Youth Justice Initiative Evaluation

5. Conclusions and Recommendations

Findings from the YJI evaluation lead to the following conclusions.

5.1. Relevance

Evaluation research provided ample evidence that there is a continued need for the YJI, in order to continue supporting the provinces and territories in developing and implementing programs and services in keeping with the YCJA and the objectives of the YJI, and to take a lead role in working toward a coordinated and innovative response to youth justice issues as they emerge.

The evaluation also indicated that the YJI is consistent with current federal government priorities, and aligned with the Justice Canada strategic outcome of “a fair, relevant and accessible justice system that reflects Canadian values” (Department of Justice, 2009, July). It is also well aligned with the Department’s outcomes related to youth justice.

The YJI and the Department’s activities under the Initiative were found to be in keeping with federal government roles and responsibilities in youth justice.

5.2. Performance: Effectiveness

Youth Justice Services Funding Program

The YJSFP has produced federal, provincial and territorial funding agreements and knowledge sharing opportunities, and has provided funding as planned to provinces and territories to assist in sustaining a range of high priority youth justice services (e.g., rehabilitation and reintegration, alternatives to court, alternatives to custody). Provinces and territories are using the YJSFP funds in keeping with the agreements and in furtherance of YCJA objectives, and attribute their ability to expand the range of needed programs and services in significant measure to YJI support.

Intensive Rehabilitative Custody and Supervision Program

The IRCS program operates through funding agreements with the provinces and territories. Its focus is to build and maintain capacity at the provincial and territorial level to deliver therapeutic, rehabilitative and reintegration services to youth with mental health needs who have been found guilty of violent offences. As well, funding under the IRCS Program is available to support case specific requirements for therapeutic programs and services, services in exceptional cases of serious youth offences where mental health problems are involved, and to support special projects in areas such as specialized staff training, research and evaluation. Evidence from IRCS Program administrative files, key informant interviews, and targeted interviews with officials delivering IRCS-related programs and services in three provinces, indicates that the IRCS Program support has resulted in increased capacity as planned and greater use of these alternative services as against custodial sentences. Outside larger urban areas, capacity remains limited.

Youth Justice Fund

The YJF makes funds available primarily to community organizations, but also to individuals, educational institutions, provincial and territorial governments, and other levels of government for innovative projects for youth in conflict with the law. Some of that funding is also used for projects that provide information/education, help build capacity, and support the establishment of community links to youth justice. As well, the YJF seeks opportunities for dissemination of information and knowledge transfer about youth justice. Through the activities of the Fund and the agreements that are put in place, the Department increases responsiveness to emerging youth justice issues, increases community involvement in youth justice, and increases collaboration and knowledge development. There is evidence from data on the nature of funded projects and from an analysis of evaluation reports and case studies for a sample of projects that the YJF has contributed to these outcomes, as indicated by short-term results.

Policy

The policy development, research and liaison and outreach component of the YJI is responsible for: analyzing and developing of youth justice law and policy; responding to emerging youth justice issues; promoting knowledge-sharing; and enabling greater community participation in the youth justice system. Those activities are intended to produce legislation and policy that responds to federal government priorities and to increase opportunities for information sharing and knowledge transfer. Evidence from a review of available documents and key informant interviews indicates that the Policy Unit is actively engaged in knowledge-sharing activities, and has been providing valued advice on youth justice issues and policies. In the evaluation period, this advice has led to important amendments to the YCJA, and funding and other decisions in keeping with YCJAobjectives. Provincial and territorial youth justice officials value the policy and legislative work that has been accomplished, but report a recent reduction in face-to-face meetings and consultation on policies and legislative initiatives, in particular regarding the recent YCJA amendments. This has reportedly diminished the quality of the working relationship, despite continued high quality communication at the officer level.

Intermediate and Long-term Outcomes

Enhanced availability and use of opportunities for extrajudicial measures, rehabilitation and reintegration of young persons into their communities

The YJI has a direct role in enhancing the availability of extrajudicial measures and programs designed to rehabilitate and reintegrate youth into their communities, through its funding programs. The evaluation has found that the YJI has contributed substantially to the ability of the provinces and territories to provide these measures and programs through its funding. In particular, it was found that these high priority areas represented close to 50% of all YJI program expenditures across the country. In most jurisdictions a range of these programs are currently available, and it is evident that without YJI funding, fewer of these types of services would be available.

Data on the extent of use of these services by young persons who have been found guilty of an offence in the last five years is beyond the scope of the evaluation research. However, the evaluation has found that there has been progress in the use of extrajudicial measures and community-based sentencing options as against charges and custodial sentences, which indicates that the use of these alternatives has increased along with their availability. The evaluation found reports of some success in the use of these types of services, but also found that outside larger urban centres, such services are sometimes not yet available.

GOC has responsive and appropriate policies, practices and legal framework

The evaluation found that the YCJA and its recent amendments have responded successfully to recognized youth justice needs. The Act and the supporting programs under the YJI have enabled provinces and territories to reduce the number and proportion of young persons receiving custodial sentences, and have helped develop a capacity to provide alternatives that are widely viewed as being better suited to addressing youth justice requirements than the YOA was. The evaluation also noted remaining challenges, including persistently high pre-trial detention rates, disproportionately high charging and custodial rates for Aboriginal youth, and emerging issues such as cybercrime and the need for resources and infrastructure to provide more programs and services outside large urban centres.

