(Central Alberta Child Advocacy Centre)

By Josh Hall | @Vancan19

prevention, awareness and response

Child Advocacy Centre releases first ‘State of Child Wellbeing in Central Alberta’ community report

Apr 12, 2024 | 3:07 PM

Content warning: Some details of this story may be triggering or disturbing to readers.

The Central Alberta Child Advocacy Centre (CACAC) revealed its first ever ‘State of Child Wellbeing in Central Alberta’ community report Friday, with three recommendations to help stem the tragic tide of sexual abuse against children.

The report was shared at Red Deer Polytechnic, which is home to the CACAC and Sheldon Kennedy Centre of Excellence.

Created with assistance from HelpSeeker Technologies, the report looked at national, provincial and local trends, with researchers looking at data going back several years.

Among the trends, the rate of police-reported family violence in Alberta grew by 10 per cent from 2018 to 2019; and the rate of police-reported level one sexual assaults in Alberta rose 18 per cent in recent years to its highest point since 1996.

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It also notes that six in ten (59.7 per cent) Canadians report experiencing some type of maltreatment before turning 15, that number jumping to 67.5 per cent in Alberta — the second highest rate among provinces.

Through reviewing those and other pieces, the report’s three recommendations are:

1. Schools and health and community-based support should be involved much earlier in prevention.

2. Ensure that various communities are engaged in coordinated efforts that support their unique local needs and strengths.

3. Establish data-sharing mechanisms to coordinate care that supports children and families to get the right help, when needed, while empowering front-line staff to do their best work in a coordinated manner.

“At Red Deer Polytechnic, we are committed to growing our applied research program in resiliency and child advocacy that focuses on integrated practice, and harnessing the power of data analytics to advance new best practices that will shape the future of child advocacy,” says Dr. Tonya Wolfe, Associate Vice President, Applied Research, RDP. “The 2024 Child Wellbeing in Central Alberta report is one of the tools that will connect our applied research to the community that we serve.”

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According to the report, 2,769 children and youth who experienced abuse came to the CACAC between 2020 and 2023. Mark Jones, CEO, says there are likely thousands out there which don’t get reported.

“The insights gleaned from this report affirm our longstanding beliefs at the CACAC and underscore the urgency of early intervention in our pursuit of prevention strategies,” he says.

“Moreover, it reinforces our commitment to being data-driven and remaining at the forefront of research. This collaboration not only enhances our capabilities as a Child Advocacy Centre but also reinforces our position as a Centre of Excellence, driving societal progress through informed action. We are truly excited about the possibilities this partnership brings, and the positive impact it will have on our community and beyond.”

Of the aforementioned 2,769 youth, they collectively experienced sexual abuse a total of 3,098 times and by 2,511 accused perpetrators.

One in three are from Red Deer, and the rest from 133 communities across Alberta, with Medicine Hat, Lethbridge, Grande Prairie, Rocky Mountain House and Drayton Valley among those listed.

The report notes girls were more than twice as likely to be abused than boys; the average age was ten, while the youngest was just a few months old.

Additionally, more than 4,700 instances of support were reported, the most common being ‘triage note,’ indicating a high level of initial assessments and consultations.

This suggests, according to the report, that while the CACAC acts as a key initial point of contact, it can also support care transitions back into the community, provided that appropriate mechanisms and supports are in place.

“We’ve been out already to ten school jurisdictions, spoken to thousands of teachers and support staff, and here at the polytechnic, we’ve done many presentations to third- and fourth-year students,” Jones adds.

“The bottom line is that the more we can make people aware that there’s a problem, the faster we can get to the kids who need help. There are kids out there a day away from being abused, and they don’t ask for this to happen. So we can work with parents to educate them about the potential of putting their kids in harm’s way.”

The report in full can be viewed at rdpolytech.ca.

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