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Presentations Abstracts

Neil Young – Youth Impact

DRUG INTERVENTION PROGRAM

The Drug Intervention Program serves youth ages 15 – 18 who struggle with illicit drug use and have had conflict with the justice system.  This voluntary program provides youth with information, support and strategies that will assist them in alleviating their drug usage and alter their criminal behavior.  Through the development of a directional plan tailored to each individual’s strengths and needs, youth will become more engaged in education, employment and community.  The program is focused on addressing youth falling through the gaps of the traditional system through its outreach work, counselling and community collaboration in connecting clients to available resources.

MANDATE:

  • To reduce/eliminate substance abuse, conflict with the Youth Justice System, and social exclusion.
  • To move youth from self-destructive behavior, poor choices, and destructive self-absorbed thinking (that emerges from the use of illicit drugs) towards constructive behaviour, pro-social thinking, increased ability to make effective choices, improved peer/family relationships, and gradual adoption of a healthier system of values.
  • To assist youth in the examination of existing limitations for a future opportunity as directly related to their drug use; with the goal of bringing youth to a position of readiness for advancement in the areas of employment and education.

ADMISSION CRITERIA

  • Between the ages of 15-18 upon referral
  • Voluntarily want to participate in the program
  • Conflict with the law
  • Illicit drug use

Paul Toner – United Way / YOU Turns

We are years past talking about “breaking down silos” as the vast majority of people are prepared to embrace integrated approaches to service delivery for better impact. Now we are engaged in the process of working out what it actually means to work collectively, to share information and resources, to align outcomes and indicators, and to develop shared values.

You Turns is a Collective Impact initiative which at first glance, seems to address attendance issues but upon deeper reflection uncovers complex problems around Mental Health. We are working on building a culture that connects young people to caring adults and positive activities and services. We bring all kinds of professions and people together including: Education system, other Government departments/services, and Community agencies. Beginning with two urban high Schools and 9 feeder schools, community partners are aligning outcomes and resources that are making a measureable difference.

Kai Gosling will share a few insights of how YOU Turns has contributed to a change in culture among those who work with conflict with the law and addictions, and Paul Toner will talk about how the flow of information is the critical piece to effectiveness, and how this initiative has led to a scaling up to a Regional Strategy for Children and Youth.

Peter MacDonald – Big Brothers Big Sisters of Moncton

We believe every child should have the opportunity to reach his or her full potential, both as individuals and citizens – that by doing so, they will not only do well, they will also do good.  Serving as role models, our mentors teach by example the importance of giving and giving back, of staying in school, and of having respect for family, peers and community. Each time we pair a child with a mentor or introduce a group of students to an in-school program, we start something incredible – a life-changing relationship built on friendship, trust and empowerment.  Witnessing the transformation of a child into a confident, concerned and motivated young person is a remarkable thing. Ushering them into adulthood, seeing them grow into a successful, responsible member of their community and society at large is even more satisfying.

Nikita Moriarity – Chimo Helpline Inc.

**STILL WAIT**

Marie-Andrée Pelland – Université de Moncton

Titre : Portrait préliminaire du modèle d’intervention mise en œuvre auprès des jeunes et des jeunes à risques de la péninsule acadienne entre 1994 et 2016

Conférencières : Marie-Andrée Pelland, Lise Savoie et Marie-Ève Brideau

Dans les rencontres nationales et régionales portant sur les différents plans d’action mis en œuvre par la province et orientés vers l’intervention auprès des jeunes et des jeunes à risque tant dans les domaines liés à la santé que de la délinquance (Province du Nouveau-Brunswick, 2011 ; 2012 ; 2014), le Centre de Bénévolat de la Péninsule Acadienne (CBPA) est souvent défini comme un organisme qui présente des pratiques exemplaires dans l’offre de service aux jeunes francophones de la région de la Péninsule Acadienne. Toutefois, aucune donnée probante ne permet de comprendre l’élément innovant de ces pratiques ou encore d’en saisir les effets. Fort de ce constat, un projet de recherche a été mis en œuvre afin de cerner et d’analyser les stratégies d’intervention utilisées auprès des jeunes et des jeunes à risques liés aux domaines de la santé, de la victimisation et de la délinquance dans de la Péninsule Acadienne. La présentation a pour but de dresser un premier portrait des modèles d’interventions mis en œuvre pour intervenir auprès des jeunes et des jeunes à risque qui visent la conduite délictuelle. Ce portrait est basé sur plus de vingt entretiens réalisés auprès d’intervenants communautaires, publics et parapublics de la Péninsule Acadienne. Un bilan de la collaboration entre les organismes de la péninsule et l’Université de Moncton sera dressé en mettant l’accent sur les facilitants et les obstacles à l’avancement de la présente recherche. Enfin, les étapes d’évaluation à venir seront brièvement abordées.

Laurett Nwaonumah – UNBSJ, Centre for Criminal Justice Studies

Title: Criminal Risk Profile of Community Supervised Justice-Involved Persons with and without Mental Health Issues in New Brunswick

Authors: Laurett Nwaonumah, B.Sc., Ainslie McDougall, Ph.D., Mary Ann Campbell, Ph.D.

Justice-involved persons with mental illness have garnered much attention in the correctional and psychiatric literatures as a result of the challenges they and their service providers face with regard to case management planning. (Skeem et al., 2011). To better inform best practices in case planning with justice-involved persons with mental health difficulties, the objectives of the current study were two-fold: 1) to estimate the prevalence of mental health issues in community-supervised justice-involved persons in New Brunswick, and 2) to identify and compare individual differences in the criminogenic needs profiles of justice-involved persons with and without mental illness. The Sample (N = 111) was primarily composed of males (84 %), with a mean age of 33 years (SD = 11.97, range: 19-63) and mostly Caucasian (84 %). Participants were recruited from the New Brunswick Department of Public Safety in Saint John, Fredericton, and their satellite offices. Results indicated that community supervised justice-involved persons had above average mental health needs relative what is usually reported in the general population. Additionally, those participants with moderate to clinically elevated mental health needs typically did not significantly differ in their overall criminogenic need profiles from justice-involved persons without such mental health needs. In conclusion, the results of the current study confirms the importance of balancing attention to both mental health and criminogenic needs when dealing with justice-involved persons, practitioners need to balance attention to both mental health and criminogenic needs when dealing with justice-involved persons, as well as recognize the facilitative role of positive case manager-client dynamics.

Mandy Burke – Social Enterprise Developer

Foundational research required to develop a Social Enterprise Strategy for New Brunswick.

This presentation offers a brief introduction to social enterprises currently operating in New Brunswick that impact crime reduction through training & skill development, education, and employment of vulnerable populations.

5 Canadian provinces have developed Social Enterprise strategies, which will be briefly outlined.  Further research & evaluation into social enterprises is required in New Brunswick; first to define clear and simple criteria for what qualifies as a Social Enterprise, to formulate a survey of social enterprises across NB that includes information such as their organizational relationships/sectors and mission, their products and services, their locations, numbers employed and GDP. With this information we can produce an online database that will be used as a tool to leverage the development of a provincial social procurement policy for private and public business: a tendering process that values impact (social, environmental) in addition to pricing, making a process inclusive of social enterprises and beneficial to public safety.

This talk will introduce the concept of a social procurement policy, how it might look in NB, and seek out potential researchers interested in conducting foundational research for developing a social enterprise strategy for New Brunswick.