I NTERVENTION M EETING S UMMARY Wednesday April 19, 7:00pm to 8:30pm Introduction The first meeting for Phase 2 of the Ministerial Panel on Child Intervention was held in Edmonton in the Federal Building, on traditional Treaty 6 territory. The Chair acknowledged those members of the public present and thanked them their attendance and for sharing their views and reminded them that while questions would not be taken from the floor they could continue to submit their views to [email protected] or on-site through a written submission to the Panel. The meeting was supported through an audio livestream and the archive is available on the Panel website childinterventionpanel.alberta.ca. Panel Members Present: Chair Deborah Jabbour, NDP MLA for Peace River Cameron Westhead, MLA for Banff-Cochrane Maria Fitzpatrick, MLA for Lethbridge-East Nicole Goehring, MLA for Edmonton-Castle Downs Graham Sucha, MLA for Calgary-Shaw Heather Sweet, MLA for Edmonton-Manning Greg Clark, Leader, Alberta Party caucus, MLA for Calgary-Elbow Jason Nixon, Wildrose caucus, MLA for Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre Ric McIver, Progressive Conservative caucus, MLA for Calgary-Hays Dr. David Swann, Leader, Alberta Liberal caucus, MLA for Calgary-Mountain View Dr. Patti LaBoucane-Benson, PhD, Native Counselling Services of Alberta Panel Members via Video Conference at McDougall Centre: Dr. Peter Choate, MSW, PhD, Mount Royal University Bruce MacLaurin, MSW, University of Calgary Key Decisions: The Panel deliberated on the final outstanding area of focus identified in their work in Phase 1 related to the publication ban and ensuring an appropriate balance of public transparency and privacy for families. The need for plain-language consent for families, youth and community members was also discussed. Panel members were encouraged to provide suggestions for Phase 2 engagement directly to the Secretariat, and decisions on additional participants for engagement will be determined through consensus. Discussions: Balancing Public Transparency and Privacy The ministry will bring a consultation plan to the Panel within 2 weeks. The ministry will pull information related to this subject from the 2014 review, including detailed notes as available, and information from other provinces regarding publication bans. The ministry will also provide advice, as part of the plan, as to how this consultation can be incorporated into Phase 2 work. 1 | Page M INISTERIAL P ANEL ON C HILD I NTERVENTION M EETING S UMMARY It was further suggested that the panel members may wish to review the 2014 Roundtable Materials provided in the original E-Binders and available online at: http://www.humanservices.alberta.ca/abuse-bullying/child-intervention-roundtable.html Presentations Phase 2 Overview: Sheryl Fricke, Executive Director, Secretariat, Children’s Services The Panel was presented an overview and outline to support the achievement of the approved Terms of Reference. This included proposed sessions and engagement over the next several months culminating in the development of draft recommendations in July 2017. Panel members discussed the proposed engagement with agencies, sectors, families and youth with lived experience and frontline service delivery staff and noted the desire to attend a session in a First Nation community and the ability to also propose to their fellow Panel members groups and/or agencies to be engaged. Further the members agreed that the engagement needed to consider the full breadth of experience with the child intervention system across the continuum, from initial assessment, reunification and youth who have been in care. Upon reflecting on Phase 1 the Panel members requested that material be provided in as much advance of meetings as possible, and that given the expectation for travel members be engaged early to plan their travel around their roles and responsibilities to their constituents. The Panel members were also advised of the Enhancement Policy Manual as a resource which is available online at: http://www.humanservices.alberta.ca/documents/Enhancement-Act-Policy-Manual.pdf Overview: The Panel members were able to deliberate on the final area of focus related to Phase 1 – streamlining the child death review process. In general, the overview for Phase 2 was accepted and Panel members were advised to provide further feedback directly to the Secretariat. Next Steps The next meeting following April 19, 2018 was held April 20, 2017 from 5:00pm to 8:00pm in the Mountbatten Room of the Federal Building, 9820-107 Street NW, Edmonton. Additional dates and locations will be posted prior to the meetings. Phase 2 is expected to end August 1, 2017. The website childinterventionpanel.alberta.ca and e-mail [email protected] continue to be available for the public to get information and/or make submissions to the Panel. 2 | Page .