STAFF REPORT
March 7,2000
To: Community Services Committee
From: The Children and Youth Advocate
Subject:Children and Youth Action Committee Workplan
Purpose:
To provide the Community services Committee with a status report and workplan for the Children and Youth Action
Committee for 2000.
Financial Implications and Impact Statement:
The Children and Youth Action Committee is requesting a budget of $150,000 to implement the workplan. The 2000
budget request has been included in the Task Force and Special Committees Budget, Other Corporate Expenditures
Account (Non-Program Expenditure).
Recommendations:
It is recommended that:
(1) Council approve the 2000 workplan for the Children and Youth Action Committee as outlined in Appendix A and B;
and
(2)the appropriate City officials be authorized and directed to take the necessary action to give effect thereto.
Background:
On January 8, 1998 Toronto City Council appointed Councillor Olivia Chow as the City's first Children's Advocate. Since
that time, the mandate of the Children's Advocate has been expanded to include youth. As a result, the committee has been
renamed the Children and Youth Action Committee and a Youth sub-committee has been established.
In 1998 and 1999, the Children and Youth Action Committee had an annual approved budget of $150,000 to undertake its
activities. For 2000, this same amount has been requested to support the ongoing activities of the Children and Youth
Action Committee and the Youth sub-committee. In addition to the budget request, the Committee receives significant
in-kind staff support from the Children's Services Division, the Social Development and Administration Division, Parks
and Recreation Division, Public Health, Libraries, the Health City Office and the Clerks Department.
Comments:
Since 1998, the Children and Youth Action Committee and the Advocate have provided a focal point for the City's efforts
to improve the health and well being of children and youth. The partnership of elected officials and community
representatives has resulted in an effective approach to identifying problems, finding solutions, and facilitating greater
cooperation and coordination. The activities of the Children and Youth Action Committee have been wide-ranging:
advocating on behalf of children and youth, raising public awareness of issues related to children and youth, sponsoring
research, and celebrating the accomplishments of service providers.
The Children and Youth Action Committee is not a project or task force in the usual sense. It was originally established as
an implementation committee to operationalize the directions originally outlined in "The First Duty", a report prepared by
the Metro Toronto Task Force on Services to Young Children and Families. These recommendations were used as the
foundation for the development of a Children's Strategy for the new City, which was adopted by Council November 1999.
The development, implementation and monitoring of this Children's Strategy is now the basis of ongoing work related to
children for the Children and Youth Action Committee. As such, the Work plan of the Children and Youth Action
Committee is very action oriented and has an ambitious agenda for the year 2000 and beyond. The Work plan for 2000 has
been outlined in Appendix A and B of the report.
A major focus over the past year has been lobbying the federal government to invest in a national system of early learning
and care services. To this end, a "Roundtable" was held in November 1999 to bring together Toronto area Members of
Parliament, City Councillors and community members to advance the National Children's Agenda. In March 2000, an
"Urban Summit" was held as a way to collectively strengthen efforts of local politicians in Ontario municipalities towards
this national goal.
In October 1999 the Children and Youth Action Committee released the Toronto Report Card on Children and the
accompanying Action Plan. The Report Card measures the health and well being of children in Toronto and the Action
Plan sets targets for improvement, which Council approved in November 1999.
Another collaborative project of City staff is the City of Toronto Babies "Welcome Package" which will be distributed to
all 34,000 babies born in Toronto hospitals in the year 2000. The Package contains useful information for families on how
to access City of Toronto services for children such as child care, parks and recreation programs, libraries and public
health. An excerpt of the Toronto Children's Charter, translated in 10 languages, provides outreach to Toronto's diverse
communities. A launch was held at the first Toronto Council meeting of the Millennium.
The Children and Youth Action Committee commissioned a background paper entitled "Towards a Framework for
Integrating Early Childhood Development and Family Support programs in Toronto" by Dr. Irene Kyle. This paper reviews
and summarizes current thinking regarding "best practices" models for effective child care and family support programs in
Europe, United States and Canada and served as the foundation for the development of the Toronto's Children's Strategy.
