Youth Mental Health and Justice: Strengthening Integration and Coordination conference report

Summary: CACP on behalf of the Coalition on Community Safety, Health and Well-being embarked on organizing a conference that would bring together key players and stakeholders from the variety of sectors active in work with youth. The objective of the Conference was to demonstrate how a coordinated, integrated multiagency response more effectively meets the needs of youth with mental health issues who are or may be in the justice system and identify the supports required for that approach to be successful. Specifically, the Conference was designed to: increase awareness of the relationship between mental health problems and youth who become involved in the youth criminal justice system; assist participants to modify their approach to responding to youth with mental health issues; and address a holistic, multi-sectoral, long-term approach to dealing with the issues affecting youth involved with the youth criminal justice system. The Conference, funded mainly by Justice Canada through the Youth Justice Fund (Cities and Community Partnerships), with additional financial support from Correctional Services Canada, the City of Winnipeg and Health Canada, was held on 25-27 October 2009 at the Fairmont Winnipeg.