Crisis at the DPJ: “It’s difficult to provide services to the population”

The crisis hitting the DPJ in the Mauricie region and central Quebec, placed under supervision by the Quebec government following serious failings, could have been avoided, according to the Alliance of Professional and Technical Health Personnel and social services (APTS).

Quebec’s Commission on Human and Youth Rights has ruled that children were taken from their families based on erroneous information and then placed for adoption.

“We are very concerned about the situation […] When we are asked if it would have been avoidable, naturally, we have been denouncing for years that our stakeholders are in very difficult conditions,” argued Véronique Neth, the APTS spokesperson for the Mauricie region. –Central Quebec.

The latter describes an endemic labor shortage which is affecting the service offering. The situation means that there are fewer and fewer experienced workers in the field.

“To give you examples, in two of our regions this summer, there were offices [où il] missing more than half the staff. And the second, two thirds of the staff were missing,” said Ms. Neth.

“We are talking about overload at work, waiting lists which are only piling up. So the pressure is very great. It’s difficult to provide services to the population,” she added.

The average experience of workers in youth centers is around 5 years in Mauricie–Centre-du-Québec, according to Véronique Neth.

Watch the full interview in the video above