COH-AWH-What_Would_it_Take

2.2 CHILD WELFARE
Youth participants viewed the child welfare system as a crucial site for youth homelessness
prevention. While many youth believed that child welfare policies and practices contribute
to homelessness for young people, they were also optimistic about key ways that the system
could be designed for youth homelessness prevention.
Three key issues were raised in discussions about child welfare:
abuse, experiences in foster care, and difficult transitions from care.
“Everybody thought
I was lying. I was in
an abusive home and
everyone thought I was
fine every day. My life
was terrible for all these
years … And the Ministry
should take care of all
these kids because my life
was ruined. The Ministry
wouldn’t help.”
VANCOUVER YOUTH
Abuse
Abuse is both a precursor to child welfare involvement, and
an experience within the child welfare system, according to
young people across Canada. With respect to abuse and neglect
from caregivers, young people were divided as to whether and
how the child welfare system should become involved. Some
young people were adamant that child welfare services should
try to keep young people in their homes, and provide families
with supports, mediation, and counselling. Others felt strongly
that the child welfare system failed them by privileging a
“keep families together” philosophy, and that workers refusal
to respond to their abuse was profoundly damaging and
contributed to their homelessness.
A crucial finding was that many youth felt that their child welfare worker(s) didn’t believe
them, or chose to ignore them, when they reported experiences of abuse, neglect,
and dangerous home environments. Youth reported that caregivers and foster families
were often able to convince workers that abuse was not taking place, and that workers
frequently viewed them as liars, manipulators, or attention seeking. Several youth felt that
workers were even less likely to believe youth with mental health issues or disabilities.
Recounting these experiences of not being believed or listened to was very painful for
some youth, and many young people were desperate for change in this area.
WHAT WOULD IT TAKE? 74