No school, no job for many Quebecers who received youth protection services: study

A new study by Quebec researchers paints a stark portrait of education and employment rates among the province's vulnerable youth. 

One-third of young people who have been placed under the care of Quebec's youth protection services, the Direction de la protection de la jeunesse (DPJ), are unemployed and aren't enrolled in a school at age 21, according to the study.

Commissioned by Quebec's employment ministry and conducted by the Chaire-Réseau de Recherche sur la Jeunesse du Québec the study looked at the experiences of 1,136 people with youth protection services.

It found that young people in Quebec's youth protection system are twice as likely to drop out of school compared to the general population, with only a quarter obtaining a high school diploma by the age of 19, and 37 per cent obtaining the degree by 21. 

Karolane Chénier-Richard isn't at all surprised by the findings. As a teenager, she dropped out of school and says she didn't get the kind of support she needed in Quebec.

"I wasn't in the right mindset to study and get my high school diploma," she said.

Now a co-ordinator of the Ex-placés DPJ collective, a group made up of Quebecers who have gone through the youth protection system, she says people need more support, not just when they turn 18, but also as adults in their 30s and beyond.

The study also points to difficulty accessing housing as a serious obstacle for youth who have received protection services. Unable to find a place to call their own, some experience homelessness, which in turn makes getting a job much harder.

Researchers recommend measures be put in place to give the youth a stable environment, keep them in school and offer them more support as they enter the workforce.

More collaboration, more investment 

Lesley Hill, who was a member of a special commission on children's rights and youth protection in Quebec, says youth who receive services from DPJ are traumatized before they are placed under its care and continue to be traumatized by the system.

More investment is needed to accompany youth and set them up for success and independence in adulthood.

"It's normal that they need more help. They've gone through so much. They've been put on the street at age 18 with no support [from] their family and social environments or very little, so they need adapted programs to help them get back into school and the workforce," she said. 

But what Hill considers the biggest problem is how the different ministries and services involved in youth protection fail to work together. 

"It's all in silos and our systems don't adapt to the needs of these young people," she said.

CBC reached out to Quebec's employment and health ministries for comment but they were unable to provide a response by press time.