Definitions

1  In this Act:

"child" means a person under 19 years of age;

"child and youth officer" means a person appointed under section 2;

"child in care" means a child who is in the custody, care or guardianship of a director or the director of adoption;

"director" means a director under the Adoption Act or the Child, Family and Community Service Act;

"youth" means a person who is 16 years of age or older but is under 19 years of age.

Appointment of child and youth officer

2  (1)  The Lieutenant Governor in Council must appoint a child and youth officer for a term of up to 5 years.

(2)  A person appointed under subsection (1) may be reappointed.

(3)  The Attorney General, on behalf of the government, may make a contract containing mutually agreed terms and conditions with the child and youth officer.

(4)  Despite subsections (1) and (2), the Attorney General may appoint an acting child and youth officer.

(5)  Despite subsections (2) to (4), a person may not serve as the child and youth officer for more than 10 consecutive years.

Functions of child and youth officer

3  (1)  The functions of the child and youth officer are to provide support to children, youth and their families in obtaining relevant services and to provide independent observations and advice to government about the state of services provided or funded by government to children and youth in British Columbia, including but not limited to the following:

(a) services provided under the Adoption Act and the Child, Family and Community Service Act;

(b) early childhood development and care services;

(c) mental health services for children and youth;

(d) addiction services for children and youth;

(e) youth justice services;

(f) services for youth and young adults during transition to adulthood;

(g) community living support provided under the Community Living Authority Act to children and youth.

(2)  For the purposes of subsection (1), the child and youth officer may do the following:

(a) provide information and advice to children, youth and their families about how to effectively access services that meet their needs;

(b) provide information and advice to children, youth and their families about how to become effective self advocates with respect to the rights of children and youth in care under the Child, Family and Community Service Act;

(c) in extraordinary circumstances, advocate on behalf of individual children and youth to ensure that their views are heard and considered;

(d) promote and coordinate in communities the establishment of advocacy services for children, youth and their families;

(e) monitor the delivery of services in relation to the requirements of the Child, Family and Community Service Act and in particular the requirements of sections 2 and 3 of that Act;

(f) monitor the delivery of services referred to in subsection (1) in relation to relevant service delivery standards;

(g) provide advice to government and communities about the effectiveness, responsiveness and relevance of services for children, youth and their families;

(h) comment publicly on matters affecting children and youth.

Staff and consultants

4  (1)  Employees necessary to carry out the powers and duties of the office may be appointed under the Public Service Act.

(2)  The child and youth officer may retain consultants or other persons necessary to enable the child and youth officer to exercise the powers and perform the duties of the office.

(3)  The Public Service Act does not apply to persons retained under subsection (2).

Power to delegate

5  The child and youth officer, in writing, may delegate to any person appointed or retained any of the powers, duties or functions under this Act except the power to submit an annual report.

Investigations

6  (1)  At the request of the Attorney General, the child and youth officer must undertake an investigation into any matter within the scope of this Act.

(2)  The child and youth officer must make a confidential report of the results of an investigation under subsection (1) to the Attorney General, who may determine whether the report should be made public.

(3)  For an investigation under subsection (1), the child and youth officer may at any reasonable time, enter any premises in which services referred to in section 3 (1) are provided to children or youths.

Gathering evidence in investigations

7  (1)  For the purposes of an investigation, the child and youth officer has the same powers that the Supreme Court has for the trial of civil actions to do the following:

(a) to summon and enforce the attendance of witnesses;

(b) to compel witnesses to give evidence on oath or in any other manner;

(c) to compel witnesses to produce records and things.

(2)  When the child and youth officer exercises a power under subsection (1), a person who fails or refuses to do any of the following is liable, on application to the Supreme Court, to be committed for contempt as if in breach of an order or judgment of the Supreme Court:

(a) to attend;

(b) to take an oath;

(c) to answer questions;

(d) to produce the records or things in the person's custody or possession.

Annual and special reports

8  (1)  The child and youth officer must report annually on the work of the office to the Attorney General.

(2)  The Attorney General must lay each annual report before the Legislative Assembly as soon as practicable.

