Archive for the ‘Child & Family’ Category

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The grieving mother of a murdered teen pleads for a stronger social safety net

Thursday, April 13th, 2023

Expanding the social safety net to address the root causes of crime therefore requires recognizing the vital contributions these organizations make to public safety — and providing them with stable funding to carry out their responsibilities. The vast disparities in government funding between police services and non-police organizations that work directly with people struggling with mental health, chemical dependencies and homelessness indicates that far more must be done to make this happen.

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Troubled life reveals gaps that led to murder

Thursday, April 13th, 2023

Failures of the health care system become problems the criminal justice system is expected to solve, even though it’s ill suited to do so. That said, the criminal justice system does play a role in issuing and enforcing orders for treatment and counselling… The only way we will solve these problems is by making a full-throated commitment to repair our frayed social safety net, to mend the gaps… and protect innocent people.

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A plan to end partner violence

Tuesday, April 11th, 2023

… far from protecting women and other innocent individuals, our over reliance on criminal justice might actually be increasing the risks for survivors of intimate partner violence… Given the control often exerted over survivors, the reports emphasize the need for economic security, housing, safe spaces and social and mental health services for survivors. And that in turn means ensuring consistent, stable funding for organizations that provide such assistance.

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Crime rates have more to do with social factors than number of police officers

Sunday, April 2nd, 2023

The only way to reduce random crime is to address the root causes of it, usually defined by social indicators: inequality, affordable housing, programs for young children and families. The provincial and federal governments are the only public institutions with the financial capability of addressing these issues, but as we have seen in the recently released budgets of both Queen’s Park and Ottawa, they seem uninterested in doing so.

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A bitter truth: 30 years of child welfare data collection reveals deep systemic inequities, racism and harm

Wednesday, March 22nd, 2023

The data in this study told a different story from the shocking, high-profile physical and sexual abuse cases covered in media. “The majority of situations we were documenting in Ontario had to do with neglect rather than physical or sexual abuse… most cases revealed toxic combinations of struggling parents trying to raise children within a context of poverty, systemic racism, substance abuse and lack of support.

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Could free birth control be on the horizon in Ontario? 

Saturday, March 18th, 2023

“The most reliable birth-control choices are the most expensive options, costing $380 upfront,”… “We know that, in this climate, when people are living paycheque to paycheque, they don’t have $380.” … In funding contraception, governments can spend money to save money, says Boulous: “We know that, for every dollar you spend, you get $90 in savings in indirect and direct costs.”

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Ontario reforming process for kids aging out of child welfare system

Friday, February 24th, 2023

Youth in Ontario’s child welfare system will soon see a new support network with more services and money to help them better prepare for life outside the system.  They’ll also be able to stay in the system until they’re 23, up from 21… Direct payments to young adults, which are based on age and start at 18, will also go up.

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I was a victim of random violence on the TTC. Throwing money at the problem won’t make us safer

Wednesday, January 25th, 2023

My story is just one of many that reveals the systemic failure of our social infrastructure, and the ways in which we need to redirect our energies, efforts and money toward social programming and mental-health supports… to confront issues and traumas deeply rooted in our failure to meet the needs of marginalized people, and a system where a lack of support allows insecurity and mental illness to grow.

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Public safety comes from curbing violence, not just reacting to it

Monday, January 9th, 2023

Smart investment in tackling the root causes of violence reduces the need for police responses after the fact… It is time to get upstream of the emergencies. Not only because it is the right thing to do, but also because it will alleviate the need for annual increases to policing that take away from so many other budget priorities.

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Canadians can now apply for new dental benefit: here’s how

Friday, December 2nd, 2022

For now, the “Canada Dental Benefit” will be offered to children under the age of 12, with an annual family income of less than $90,000, with the amount provided per child per year dependant on family income… While only those under 12 years old will get access for now, the government says it remains committed to following through on seeing this stop-gap measure become a fully-fledged national dental care plan by 2025.

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