Children and Youth Hearings

On January 19, 2021, BC’s Representative for Children and Youth Jennifer Charlesworth released a report saying that the provincial government must act to better protect the interests of children and youth involuntarily detained under the Mental Health Act.

Recommendation #14 was directed at the Mental Health Review Board. It recommends that the MHRB pilot a new hearing process for children and youth that centre the young person and is trauma-informed and culturally-attuned. The development of this hearing process is to take place after actively engaging and consulting with health authorities, First Nations, Métis Nation and urban Indigenous communities and leadership and other appropriate bodies.

The Board accepts this recommendation in its entirety and welcomes the opportunity to collaborate with the Ministry of Attorney General, the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions to implement this recommendation. The MHRB will strive to meet the October 2022 timeline to the best of our abilities.

A link to the report is here on the website of the BC Representative for Children and Youth.