Child and youth rep asks B.C. to improve mental health services following teen death

Following an investigation into the death of a B.C. teenager who took his own life, Bernard Richard is calling on the new Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions to improve mental health services for children and youth.

The 17-year-old, referred to in the youth adovcate'sreport as Joshua, had been staying at B.C. Children's Hospital for four months when he ended his lifein 2015.

Richard's report, entitled Missing Pieces: Joshua's Story, found Joshuashowed signs of serious mental health issues beginningat a young age.

His family soughthelp from the Ministry of Children and Family Development, but Richard says hehe didn't receive appropriate early intervention and in the years that followed his mental health deteriorated.

Joshua attempted to take his own life several times, according to the report.

At the time of his death, the investigation found Joshua was languishing in hospital because his caregivers could not find a safe placement in the community.

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Now, Richard is calling on the province's newest ministry, Mental Health and Addictions, to implement a "fullcontinuum of mental health services" forchildren and youth in the province.

'A true integrated service'

"If the province commits to developing a true integrated servicestrategy, children such as Joshua, who clearly needed more help than he received in thethree years prior to his hospital admission, may no longer fall through the cracks," wrote Richard in the 59-page report.

Richard suggests the Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions work withthe Ministry of Children and Family Development and the ministries of healthand education and that the province provide resources to support a new system.

"We agree that Joshua's situation should have been handled differently," saidChildren and Family Development Minister Katrine Conroy in response to Richard's report. "The focus should have been, and always should be, on getting the child what they need quickly."

Meanwhile, Judy Darcy, the minister for mental health and addictions said in a news release, "no family should have to go through what Joshua's family did. My heart aches for them."

Darcy says her ministry accepts the recommendationin Richard's report and that an integrated system is part of her mandate's priorities.

"This strategy is intended to include a focus on improving access, investing in early preventionand child and youth mental health," she said.

As a model, the report points to New Brunswick, which has an integrated service delivery framework forchildren and youth with emotional, behavioural and mental health issues.

"This approach is meant to ensure that children and youthreceive an integrated approach to case management, with the aim of preventing issuesfrom reaching a crisis," wrote Bernard, who was the children's advocate in New Brunswick before taking the B.C. position.

The report asks for aplan in B.C. to be developed within 12 months and implemented within two years.

with files from Megan Thomas.