Child advocate says it's time to start fixing N.B.'s broken social services
Children wait too long to get help from government programs, Kelly Lamrock says
Child, youth and seniors' advocate Kelly Lamrock says his office will take the direction of non-profit and community groups as he works on a new report about ways to improve social services geared toward helping children living in poverty in the province.
In March, Lamrock released a report, titled How It All Broke, that said New Brunswick's social policy process is fixated on following rules rather than achieving results.
In a speech at St. John the Baptist/King Edward School in Saint John on Wednesday, Lamrock said he will start a five-month consultation period for a new report, titled How to Fix It. With a new government in office, he said, his office may be able to help put the focus on preventing poverty and on early intervention.
"We do have a government with a new mandate," he said. "I read so many reports that respond to when [government] screws up. We'd like to see if we can start advocating for things that keep it from screwing up in the first place."
Because of wait times and other issues with government programs, children typically don't have all the services they need until they're 12 years old, Lamrock said, which is much too late. Meeting with community groups like the United Way in Saint John and Head Start in Moncton will inform his report, which will in turn inform government, he said.
The reason non-profits and community groups are the focus, he said, is that they are nimble and have the compassion needed to prevent harm, rather than just responding in an emergency.
"Government is very good at equalizing funding. It's not as good at delivering with the kind of compassion and community passion that we've seen here in Saint John," he said.
He said the goal is to figure out "how do we help the non-profit sector level up, take on more projects, deliver more services, turn more lives around."
Lamrock's office will also consult with municipalities. Saint John Mayor Donna Reardon, who also spoke Wednesday, said the issue is especially important for her city. Saint John has the highest child poverty rate in New Brunswick, she said, with 30 per cent of kids living below the poverty line.
Kids who grow up in poverty usually face more challenges in education, which can in turn negatively affect their health, financial stability and overall well being as they grow older, she said.
"It's a complex issue and involving the lives of children — we need to be thinking about it every day," she said.
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