At the working level, the evaluation found that YJI staff members are viewed positively by their provincial and territorial partners and by community-based program managers in terms of planning and administering the funding streams, and communications and collaborative practices associated with implementing the YCJA effectively.

More integrated and coordinated approach to youth justice with strengthened links among youth justice personnel and stakeholders

The evaluation found that the YJI has contributed to a more integrated and coordinated approach to youth justice in Canada, especially through funding that has brought improved and more coordinated programs and services. Integration and coordination has also increased at the federal, provincial and territorial levels through formal and informal collaboration, with the exception of the above-noted recent perceived reduction in consultation on policy development.

Earlier in this section, evidence was provided of coordination and collaboration in the implementation of the YCJA. This included joint implementation planning at the CCSO and officer levels, tailored PLEI and other communications and training initiatives, and regular communication and reported responsiveness by Justice Canada officials to provincial and territorial issues as they arose.

Further examples of action leading to increased coordination included the:

The case studies conducted for this evaluation also demonstrated the contributions of YJF projects and Justice Canada-initiated projects to increased integration and coordination.

The YJI, through webcasts and workshops, has enabled information sharing about different provincial and territorial innovative approaches to the provision of youth justice programs and services, including specialized services such as those for youth with FASD and Aboriginal youth. In addition, the various meetings, webcasts and research studies regarding FASD that were funded by the Department have facilitated knowledge sharing among youth justice professionals in Canada.

Almost all Justice Canada key informants and provincial and territorial representatives agreed that YJI had contributed to a more integrated and coordinated approach to youth justice in Canada, through formal and informal federal, provincial and territorial collaboration, and especially through funding that has brought improved and more coordinated programs and services.

Improved responsiveness of the youth justice system

In the long term, the YJI seeks to enhance the ability of the youth justice system to respond effectively to youth crime in ways in keeping with the objectives of the YCJA. This report has provided evidence of changes in the way the justice system handles youth criminal activity, with fewer cases proceeding to the formal court process and fewer youth sentenced to custody. The long-term impact of the changes on youth involved in the youth criminal justice system is the subject of research beyond the scope of this evaluation.

The evaluation has focused on what the YJI can demonstrably contribute, which is to help ensure that alternatives are available and accessible. It has found that the YJI has contributed substantially to the availability of a range of new programs and services that are widely viewed as progressive and effective in improving the youth justice response. The evaluation has also presented data that indicates that these programs and services are being accessed by virtue of the significant reduction in youth crime charges, youth criminal court cases, and custodial sentences in the last ten years.

However, while sentenced custody rates continue to decline, pre-trial detention rates have remained relatively stable under the YCJA. Moreover, Aboriginal youth continue to be overrepresented in both sentenced custody and in pre-trial detention in 2013-14. While representing only 7% of Canada’s youth population, Aboriginal female youth accounted for 62% of all female youth admitted to pre-trial detention, and Aboriginal male youth accounted for 43% of all male youth admitted to pre-trial detention.

Recommendation 1:

It is recommended that the Policy Implementation Directorate and YJSIS, in cooperation with provincial and territorial partners, examine the factors influencing the use of pre-trial detention for youth and particularly Aboriginal youth.

Management Response:

Agreed.

PID and YJSIS will work with the provinces and territories to examine the factors influencing the use of pre-trial detention for youth, and particularly for Aboriginal youth.

5.3. Performance: Efficiency and Economy

The evaluation was unable to determine conclusively whether or not YJI resources were sufficient to meet its objectives, mainly because YJI objectives are comprehensive and long-term and rely heavily on programs and services that are the responsibility of provincial and territorial governments. There is evidence that especially in smaller jurisdictions, a reduction in federal contributions would have a direct negative impact on the capacity to offer the alternative programs and services envisioned under the YCJA.

On the whole, the YJI appears to be operating efficiently, with low administrative costs, and with actual spending corresponding reasonably to budgeted costs.

5.4. Measuring Outcomes

The evaluation concluded that there is limited data available linking on-the-ground developments in the administration of youth justice to the programs and services that the YJI funds in part. Each province and territory has its own set of programs and services designed to address youth justice issues. However, the outcomes identified for the YJI are phrased such that success is measured largely by whether or not YJI funds are being spent on programs, services and community-based projects that are intended to address the YJCA and YJI objectives. The effectiveness of the programs and services funded under the YJSFP and the IRCS Program are seen to be the responsibility of each province and territory. What this means is that evaluators are limited in their ability to establish a causal link between YJI contributions and improvements in the justice system response to youth justice issues. Given the maturity of the Initiative, it would be helpful to have more in-depth understanding of the impacts that are attributable to the federal funding and the effectiveness of specific types of programs and services to which the Department contributes.

Recommendation 2:

It is recommended that the Policy Implementation Directorate and the YJSIS work with the Evaluation Division and provincial and territorial partners to develop comprehensive data sources to support the evaluation of the outcomes of the YJI, and more particularly, the longer-term outcomes of the YJI.

Management Response:

Agreed.

PID and YJSIS will work with the Evaluation Division and provincial and territorial partners to increase the availability of new data sources to support the evaluation of the outcomes of the YJI.