Regina Children’s Justice Centre (Details)

Name of province/ territory:

Saskatchewan

City/ Region:

Regina

Description of Initiative:

The Regina Children's Justice Centre (RCJC) is an integrated partnership made up of members of the Regina Police Service and the Ministry of Social Services. The members of the RCJC are part of a multidisciplinary team comprised of the Regina Qu’Appelle Regional Health Authority (RQRHA), the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Education.

Initiative Key Objectives:

This initiative takes a multidisciplinary approach to investigating allegations of child abuse involving children 16 and under. This multidisciplinary approach involves members of the Crown Prosecutor's Office, Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region, the Board of Education, the Ministry of Social Services and the Regina Police Service.

Section Responsible for Implementation:

The Family Services Section

Key Contact:

mjarocki@police.regina.sk.ca

Groups/ Agencies/ Key Partners Involved:

• community groups
• other police services
• civilian governing authorities
• other government departments/agencies

Level of Involvement (consultative - information sharing) and/or cooperative - direct involvement):

Consultative:

• Family Services Regina
• Aboriginal Family Support Centre

• Catholic Family Services

• Saskatchewan Children’s Advocate
• RCMP
• Regina’s Crown Prosecutor's Office
• The Regina Qu’Appelle Health District, including Child and Youth Services and the Child Abuse Clinic
• Ministry of Social Services
• Board of Education
• Ranch Ehrlo Society
• Four Directions Community Health Centre
• Victim Services Regina

Amount of Time Initiative has been in Place:

The initiative began in 1994 and has been constantly evolving to become one of the most recognized centres of its kind in Canada for the work done and the unique partnerships.

Reason for Undertaking the Initiative:

The initiative was taken on to prevent children from being repeatedly questioned and forced to recount the experiences over and over again. The purpose of the initiative was to investigate allegations of child abuse jointly to reduce the trauma to child victims. During the investigations the interests and needs of the children are the focus at all times.

Resources Required to Implement this Initiative:

Funding for the initial set-up was provided by Regina Health District, the Ministry of Social Services and the Regina Police Service. The initial cost is unknown.

The ongoing costs to maintain the Regina Children's Justice Centre (RCJC) per year are as follows:

• The off-site RCJC office lease is $159,000 per year. This includes the rent, nine parking spots, property tax, power, gas, janitorial supplies and maintenance/insurance costs.
• The Regina Police Service currently pays $84,600 per year and Social Services pays $74,400. The Regina Police Service training costs were approximately $10,000 (this included some other training which was done on a cost-recovery basis). Social Services did not have any training expenditure in 2012.

Method of Implementation:

It was implemented as a three-year pilot project known as the Regina Integrated Child Abuse Unit.

Key Outcomes of the Initiative:

The key outcomes have been:

• more efficient and effective investigations of child abuse cases;
• establishment of expertise in investigating child abuse allegations of a sexual or physical nature through the child forensic interview process;
• an increased range of treatment and support options for children and families;
• fewer incidents of overlapping or conflicting services; and
• a low number of contested cases with the joint approach (as reported by the Crown), resulting in a reduction in the number of child interviews, a reduction in the number of kids appearing in court, and an increase in the number of guilty pleas.

Availability of a Communication Strategy:

No

Key Messages used to Publicize the Initiative:

N/A

Forms of Evaluation by which the Initiative will be Assessed:

• N/A

Evaluation Completed or Community Feedback Received:

No

Summary of the Outcomes:

An assessment may have been done at the conclusion of the three-year pilot project to determine the RCJC’s validity.

Summary of the Performance Measure Data Collected:

N/A

Economics of Policing Pillars:

• Efficiencies within Police Services
• New Models of Community Safety

Further Details:

N/A

Additional Comments or Suggestions:

The initiative has been very successful since its inception. The initiative started in 1994 as a three-year pilot project. Since that time the partnership between the Ministry of Social Services and the Regina Police Service has been strengthened through staff collaboration at the RCJC.

The RCJC has been highlighted in 2012 by being asked to participate in a focus group in Ottawa called Building Knowledge and Capacity, on addressing the needs of child victims and their families. The purpose of the group is to look at developing other child advocacy centres across Canada and the RCJC is being looked at as one of the models of success.

The second significant highlight for the RCJC was in spring of 2012, when the federal government featured the RCJC on its website for National Crimes Awareness Month as being unique to Canada and as being the first centre of its kind with the successful multidisciplinary approach to child abuse investigations.

Record Entry Date:

2013-08-01