(3)  The child and youth officer may make a special report to the Attorney General about systemic issues affecting children and youth in British Columbia.

(4)  The child and youth officer may make public a special report under subsection (3) 60 days after it is submitted to the Attorney General or earlier with the agreement of the Attorney General.

Communication by child or youth

9  If a child or youth in care in a foster home, group home, facility or other place asks to communicate with the child and youth officer, the person in charge of that place must provide, as soon as practicable, an opportunity for the child or youth to contact the child and youth officer in confidence.

Protection for persons who provide information

10  A person must not discharge, suspend, expel, intimidate, coerce, evict or impose any financial or other penalty on, or otherwise discriminate against, a person, including a child or youth, because the person gives information to or otherwise assists the child and youth officer in a matter under this Act.

Child and youth officer's access to information

11  (1)  The child and youth officer has the right to any information that

(a) is in the custody or control of a director or of a public body as defined in Schedule 1 of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, and

(b) is necessary to enable the child and youth officer to perform duties or exercise powers or functions under this Act.

(2)  A director or a public body that has custody or control of information to which the child and youth officer is entitled under subsection (1) must disclose that information to the child and youth officer.

(3)  This section applies despite any other enactment or any claim of privilege, except a claim based on a solicitor client relationship.

Confidentiality of information

12  (1)  Despite the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, the child and youth officer must not disclose information that could reasonably be expected to reveal the identity of a person who has made a report under section 14 of the Child, Family and Community Service Act unless that person consents to the disclosure.

(2)  Despite section 11 of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, if the child and youth officer has custody of a record described in subsection (1) of that section and the child and youth officer receives a request for access to the record, the child and youth officer must refuse to disclose the record and must transfer the request, and, if necessary, the record, to the other public body.

(3)  If the child and youth officer has custody of a record made under the Child, Family and Community Service Act and the child and youth officer receives a request for access to the record, the child and youth officer must refuse to disclose the record and must transfer the request, and, if necessary, the record, to the minister responsible for that Act.

Power to make regulations

13  The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations referred to in section 41 of the Interpretation Act.

Review of Act

14  In order to determine whether the functions of the child and youth officer are still required to ensure that the needs of children and youth are met, the Attorney General, within 5 years of the coming into force of this Act, must undertake a comprehensive review of this Act.

Transitional

15  (1)  On the repeal of the Children's Commission Act, the following rules apply:

(a) an accepted complaint under that Act that has not been disposed of is continued before the child and youth officer, or an employee designated by the child and youth officer, as if the child and youth officer or the designated employee were a panel under section 14 (1) (c) of the repealed Act, and for that purpose sections 13 to 16 of the repealed Act apply and the child and youth officer may make public any decision, recommendation or response to a recommendation;

(b) an investigation under the Children's Commission Act into a child's death that has not been completed may be continued as an investigation by a coroner under the Coroners Act;

(c) if an investigation under the Children's Commission Act into a child's death has been completed but the report of the commissioner has not been released, the report must be delivered to the child and youth officer, who may make the report public;

(d) all records relating to the investigation of a child's death must be transferred to the coroner, who must apply the confidentiality provisions that governed records under the Children's Commission Act in respect of any records originally produced under that Act;

(e) all records under the Children's Commission Act must be transferred to the child and youth officer, who must apply the confidentiality provisions that governed records under the Children's Commission Act in respect of any records originally produced under that Act.

(2)  For the purposes of this Act but subject to section 60 of the Coroners Act, the coroner may disclose to the child and youth officer any records transferred to the coroner under subsection (1) (d) of this section.

(3)  On the repeal of the Child, Youth and Family Advocacy Act,

(a) an open individual advocacy matter under that Act that has not been disposed of may be continued by the child and youth officer under this Act, and

(b) all records under the Child, Youth and Family Advocacy Act must be transferred to the child and youth officer, who must apply the confidentiality provisions that governed records under the Child, Youth and Family Advocacy Act in respect of any records originally produced under that Act.

Spent

16–22  [Consequential amendments and repeals. Spent. 2002-50-16 to 22.]

Commencement

23  This Act comes into force by regulation of the Lieutenant Governor in Council.