Archive for the ‘Child & Family’ Category
Justice system should focus more on victims’ rights, not criminals: ombudsman
Feb 2, 2012
… Noting victims have few legislated rights and entitlements compared to offenders, Sue O’Sullivan called for an “Omnibus Victims’ Bill” to address the lack of access to offender information, meaningful participation at parole hearings and financial support for victims… “restitution is under-utilized and poorly enforced in Canada” where determinations about loss of income or property damages are made at the time of sentencing…
Tags: corrections, ideology, rights, standard of living
Posted in Child & Family Delivery System | No Comments »
Stephen Harper’s ‘tough-on-crime’ laws are more misguided than ever
Jan 29 2012
As more Canadians awake to declining crime rates, they will become less tolerant of senseless, ideologically driven justice policy and of bids to garner votes by fear-mongering. Provincial deficits and the prospects of cuts to health and education will reinforce that trend. Canadians might still rank crime as a big concern but it doesn’t top health care. Few will thank any government that closes a hospital to pay for a new prison.
Tags: budget, corrections, crime prevention, ideology
Posted in Child & Family Policy Context | No Comments »
Program targets aboriginal issues in justice system
Jan. 27, 2012
In R v Gladue, the Supreme Court recognized that certain mitigating factors, including aboriginal peoples’ history of dislocation, disadvantage and discrimination, and a range of options should be considered when sentencing them. Despite that ruling, aboriginal offenders today still account for 20 per cent of the federal offender population, even though aboriginal adults represent four per cent of the Canadian population… while Corrections Canada has adopted Gladue principles into their policy documents, evidence of the application of those principles by corrections staff has been lacking.
Tags: corrections, multiculturalism, Native, standard of living
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Innovative ideas for protecting dementia patients
Jan 23, 2012
… the Halifax Regional Police force… is launching a trial program to affix GPS tracking bracelets — which look similar to digital wrist watches — to dementia patients at risk of wandering off. Such a program, once implemented, will allow the police to rapidly locate, and one hopes rescue, any dementia patient who is able to slip off unattended. The technology has the potential, not only to save resources required by a traditional search operation, but also to save lives.
Tags: disabilities, mental Health, standard of living
Posted in Child & Family Debates | No Comments »
Child poverty key issue
January 11, 2012
If governments want to put the economy at the top of their agendas, actions that focus on improving children’s’ well-being should be prioritized… The Canadian Pediatric Society said that child care, mental health and poverty are some of the key areas related to kids for which there are clear economic benefits to be had by taking action… Instead… the opposite has happened in recent years as youth issues have been pushed aside by governments in order to deal with the economy and Canada’s aging population.
Tags: ideology, poverty, rights, standard of living, youth
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A Poverty Solution That Starts With a Hug
Jan. 7, 2012
… a “policy statement” from the premier association of pediatricians… has revolutionary implications for medicine and for how we can more effectively chip away at poverty and crime. Toxic stress might arise from parental abuse of alcohol or drugs. It could occur in a home where children are threatened and beaten. It might derive from chronic neglect — a child cries without being cuddled. Affection seems to defuse toxic stress… suggesting that the stress emerges when a child senses persistent threats but no protector… The upshot is that children are sometimes permanently undermined.
Tags: crime prevention, ideology, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Child & Family Debates | No Comments »
Jails don’t keep people out of jail
Jan. 05, 2012
The fastest-growing portions of the inmate population continue to be those most marginalized within our society: the mentally ill, women and aboriginals. Decades of reports have detailed our correctional systems’ failure to reasonably address the needs of these offenders and limit their numbers… “There is almost unanimous condemnation of California-style mass incarceration, which has led to no reduction in serious crime and has turned many inmates into habitual criminals”… Our focus and our resources should be directed toward keeping people out of jail, not in it.
Tags: budget, corrections, crime prevention, ideology
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Women see the other side
Dec 27 2011
The Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program allows those in prison who never dreamed of going beyond high school to achieve that seeming impossibility. It is rehabilitative, character-changing and confidence-building. It has been shown to reduce crime and violence. It also engages regular college students in a world they may only have encountered through TV or film and deepens their understanding of social problems. It pushes them to work for changes in their communities to reduce crime and recidivism. Inside-Out is a program that should be emulated in prisons across the country.
Tags: corrections, crime prevention, poverty, women
Posted in Child & Family Debates | No Comments »
Harper’s unlikely social breakthrough [family caregiver tax credit]
Dec 15 2011
Approximately half a million caregivers — people who voluntarily look after infirm spouses, frail, elderly parents and children with serious health problems — will soon get Canada’s first Family Caregiver Tax Credit. It is extremely modest: less than $1 a day. It is regressive; high-income caregivers get maximum credit, low-income caregivers qualify for little or nothing. And it is selective; 82 per cent of the 2.7 million Canadians who sacrifice their income, career prospects and sometimes their health to care for loved ones, aren’t eligible.
Tags: budget, disabilities, ideology, standard of living, tax, women
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Reducing both crime and imprisonment
Dec 14 2011
First, Canada does have too much crime. Far too many Canadians are victimized and the Department of Justice has recently estimated that the annual cost of crime is $100 billion. Second, victims are not well treated in Canada. Little is spent on victims and there have only been marginal improvements in this over the last several years, no matter which party is in power… the Conservatives are investing only token amounts in actually improving services for victims… increasing penalties and implementing mandatory minimum sentences does little or nothing to reduce crime or make Canada safer.
Tags: budget, corrections, crime prevention, featured, ideology
Posted in Child & Family Policy Context | 1 Comment »
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