The Children's Strategy, approved by Council November 1999, calls for a holistic approach to improve the welfare of
children based on continuing social monitoring and target-setting, cooperation between service sectors, and innovation in
service delivery. Toronto's Children's Strategy provides important direction for the continuing work of the Children and
Youth Action Committee.
The Youth Sub-Committee of the Children and Youth Action Committee and the Youth Cabinet have been developed to
provide a forum for addressing the diverse needs of Toronto's youth and establishing a Youth Agenda for the City.
Youth participation in civic issues has been a priority in the past year. The Children and Youth Action Committee's
approach to youth participation has given Toronto young people a new voice in civic decision-making. The Youth Cabinet
was established in late 1998 to advise the Youth Advocate on issues affecting youth in the city. It is composed of secondary
and post-secondary students, as well as youth who work in community-based organizations. In addition to providing advice
to the Youth Advocate, Cabinet members have advocated on behalf of youth on such issues as recreation user fees and the
need for program initiatives to address youth violence.
The Cabinet has also helped to sponsor and organize four youth assemblies which are forums for young people to discuss
current issues with elected representatives and City staff. The assemblies were held in the areas of York, Rexdale, North
York, and Malvern. The Cabinet also sponsored a city-wide celebration in the form of a barbeque held in North Toronto in
July 1999.
The CYAC assisted youth to make their voices heard in another manner by providing financial support for the publication
of "Young Voices from the Street. " The book, a collection of poetry and prose written by street-involved youth, was
published by the Toronto Public Library.
Another priority area has been sharing information about issues facing young people and the youth programs and services
provided by the City and community organizations. The Youth Action Newsletter is published monthly and distributed by
fax to over a thousand politicians, youth agencies, and high school student councils. The Youth Action Website, launched
in July 1999, is intended to reach young people more directly. Creatively designed and executed, the website attempts to
address youth-related issues in an interesting and accessible manner. Further development work is now underway to
encourage more interactive use of the site by a larger number of young people.
The Toronto Youth Profile has been a major research and information during the past year. Two versions of the Profile
have been developed. The first, which was released in July 1999, is Profile Toronto Youth, a 50-page brochure containing
maps and listings of youth programs and services across the city as well as demographic information on Toronto youth and
a summary of the findings of "Toronto Youth: Tell Us What You Think," a survey of youth attitudes conducted by the City.
A fuller, more technical version of the Youth Profile, containing more detailed information on demographics and the
survey has also been released to support youth service planning in the City and the community.
The Youth subcommittee composed largely of representatives of youth-serving agencies has met periodically to discuss the
City's role in youth issues and has provided ongoing advice to the Youth Advocate in a number of program areas. The
Youth Advocate has also sponsored two large forums of youth agency representatives to brief them on City initiatives and
to seek their advice on priorities for young people.
The workplan in Appendix B outlines the proposed activities for the Youth Sub-committee and Cabinet for 2000.
Conclusions:
The Children and Youth Action Committee has developed an action-oriented Work plan, consistent with its mandate to
demonstrably improve the well being of children and youth in the City of Toronto. Through the ongoing work of the
Children and Youth Action Committee, the City of Toronto has successfully advocated on behalf of children and youth,
raised public awareness of issues related to children and youth, sponsored research and celebrated the accomplishments of
service providers. It is recommended that the Community and Neighbourhood Services Committee approve the Workplan.
Contact:
Cheryl MacDonald
Children's Services Division
Tel: 392-9399
Email: cmadona@csis.csis.csd.metrotor.on.ca
Councillor Olivia Chow
Children and Youth Advocate
List of Attachments:
Appendix A -Children and Youth Action Committee Workplan 2000-03-08
Appendix B -Youth Workplan 2000
