It’s my honour to be the chairperson of the Victoria Family Court and Youth Justice Committee for 2022/23.
By far the most significant news for us this last year is that the VFCYJC has formally become a delegated commission of the Capital Regional District (CRD) as approved by the CRD Board of Directors.
This followed an extensive two-year review that involved multiple participants including all of us on the committee, our dedicated working groups and CRD staff members. The process was arduous and taxing yet also entirely positive, respectful and necessary for a long-standing organization like our own.
I would like to extend my gratitude, in particular, to our own Marcie McLean, Esther Paterson, Jeff Bateman, Bill McElroy and Vice-Chair Adam Flint for their strong participation. We were able to guide the committee through the pandemic and through to the positive end of the CRD review. There is no question the review would not have been possible without the dedication of Steve Carey, the CRD’s Senior Manager, Legal Services and Risk Management. Mr. Carey dedicated well over 100 hours of his valuable time and has guided us with expertise, patience and good humour throughout.
This new chapter opens 56 years after the first incarnation of the Committee was formed by the City of Victoria with initial representation from Victoria, Oak Bay, Esquimalt, and Saanich. Since then, it has grown to include participation from throughout the CRD – local governments, school boards and citizen representatives included.
In brief, our goals are two fold: To educate and to advocate.
To educate by providing a safe space within which regional decision makers and leaders can meet and learn from those doing the frontline work and take these lessons home to their own councils, service providers and local contexts.
To advocate for service agencies as they work on behalf of families and children throughout the CRD. (This last year our focus was on Greater Victoria’s Mobile Youth Services Team, whose Mia Golden and Gord Magee are regular attendees at VFCYJC meetings. Their vital work with children in crisis on Victoria’s mean streets requires increased financing, human resources and, above all, guaranteed and stable long-term funding.)
With new and returning appointees now assigned from our municipal and school board partners following the October elections, the Committee is positioned to complete this exciting period of transition and return refreshed to the work it was doing pre-pandemic.
Among our objectives ahead:
Thank you for your support this year and in the months ahead. With the able assistance of committee members, our steering committee, CRD staff and our loyal long-time secretary Marnie Essery, I look forward to working with everyone to demonstrate the VFCYJC’s renewed relevance and commitment to the region’s young people and their families.
Respectfully submitted,
Marie-Térèse Little, PhD
Chair, Victoria Family Court and Youth Justice Committee and Mayor, District of Metchosin.
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