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Vanier will provide early identification, assessment and treatment of children under 12 years of age who have engaged in delinquent behaviours that would be considered criminal if they were older. Activities in this project include providing individual, family or group counselling/education for up to 100 children and their families each year where underlying psychological issues are addressed, leading to reduction of delinquent activities.
Vanier will be using several best practice models including The Arson Prevention Program for Children (TAPP-C). TAPP-C has been developed as a targeted therapy to be used for both the caregivers of children and adolescents between the ages of two and 17 who have been involved in firesetting or other types of fire involvement and the children themselves. The model of TAPP-C service delivery involves two clinicians working together concurrently to help the family: One clinician works primarily with the child, and the other works primarily with the caregiver (or parent).
Referral to Alternate Pathways (RAPP) will be used as a treatment intervention for the at-risk children and their families depending on need. The RAPP protocols will focus on referral management as it crosses several disciplines (i.e. fire dept., school boards, mental health, child welfare, police, etc.) and is multidisciplinary in approach.
Vanier will use "Triple P" Parenting groups for working with families. Triple P is one of the only evidence-based parenting programs available worldwide, based on over 25 years of clinical and empirical research. Triple P is a parenting and family support strategy that aims to prevent severe behavioural, emotional and developmental problems in children by enhancing the knowledge, skills and confidence of parents. The Triple P training model assumes that the differing needs of parents will require differing levels of support and is based on a flexible system of 5 levels of increasing intensity from the universal support level (general information for all parents) to mid-range (tip sheets, parenting advice, workshops) to the clinical level (for parents who experience significant problems with their children).
Vanier will also host information sessions for families and provide quarterly information seminars to primary referral sources. All relevant materials will be translated into a variety of languages including French, Spanish and Arabic. Specific ethno-cultural groups have been identified as needing information on resources in their native language as they do not understand English. Data from the 2001 census indicate that the largest visible minority groups in London were Blacks (7,600) and Arabs and West Asians (7,500), together accounting for 40% of all its visible minorities. Each of these groups made up about 2% of the City population.
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