The National Council of Youth in Care Advocates
The National Council of Youth in Care Advocates is comprised of provincial and territorial advocates, Youth in Care Networks, youth in care alumni and key allies. We first convened
as a national group in March 2020 to collectively call upon provinces and territories to issue moratoriums on ‘aging out’ of care during the COVID-19 pandemic. While the Council was successful in securing temporary moratoriums or interim emergency measures in most jurisdictions, we do not want a return to what existed pre-COVID-19 (and what still exists in some jurisdictions) once the pandemic crisis has passed — youth in care also need and deserve a ‘new normal’.
This document represents a shift in our focus to longer-term solutions by identifying equitable standards to which governments and service providers should be held to ensure transitions to adulthood are healthy and supported for youth in care across the country. Our overarching goal is to ensure that youth in care are afforded equitable supports and conditions for success, so they may thrive and not only struggle to survive. Youth in care deserve ongoing and unconditional love, support and encouragement, just as their peers who are not in the child protection system receive from their parents, friends and communities throughout their entire lives.