Host families of the DPJ: borrowing parents for vulnerable children

While the Laurent Commission begins on the rights of the child and the protection of youth, foster families open the door to their reality.

A text by Anne Marie Lecomte

To move her family, Patricia* rents a 15 passenger van at $ 1100 per month per month.It is that she takes care of her own children and the six others that the Directorate of Youth Protection (DPJ) entrusted to him.

Mon mari dit que je suis hyperactive, plaisante cette quadragénaire de la Mauricie.

Young, Patricia dreamed of having a big family, but not necessarily to be pregnant. Dès ses 18 ans, elle s’est proposée comme mère d’accueil à la DPJ, mais on m’a dit que j’étais trop jeune.

À 25 ans, elle est devenue famille d’accueil alors qu’elle était encore célibataire, ce qui n’était pas courant à l’époque.

Her training as a specialized educator helped her cause, she believes. Elle côtoyait des jeunes en difficulté et se disait : Mon Doux! Si je les avais plus que quelques heures par jour, je pourrais faire la différence.

Under the terms of the Youth Protection Act, foster families are substitutes living environments that offer living conditions promoting a parental type relationship in a family context.

As of March 31, 2019, 24,076 children who were taken care of by the DPJ: