NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release 2006CFD0049-001308 Oct. 30, 2006	Ministry of Children and Family Development
ABORIGINAL MENTAL HEALTH WORKERS TO SUPPORT ISLAND

VICTORIA – The Ministry of Children and Family Development is moving forward with the latest phase of its five-year Child and Youth Mental Health (CYMH) plan, recruiting 20 new mental health workers for the Vancouver Island region to work specifically with Aboriginal children and youth, Minister Tom Christensen announced today.

 

“Over the past year, ministry staff have been working closely with the Vancouver Island Aboriginal Transition Team to develop an Aboriginal-specific plan for this region,” said Christensen.  “We are committed to offering dedicated mental health services for Aboriginal children and youth in addition to the range of services being provided to all children and families.”

 

As part of the Province’s Child and Youth Mental Health plan – the first of its kind in Canada - the ministry is embarking on the Aboriginal services recruitment component.  New staff will be assigned to work in one of five Vancouver Island regions, based on the Aboriginal child and youth populations in each area. 

 

            “With the guidance of community Elders, new Aboriginal workers will be doing community outreach to children, youth and families, thereby lessening the need for our members to travel to ministry offices," said David Stevenson, executive director of the Vancouver Island Aboriginal Transition Team.  "This is a positive step in supporting capacity for community-based governance of services within Aboriginal communities.”

 

Over the next two years, approximately $10 million in new funding has been allocated to establish new, dedicated Aboriginal CYMH services.  The recruitment of 12 new Aboriginal child and youth mental health workers – two team leaders and 10 clinicians – is currently underway in the Fraser region.  Discussions are continuing with Aboriginal planning tables in the Vancouver Coastal, Interior and North regions on how best to enhance service for those areas. 

 

New staff will work closely with Aboriginal agencies and service providers with an emphasis on understanding and respecting local cultural traditions.   

 

“By working together we will succeed in helping British Columbia’s most important investment: our children,” added Christensen. 

 

About 11,000 children and youth receive ministry mental health services each year.  The provincial government provides a wide range of community-based services to help children and youth with, or at risk of developing, mental health problems and their families.

 

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Media contact:	Lisa Gardonio Public Affairs Officer 250 356-2939
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