October 2023
October 1, 2023
Welcome to our Fall newsletter with the latest updates on our pilot program, Dress Purple Day along with a few of the recent findings in Raising Canada’s 2023 report.
DASA/YRP Pilot Program
To guide planning and resource allocation for the future CYAC, we launched a DASA/YRP pilot in September 2022. Both organizations collected data during the six-month period between September 2022 and March 2023. The information collected included case counts for physical and sexual assault, referral source, age of the child/youth, and investigation status. It was agreed that data collection would continue into the fall. Below are a few of the other recommendations noted in the report:
- Provide DASA information/training sessions to community agencies in York Region who respond to child abuse cases (Victim Services, for example)
- Add case conferences between DASA and YRP detectives to review the material for more complex cases.
- Add more nurses to the DASA team to provide 24/7 coverage in the Region, thereby eliminating the need for redirects to distant hospitals.
- Consider having a DASA satellite unit at one of the other hospitals in York Region to increase ease of access to forensic medical services.
Dress Purple Day
Every October Children’s Aid Societies across the province raise awareness about the important role that individuals and communities play in supporting vulnerable children, youth, and families. Dress Purple Day offers an opportunity to raise awareness among children and youth, including elementary, middle, and high school students, about their right to safety and well-being in all spaces. Not just physical safety and well-being—children and youth have the right to have their intersectional identity, which includes culture, race, sexual orientation, and gender identity, protected and supported in all spaces. This year, Dress Purple Day will take place on Friday, October 27, 2023. In honour of our partner, and Children’s Aid Societies across Ontario, we will support their campaign by encouraging our staff, community and other partners, to wear something purple on October 27th to show children, youth, and families that we are here to help!
Details of the campaign can be found HERE
Raising Canada 2023 Report
Raising Canada released their 6th annual report tracking the top 10 threats to childhood. In this latest report Child Abuse has moved up from 4th top threat to 3rd. It states that nearly two-thirds (60%) of Canadians report experiencing some form of maltreatment before the age of 15. The report goes on to explain that this new finding represents a more comprehensive understanding of child maltreatment across Canada than has been previously reported through other surveys, which estimated 33% of Canadians experienced maltreatment in childhood. We encourage you to visit Children First Canada and read their 2023 Raising Canada Report.
We wish you all an enjoyable fall and look forward to updating you in our next newsletter.
