RYERSON UNIVERSITY

Purpose

Through this project, Indigenous Courtwork Programs, in partnership with Ryerson University, will pilot innovative community-driven case coordination processes in five Canadian jurisdictions (British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, and Nunavut) with the aim to improve outcomes for Indigenous youth who are dually involved in the child welfare and youth justice systems. The approaches will be based on three key pillars: youth-centred, trauma informed and anti-oppressive practice; and involve multiple stakeholders from various service sectors (e.g. Justice, Child Welfare, Health, Education, etc.) who will coordinate through local steering committees to create a sustainable local infrastructure to address the complex needs of Indigenous youth who are dually involved. The objective of this project is to reduce/eliminate custody for Indigenous youth, reduce length of time spent in the youth criminal justice system, and prevent youth from graduating to the adult criminal justice sys