NCJ Number
164198
Date Published
1994
Length
114 pages
Annotation
As part of Phase II of Canada's Runaway and Street Youth Project, this report presents a case study of Ottawa's response to the problem of runaways and street youth.
Abstract
A multi-faceted research design strategy was developed to conduct an in-depth analysis of how Ottawa has responded to runaways and street youth. Interviews were conducted with both front-line and supervisory staff in youth-serving agencies, youth living on the street or in marginal situations, and youth in custodial settings known to have spent time on the street. Questionnaires were administered to average high school students, and focus group meetings were held with youth. Also, a delphi meeting was held with agency staff who participated in the interviews. Interviews explored the characteristics of the street youth population; antecedents to going to the street; the involvement of street youth in risky or illegal activities; and street youth's knowledge, use, and assessment of services available to them. Following a profile of the characteristics of the runaway and street youth population in Ottawa, this report examines Ottawa's youth service system. This encompasses the social service system, the education system, the youth justice system, the health care system, community agencies, and common issues that face the youth service system. This is followed by a section that presents the views of street youth and high school youth on the service system. Policy implications drawn from the study findings focus on community-based approaches to youth and violence, juvenile justice and legislative reform, multi-faceted community responses to youth-at-risk, and community policing. Appended supplementary information and research instruments