Appendix

Appendix A - Working group membership

Members

Patricia Benson - Youth member

Nancy Chamberlain - Executive Director, Thunder Bay Counselling Centre

Lisa Doran - Manager of Children and Youth Services, Family and Children's Services of the Waterloo Region

Jessica del Rosso - Youth Member, University of Waterloo Student and Peer Mentor Team Leader of Family and Children Services of the Waterloo Region

Cathy Denyer - President & CEO, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Toronto

Michele Farrugia - Youth Member

Thaile-Paige Dixon - Youth Member, Youth in Care, The Voyager Project

Rebecca Harris - Executive Director, Ontario Association of Residences Treating Youth

Stacey Lauridsen - Assistant Director, Community Services, The Youth Services Bureau of Ottawa

Brian Quinney - Youth Member, Former Youth in Care

Jesse Ranville - Youth Member

Juanito Jiggy Reyes - Youth Member

Mandy Richard - Youth Member, Our Voice Our Turn Hearings Panel Chair, co-author My REAL Life Book

Bruce Rivers - Executive Director, Covenant House Toronto

Mike Stephens - CEO, Chatham-Kent Children's Services

Vera Williams - Youth Member, YouthCAN Program Coordinator, Ontario Association of Children's Aid Societies

Facilitator

Tony Boston

Observers

Rhonda Andall - Youth Support Lead, Office of the Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth

Esther Levy - Manager, Child Welfare Secretariat, Ministry of Children and Youth Services

James McGuirk - Project Lead for Youth Leaving Care Hearings, Office of the Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth

Wendy Miller - Senior Policy Analyst, Ontario Association of Children's Aid Societies

Jennifer Morris - Director, Child Welfare Secretariat, Ministry of Children and Youth Services

Theresa Stevens - Board President, Association of Native Child and Family Services Agencies of Ontario

Kevin Panton - Youth Support Lead, Office of the Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth

Staff from the Child Welfare Secretariat

Appendix B - Individuals and organizations who provided feedback on the draft blueprint

• Adoption Council of Ontario
• African Canadian Legal Clinic
• Alternative Dispute Resolution Provincial Network
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada
• Big Brothers Big Sisters Ontario Agencies
• Bruce Grey Child and Family Services
• Bruce-Grey Youth in Power Teens in Care
• Children's Aid Societies South West Zone – Executive Directors
• Catholic Children's Aid Society of Toronto
• Catholic Children's Aid Society of Hamilton
• Chatham-Kent Children's Services
• Children's Aid Society of the District of Thunder Bay
• Children's Aid Society of London and Middlesex
• Children's Aid Society of Simcoe County
• Children's Aid Society of Simcoe County - First Nations Métis Inuit (FNMI) Resource Team
• Children's Aid Society of Toronto
• Children's Aid Society of the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry
• Children's Centre Thunder Bay – Management and staff representatives
• Covenant House – Youth and Staff
• Eritrean Youth Collective
• Family and Children's Services of Frontenac, Lennox and Addington - Staff
• Family and Children's Services of Lanark, Leeds and Grenville
• Family and Children's Services Niagara
• Family and Children's Services of St. Thomas and Elgin County
• Family and Children's Services of the Waterloo Region – Staff, Foster Parents and Youth
• Family and Children's Services of the Waterloo Region - Youth Advisory Board
• Family Group Decision Making Coordinators in North Western Ontario
• Foster Care Council of Canada
• Foster parents
• Frontier College
• GEORGE Program - Children's Aid Society of Brant
• Grand River Children and Youth Services
• Highland Shores Children's Aid Society - Staff
• Jewish Family and Child Services
• Jewish Vocational Services Toronto
• Kawartha-Halliburton Children's Aid Society - Staff
• Kinark Child and Family Services
• Native Child and Family Services of Toronto
• Ontario Association of Children's Aid Societies - YouthCAN Team
• Our Voice Our Turn Youth in and from Care
• Peel Children's Aid Society
• Peel, Dufferin, Halton Crown Ward Education Team
• Pregnancy and Health Program at Thunder Bay Counselling Centre - Participants
• Sarnia Youth in Care Group
• Sexual and Gender Equality (SAGE) Committee in Thunder Bay
• Thunder Bay Counselling Centre – Leadership Team
• Turning Point Youth Services
• UNICEF
• Valoris for Children and Adults of Prescott-Russell
• Waterloo-Wellington Crown Ward Education Championship Team
• Weechi-it-te-win Family Services
• Youth Justice Ontario
• Youth Leaving Care Hearings Submissions Youth and Professionals, Family and Friends
• Youth Shelter Interagency Network (10 agencies located in Toronto)

Appendix C - United Nations convention on the rights of the child

The Convention on the Rights of the Child sets forth the fundamental rights of every child, building on the statement in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that children are “entitled to special care and assistance.” The Convention emphasizes that each child “should grow up in a family environment, in an atmosphere of happiness, love and understanding” to support “the full and harmonious development of his or her personality.” It includes specific articles for children and youth who do not grow up with family, noting that they “shall be entitled to special protection and assistance provided by the state” that considers “the child's ethnic, religious, cultural and linguistic background.” According to the Convention, decisions about children should be in their best interest and take into account their views.

The recommendations in this document and the articles in the Convention share the vision that children and youth should be supported to develop into active healthy adults who have a sense of themselves and their place in their communities. Both emphasize the importance of children retaining connections to their cultures, languages, and families. Many of the recommendations in the Blueprint connect directly to specific rights in the Convention. For example, recommendations on extracurricular activities are supported by the right of child to play and to participate in recreational activities, cultural life and the arts. The Convention's statement that youth justice systems should aim to “reinforce the child's respect for the human rights and fundamental freedoms of others” and promote “the child's reintegration and the child's assuming a constructive role in society” underscores the recommendations concerning youth justice. The Convention also emphasizes the importance of keeping youth out of detention when possible and appropriate. Children have a right to education that supports “the development of the child's personality, talents and mental and physical abilities to their fullest potential.” The Convention's statement that higher education should be made accessible supports the Blueprint's recommendations regarding post-secondary education and training. Under the Convention, children also have the right to access information that is important to their lives, a theme that is echoed though the Blueprint.

The Convention came into force on September 2, 1990. Canada ratified the Convention in 1991. The full text of the Convention is available at: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/crc.htm.