Children and Youth with Support Needs
Overview
Who: The Ministry of Children and Family Development
What: Comprehensive approach to design an effective system of services for children and youth with support needs
Where: Province-wide
Why: To inform the path forward for developing a new, effective system of services for children and youth with support needs
How: Online, written submissions, speaker series, and more
Engagement summary
The Province collected feedback as part of its overall work to design an effective system of services for children and youth with support needs. This engagement was inclusive of families, service providers, advocates, experts, those with lived experience, First Nations, and Indigenous Peoples.
The Province organized its tasks into three categories to inform future Children and Youth with Support Needs (CYSN) services:
- Engagements: re-engage in meaningful dialogue with multiple audiences on the future of CYSN services in B.C.
- Reports and research: compile and analyze evolving research to identify themes, recommendations, and learnings
- Learning and doing: program enhancements, co-developed Indigenous-led services, and implementation of four pilot Family Connections Centres, with an opportunity to learn from these activities and better understand their impacts
The information gathered from these three categories will inform the path forward for developing a new effective system of CYSN services that best serves all children and youth with support needs. The Province is committed to sharing all outcomes from this work in a fully transparent way with opportunities for public comment.
Ways to participate
There were numerous engagement initiatives for different audiences and partners – including:
- All families and people with lived experience
- First Nations rights and titleholders
- Urban Indigenous, Métis, Inuit and historically underrepresented groups
- Service providers and sector partners
Learn more about the different engagement pathways
There were multiple opportunities for individuals, organizations and advocates to contribute their perspective to the development of a provincial children and youth with support needs service delivery model.
All feedback received will be used to inform a new system of services for children and youth with support needs (CYSN services) in BC.
Online discussion
People in British Columbia shared their thoughts and perspectives through open discussions on important topics related to CYSN services.
Learn about the online discussions.
Online feedback form
People were invited to share their perspective and experiences through a short feedback form that asked: When thinking about what you need from a new system of services for children and youth with support needs, what is most important?
Written submissions
All people in British Columbia, including families, service providers, organizations, professionals, and Indigenous communities were invited to submit their ideas for what a new effective system of CYSN services should look like in B.C.
Symposium speaker series
From November to December 2023, a speaker series was held to allow for participants to be connected to experts and learn more about evolving concepts that impact service delivery.
Community Engagement Report Out form
If you are a partner conducting engagements related to CYSN Services who would like to share findings with the ministry, please see if the Community Engagement Report Out Form is right for you.
Community engagement report out form