A Review of Youth Substance Use Services in B.C. /

This reality – combined with concerns reported to the Representative by youth, families and professionals involved in substance use services in B. C. – prompted the Representative to examine the system of youth substance use services in the province. [...] B. C.’s Office of the Auditor General recently released a performance audit of services in the adult tertiary mental health system, and many of the findings of that report echo the ones in this report, specifically: a lack of standards; a lack of quality assurance processes; a lack of clear province-wide direction; and, a lack of proactive planning. [...] With the help of MoH and health authorities, in the fall of 2014 an on-line survey was sent to all publicly funded service providers who offer youth substance use services in B. C. Survey questions asked for information on the types 2 Youth justice substance use services (offered by MCFD) include counselling for clients in custody and 25 beds of residential care for youth justice clients in the co [...] Section 6(b) of the Representative for Children and Youth Act outlines the following responsibility of the Representative: “. monitor, review, audit and conduct research on the provision of a designated service by a public body or director for the purpose of making recommendations to improve the effectiveness and responsiveness of that service, and comment publicly on any of these functions.”. [...] A number of challenges have been identified with youth substance use services in B. C. and in Canada more generally, including: • the need for a more collaborative and integrated approach to substance use and mental health issues that would challenge the way services exist in silos • better integration of promotion, prevention and stigma reduction initiatives with services and supports, and • more