Affidavit of Michael Bear - Phoenix Sinclair Inquiry

The Child Advocate's
Report
[186j The Child Advocate, Ms Billie Schibler, was called to bring further
information to the inquiry concerning some of the issues raised during the
hearing. The role of the Child Advocate is to ensure the best interests of
children receiving services or entitled to receive services through the child
welfare system are being met and to ensure their voice is being heard on any
matters related to them. The Office of the Child Advocate has issued a
report dated September 2006 called "Honouring Their Spirits" (Exhibit 12)
which canvasses many of the issues being dealt with at this inquest. Some
examples of which are:
~ Development of suicide prevention materials
~ Conducting a review of current child and adolescent mental health
services available in remote areas
~ Need for a better seamless service delivery and adequate resourcing in
a collaborative way between the federal government and the province.
~ Provide funding for a mental health Telehealth program to improve
availability of psychiatric and mental health expertise throughout the
province.
~ Availability of traveling psychiatrists to provide better access to their
services and the use of mental health support people — the community
to assist with accessing expert services
~ Funding for five additional beds in the girls crisis stabilization unit
~ Creating a standardized culturally appropriate assessment tool that can
be used in the community
~ Training people to be able to deliver services in the community to a
standardized level
~ Funding to provide services equitable to services in the South
~ Develop a risk assessment tool to be conducted and to become a
continual process
~ Clinic for Alcohol and Drug Exposed Children at the Health Sciences
Centre to be funded and allowed to provide diagnosis and consultation
for youths age 10 to 18 who are suspected of being periodically
exposed to alcohol and drugs
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