Moving Towards Racial Equity in the Child and Youth Mental Health Sector in Ontario, Canada

Abstract

In the aftermath of high-profile incidents involving Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) in North America, there is a growing awareness of the pervasiveness of systemic racism and the role that agencies play in perpetuating racism and racial inequities. In the child and youth mental health sector, the journey to improving racial equity is impeded by a lack of consistent frameworks or guidelines. In this commentary, we explore five domains of organizational practices that are prominent in the literature and support diverse clients, communities and staff, including: (1) organizational leadership and commitment, (2) inter-organizational and multisectoral partnerships, (3) workforce diversity and development, (4) client and community needs and engagement, and (5) continuous improvement. As we highlight these domains, we urge researchers, policy makers, and child and youth mental health service providers to work together to advance racial equity in meaningful ways.

‘Just because we're younger doesn't mean our opinions should be any less valued’: A qualitative study of youth perspectives on a Youth Advisory Council in a mental healthcare context

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“…Implementation science offers a set of considerations and principles that assist in addressing known challenges and can effectively bridge the gap between evidence and practice in school mental health (Lucente et al, 2021;Lyon & Bruns, 2019). Active implementation frameworks and strategies provide necessary scaffolding to inspire uptake of evidence-based practice in scalable and sustainable ways (Fixsen et al, 2005).…”

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“…In the same way, Indigenous youth in Canada face some of the most profound health inequities when compared with non-Indigenous youth which can be further shaped by the rippling effects of intergenerational trauma caused by the historical and contemporary colonial policies that reinforce or legitimize negative stereotypes regarding Indigenous youth in Canada [2,10,14,20,[22][23][24][25][26][27]. When compared with their non-Indigenous peers, Indigenous youth in Canada have been reported to be more likely to have higher rates of chronic conditions [e.g., diabetes, obesity, chronic respiratory diseases, heart diseases, etc.]…”