Quebec's youth protection directorate sees 4% increase in reported cases

There were 10 more cases a day reported to youth protection agencies in Quebec last yearcompared to the previous 12-month period a four per cent increase.

The 2016-2017 report by the Direction de la protection de la jeunesse (DPJ), released Tuesday, focused on issues related to adolescence, including depression, drug use, behavioural disorders and abuse.

"Our adolescents are having difficulties. There's a significant amount of distress," said SoniaMailloux,director of youth protection for Laval's regional health and social services agency, at a news conference Tuesday.

Laval measures working to curb runaways

Youth protection services in Laval was the target of much criticism last year, aftera series of teenage girls fled a Laval group home without permission, sparking the provincial government to launch a review of its Youth Protection Act.

Maillouxsaid measures put in placeincluding tighter security, changes in procedures foroutings and increasedparent and youth awareness have all contributed to cutting in half the number of runaways among teens in protection.

Challenges faced by trans youth

Teens made up 24 per cent of the 36,002 cases reported to BatshawYouth and Family Centres, the agency that serves English Montrealers across the island.

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Assunta Gallo,director of youth protection for CIUSSS de l'Ouest-de-l'le-de-Montral,the regional agency that administers Batshaw, said the directorate has a better understanding of the difficulties adolescents can face, including the challenges thattransgender youth are coping with.

She said Batshawhas created a new program called Ally to sensitizeits workers tothe realities faced bytransyouth.

More reporting of psychological mistreatment

Across Quebecas a whole, there were 91,191 reports processed during the year. One third of those cases involved negligence or the risk of negligence and 30 per cent of cases involved physical abuse.

Seventeen per cent of the cases reported involvedallegations ofpsychological mistreatmenta nineper cent increase over last year. Youth protection officials attribute that to anincreasing awareness of the issue.

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That was thefocus of the directorate's report last year, with officials asking adults totake action when they witnesschildren enduring psychological abuse, including threats, isolation, excessive control, andexposure to violence and conflicts between parents.