Child advocate says it's time to start fixing N.B.'s broken social services

Child, youth and seniors' advocate Kelly Lamrock says his office will take the direction of non-profit and community groupsas he works on a new report about ways to improve social services geared toward helping children living in poverty in the province.

In March, Lamrock released a report titled How It All BrokethatsaidNew Brunswick's social policy process is fixated on following rules rather than achieving results.

In a speech at St. John the Baptist/King Edward Schoolin Saint John on Wednesday, Lamrock said he will start a five-month consultation period for a new report titled How to Fix It.With a new government in office, he said, his office may be able to help put the focus on preventing povertyand on earlyintervention.

"We do have a government with a new mandate," he said. "I read so many reports that respond to when [government]screws up. We'd like to see if we can startadvocating for things that keep it from screwing up in the first place."

Because of wait times and other issues with government programs, children typically don't have all the services they need until they're 12 years old, Lamrock said, which is much too late. Meetingwith community groups like the United Way in Saint John and Head Start in Monctonwill inform his report, which will in turn inform government, he said.

WATCH | Lamrock outlines plan for upcoming report on how to fix child welfare system:

How do you fix child poverty? Kelly Lamrock aims to find out

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Duration 1:53

New Brunswick's child and youth advocate is turning to the non-profit sector to find fixes for what ails the child welfare system. Kelly Lamrock will be talking with community groups to find out how social services geared toward helping children can be improved.

The reason non-profits and community groups are the focus, he said, is that they are nimble and have the compassion needed to prevent harm, rather than just respondingin an emergency.

"Government is very good at equalizing funding. It's not as good at delivering with the kind of compassion and community passion that we've seen here in Saint John," he said.

He said the goal is to figure out "how do we help the non-profit sector level up, take on more projects, deliver more services, turn more lives around."

Lamrock's officewill also consult with municipalities. Saint John Mayor Donna Reardon, who also spoke Wednesday, said theissue is especially important for her city. Saint John has the highest child poverty ratein New Brunswick, she said, with 30 per cent of kids livingbelowthe poverty line.

Kids who grow up in poverty usually facemore challenges in education, which can in turn negatively affecttheir health, financial stability and overall well being as they grow older, she said.

"It's a complex issueand involving the lives of childrenwe need to be thinking about it every day,"she said.