An Analysis of Child and Youth Participation in Practice: Lessons Learned from Child and Youth Advocate Offices and the Aboriginal Youth Court

Abstract

In 2020, UNICEF Canada released Report Card 16 revealing that Canada ranks in the bottom tier compared to other wealthy countries in terms of child and youth well-being. The Report Card highlights that promoting participation is required to improve this ranking. Recognising the connection between child well-being and participation, this chapter explores youth-serving institutions in Canada to understand how participation materialises in these settings. Through interviews with provincial and territorial Canadian child and youth advocates, this chapter first explores advocate offices that serve young people facing challenges. These are the only group of child and youth advocates in Canada that have formal legal mandates to implement children's rights at the provincial and territorial level. Comparatively, through interviews with justice-involved youth we analyse the youth justice system. By adjusting the setup of the court space and attempting to minimise power imbalances, we discuss how Canada's first and only Aboriginal Youth Court (AYC), promotes participation and engagement. Through a comparative case analysis, this chapter explores where barriers exist in terms of conceptualising and implementing participation rights, and where opportunities and best practices may be leveraged across child and youth serving institutions in Canada.

Citation

Bendo, D., Goodwin-De Faria, C. and Maggi, S. (2022), "An Analysis of Child and Youth Participation in Practice: Lessons Learned from Child and Youth Advocate Offices and the Aboriginal Youth Court", Frankel, S. (Ed.) Establishing Child Centred Practice in a Changing World, Part A (Emerald Studies in Child Centred Practice), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 89-109. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80117-406-020221007