This spring the Yukon Child and Youth Advocate’s Office completed a review of Yukon’s system for children and youth in care. The report, Empty Spaces – Caring Connections: The Experiences of Child and Youth in Yukon Group Care, included 30 recommendations for the Government of Yukon.
The report has been reviewed in detail and the Government of Yukon is accepting 27 of the recommendations, one of which is accepted with modifications. Three of the recommendations will not be accepted, as they are addressed in other areas by the Department of Health and Social Services. The Child and Youth Advocate has been provided with clear rationale in relation to them. Work is underway to address the 27 accepted recommendations.
Addressing these recommendations aligns with many of the initiatives we have been working on over the past two years. We are working hard to improve services for Yukon children and youth in government care. We are taking a collaborative and system-wide approach to this work and we continue to build relationships with First Nations partners, community organizations, government colleagues, and the children, youth and families we work with on a daily basis.
Minister of Health and Social Services Pauline Frost
Sunny Patch
Cabinet Communications
867-332-0362
Sunny.Patch@gov.yk.ca
Nigel Allan
Communications, Health and Social Services
867-667-3673
nigel.allan@gov.yk.ca