Edmonton Social Planning Council

Category: **ESPC Documents: Publications

  • Issues in the Treatment of Youth in Conflict at the Youth Restorative Action Project

    This paper identifies the issues surrounding the treatment of youth in conflict with the law, from the perspective of youth and youth workers at the Youth Restorative Action Project (YRAP). The objectives of treatment are the reintegration of youth within their community, and reducing the re-offence rates. The paper compares the perspectives of the individuals at YRAP to current best practices, and offers recommendations in the treatment of youth in conflict with the law. A brief overview of current best practices revealed that program integrity and a program length of less than six months was correlated with lower rates of re-offence. The practice of Restorative Justice approaches was effective for lowering rates of re-offence, and left both victim and offender participants more satisfied than those that did not participate in such programs. The involvement of youth in the development of personalized treatment was also deemed important. Finally, collaboration between service organizations, especially in the form of Wraparound services, was recommended in the literature.

    Disclaimer: This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the Edmonton Social Planning Council, but is based on the work and opinions of the author.

    In 2015, Andrew Ha served as the Edmonton Social Planning Council’s Social Justice Intern. Our Social Justice Intern is a volunteer program, which provides students at an Albertan post-secondary institution the opportunity to complete a research project on a local social issue. This initiative is supported by Volunteer Alberta’s Serving Communities Internship Program (SCIP). The following report is the result of his work in this position. For more information about the ESPC’s Social Justice Internship, you can reach us at the following address:

    Social Justice Internship
    Edmonton Social Planning Council
    Suite 37, 9912-106 St. Edmonton, AB T5K 1C5
    Phone: 780-423-2031
    www.edmontonsocialplanning.ca

    ESPC Documents/RESEARCH UPDATES AND REVIEWS/Issues in the Treatment of Youth in Conflict at the Youth Restorative Action Project.pdf

  • Research Update May 2016

    The Edmonton Social Planning Council’s Research Review contains summaries of the latest social research publications. We keep up on your reading so you don't have to.

    Inside this issue:

    “An Analysis of the Economic Circumstances of Canadian Seniors” reviewed by Natividad (Natty) Klimo

    “Beyond Survival: A Qualitative Study of the Impact of Homelessness and Incarceration on Women’s Health” reviewed by Lauren Melnyk

    “Creating a Community Strategy to End Youth Homelessness in Edmonton” reviewed by Élise Hervieux

    “Ending Homelessness? A Critical Examination of Housing First in Canada and Winnipeg” reviewed by Shez Kassam

    “Taking a leap of faith: Meaningful participation of people with experiences of homelessness in solutions to address homelessness” reviewed by Dylan Klemen

    Click to download our May 2016 Research Update!

  • Research Update May 2016

    The Edmonton Social Planning Council’s Research Review contains summaries of the latest social research publications. We keep up on your reading so you don’t have to.

    Inside this issue:

    “An Analysis of the Economic Circumstances of Canadian Seniors” reviewed by Natividad (Natty) Klimo

    “Beyond Survival: A Qualitative Study of the Impact of Homelessness and Incarceration on Women’s Health” reviewed by Lauren Melnyk

    “Creating a Community Strategy to End Youth Homelessness in Edmonton” reviewed by Élise Hervieux

    “Ending Homelessness? A Critical Examination of Housing First in Canada and Winnipeg” reviewed by Shez Kassam

    “Taking a leap of faith: Meaningful participation of people with experiences of homelessness in solutions to address homelessness” reviewed by Dylan Klemen

    ESPC Documents/PUBLICATIONS/A.06.C RESEARCH UPDATES/May2016ResearchUpdate.pdf

  • fACT Sheet—2016 Alberta Budget Analysis

    The Alberta Jobs Plan

    Budget 2016 covers the period from April 1, 2016 to March 31, 2017 corresponding to the 2016-17 fiscal year (FY). There are revenue and spending projections for the following two fiscal years. This year’s budget is called The Alberta Jobs Plan.

    Budget 2016 forecasts a deficit of $10.4 billion. A contingency of $700 million is included in case oil prices keep declining or unforeseen emergencies require extra spending. The large deficit is due to a further drop in energy prices. The oil price underpinning this year’s budget has been reduced from $62US per barrel last October to $42US per barrel in Budget 2016. Low energy prices are causing job losses that in turn result in lower revenues from corporate and personal income taxes. The forecast deficit is a record in dollar terms; as a percentage of the overall budget, the deficit is still less than that of budgets in the mid-1980s when there was a similar dramatic decline in energy prices. 

    Download our fACT Sheet—2016 Alberta Budget Analysis here!

  • 2016 April fACT Sheet Alberta Budget 2016 Analysis

    Budget 2016 covers the period from April 1, 2016 to March 31, 2017 corresponding to the 2016-17 fiscal year (FY). There are revenue and spending projections for the following two fiscal years. This year’s budget is called The Alberta Jobs Plan.

    Budget 2016 forecasts a deficit of $10.4 billion. A contingency of $700 million is included in case oil prices keep declining or unforeseen emergencies require extra spending. The large deficit is due to a further drop in energy prices. The oil price underpinning this year’s budget has been reduced from $62US per barrel last October to $42US per barrel in Budget 2016. Low energy prices are causing job losses that in turn result in lower revenues from corporate and personal income taxes. The forecast deficit is a record in dollar terms; as a percentage of the overall budget, the deficit is still less than that of budgets in the mid-1980s when there was a similar dramatic decline in energy prices.

    AlbertaBudgetInteractive.pdf

  • The Path Forward: Opportunities to End Child Poverty in Alberta

    The past year has been one of dramatic political and economic change in Alberta.

    There were changes in governments at the provincial and federal levels. Both Alberta’s economy and public finances are being negatively impacted by the collapse in energy prices with the prospect of only modest recovery in the foreseeable future.

    Despite these challenges, the new Alberta government has made some promising investments in poverty reduction. Many of these investments have been championed by Alberta anti-poverty advocates for many years.

    It will take more than money to end child poverty in this province. Yet, without additional investment in key solutions, the goal of ending child poverty will not be achieved.

    This marks the fifth year of a collaboration between the Edmonton Social Planning Council, Public Interest Alberta, and the Alberta College of Social Workers. The purpose of this report is to do a checkup of child and family poverty in this province, and identify the most effective ways of ending it.

    This report contains updated information on the extent of child and family poverty in Alberta. Data on child poverty numbers and rates in this year’s report is from compilations by Statistics Canada from tax returns filed by Alberta families.

    The Path Forward: Opportunities to End Child Poverty in Alberta