Accountability is more than a matter
of trust
"In light of the current
government’s efforts to restructure and outsource service delivery,
agency accountability and governance is an increasingly important
issue." (1997 Annual
Report of the Provincial Auditor of Ontario, p. 65)
- A significant concern in the transfer
of directly operated young offender facilities to the Transfer
Payment sector, is the increasingly distant and insulated
relationship between the government and its service to incarcerated
youth. The Ministry refers to its delivery system as "overall
service system management". This system is identified as
having been "generally ineffective in ensuring transfer
payment agency accountability for financial performance and service
delivery." (1997 Annual Report of the Provincial Auditor
of Ontario, p. 66)
- There are difficulties in a system in
which the funding body (the government) supplies financial resources
to a volunteer board or private operator who oversees service
delivery. In the event that there are philosophical or other
differences in program approach, valid or otherwise, who will make
the decisions and when will the government intervene? This scenario
has occurred before and the government has been forced to intervene
by taking over the board. This has not happened without difficulties
before, during and after the transition. Largely, intervention could
have happened sooner if the reporting lines were clearer and the
board did not function as what might be called an "information
insulator".
- Another difficulty resulting from the
government distancing itself from service delivery, is that it is
not clear who is accountable if something goes wrong. It is not
clear whom the public should hold responsible. When two young
offenders escaped from Camp Turnaround, the Ministry of Solicitor
General and Correctional Services could not identify who would be
liable had a member of the public been harmed in any way.
"Because we're the only wilderness
program in the province, we have very unique issues. There's no other
facility where kids can get frostbite. The guidelines are very stringent
and we're monitored all the time. And we have to be because without that
kind of monitoring, you'd have kids losing their lives."
Austin Toth, Project DARE
- The most effective way to ensure
accountability is to facilitate unfettered communication between the
government and its service provider. Consistent and enforceable
standards support our ability to provide services in a fully
responsible and accountable manner on behalf of the Minister.
Our conclusion:
It is both public opinion and ours that
the government of Ontario has a legitimate role in the direct delivery
of young offender services where a child is incarcerated. We believe
that our current system of direct operated services for young offenders
is an important part of a rapidly changing system. It is the stabilizing
factor in a highly complex system of services and it is, above all other
like services, open to public scrutiny.
(As stated in the introduction to this
brief, the provincial government has moved ahead with the divestment of
the Arrell Youth Centre and the William E. Hay Centre. They have not yet
made announcements about the remaining five directly operated
facilities).
Go to Compliance with the Young
Offender Services Manual | Return to Main Young Offenders
Facilities Page
