MINISTERIAL PANEL ON CHILD INTERVENTION
MEETING SUMMARY
Introduction
Wednesday April 19, 7:00pm to 8:30pm
The first meeting for Phase 2 of the Ministerial Panel on Child Intervention was held in Edmonton in the
Federal Building, on traditional Treaty 6 territory.
The Chair acknowledged those members of the public present and thanked them their attendance and
for sharing their views and reminded them that while questions would not be taken from the floor they
could continue to submit their views to [email protected] or on-site through a written
submission to the Panel. The meeting was supported through an audio livestream and the archive is
available on the Panel website childinterventionpanel.alberta.ca.
Panel Members Present:
Chair Deborah Jabbour, NDP MLA for Peace River
Cameron Westhead, MLA for Banff-Cochrane
Maria Fitzpatrick, MLA for Lethbridge-East
Nicole Goehring, MLA for Edmonton-Castle Downs
Graham Sucha, MLA for Calgary-Shaw
Heather Sweet, MLA for Edmonton-Manning
Greg Clark, Leader, Alberta Party caucus, MLA for Calgary-Elbow
Jason Nixon, Wildrose caucus, MLA for Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre
Ric McIver, Progressive Conservative caucus, MLA for Calgary-Hays
Dr. David Swann, Leader, Alberta Liberal caucus, MLA for Calgary-Mountain View
Dr. Patti LaBoucane-Benson, PhD, Native Counselling Services of Alberta
Panel Members via Video Conference at McDougall Centre:
Dr. Peter Choate, MSW, PhD, Mount Royal University
Bruce MacLaurin, MSW, University of Calgary
Key Decisions:
The Panel deliberated on the final outstanding area of focus identified in their work in Phase 1 related
to the publication ban and ensuring an appropriate balance of public transparency and privacy for
families. The need for plain-language consent for families, youth and community members was also
discussed. Panel members were encouraged to provide suggestions for Phase 2 engagement directly to
the Secretariat, and decisions on additional participants for engagement will be determined through
consensus.
Discussions:
Balancing Public Transparency and Privacy
The ministry will bring a consultation plan to the Panel within 2 weeks. The ministry will pull
information related to this subject from the 2014 review, including detailed notes as available, and
information from other provinces regarding publication bans. The ministry will also provide advice, as
part of the plan, as to how this consultation can be incorporated into Phase 2 work.
1 | Page
MINISTERIAL PANEL ON CHILD INTERVENTION
MEETING SUMMARY
It was further suggested that the panel members may wish to review the 2014 Roundtable Materials
provided in the original E-Binders and available online at:
http://www.humanservices.alberta.ca/abuse-bullying/child-intervention-roundtable.html
Presentations
Phase 2 Overview: Sheryl Fricke, Executive Director, Secretariat, Children’s Services
The Panel was presented an overview and outline to support the achievement of the approved Terms of
Reference. This included proposed sessions and engagement over the next several months culminating
in the development of draft recommendations in July 2017. Panel members discussed the proposed
engagement with agencies, sectors, families and youth with lived experience and frontline service
delivery staff and noted the desire to attend a session in a First Nation community and the ability to
also propose to their fellow Panel members groups and/or agencies to be engaged. Further the
members agreed that the engagement needed to consider the full breadth of experience with the child
intervention system across the continuum, from initial assessment, reunification and youth who have
been in care.
Upon reflecting on Phase 1 the Panel members requested that material be provided in as much advance
of meetings as possible, and that given the expectation for travel members be engaged early to plan
their travel around their roles and responsibilities to their constituents.
The Panel members were also advised of the Enhancement Policy Manual as a resource which is
available online at:
http://www.humanservices.alberta.ca/documents/Enhancement-Act-Policy-Manual.pdf
Overview:
The Panel members were able to deliberate on the final area of focus related to Phase 1 – streamlining
the child death review process. In general, the overview for Phase 2 was accepted and Panel members
were advised to provide further feedback directly to the Secretariat.
Next Steps
The next meeting following April 19, 2018 was held April 20, 2017 from 5:00pm to 8:00pm in the
Mountbatten Room of the Federal Building, 9820-107 Street NW, Edmonton.
Additional dates and locations will be posted prior to the meetings. Phase 2 is expected to end
August 1, 2017.
The website childinterventionpanel.alberta.ca and e-mail [email protected] continue to
be available for the public to get information and/or make submissions to the Panel.
2 | Page