About Us

OYJSN was founded in 2000 as an initiative of the Youth Services Bureau of Ottawa. In addition to providing a forum for discussion of youth justice legislation, the Committee's Terms of Reference include opportunities for diverse sectors to explore ways to facilitate interagency communication, to share resources and services, to promote interagency networking, to initiate research in the area of youth justice and to advocate for the needs of young offenders in the city of Ottawa.               

Mission Statement :

 The Ottawa Youth Justice Services Network is a leadership group dedicated to building and enhancing coordination, partnerships, education and advocacy regarding youth justice issues in the Ottawa area. 

Terms of Reference:

The Ottawa Youth Justice Services Network goal is to develop community capacity regarding youth justice issues by:

 Providing an open forum for discussion of youth justice legislation and other related issues;

  • Creating a collective voice to define emerging priorities as well as influence policy, legislative changes and funding to various levels of government regarding youth justice issues;
  • Advocating for the needs of children and youth in conflict or at risk of being in conflict with the law, in the Ottawa region;
  • Exploring and facilitating interagency and cross-sectoral communication and the sharing of resources and services;
  • Developing and promoting interagency networking and collaborative partnerships;
  • Creating key linkages to connect youth justice, child welfare and mental health issues; 
  • Initiating and coordinating both research and professional development opportunities in the area of youth justice;
  • Developing opportunities to engage the community in both comprehending and addressing youth crime prevention and the youth criminal justice system.

Membership:

 The membership of the OYJSN will be maintained at no more than 30 members and effort will be made to ensure that those members represent the variety of services offered in the Ottawa Youth Justice system.  While it is understood that grassroots, neighbourhood organizations are very important to the community, the members of the OYJSN will be representative of the entire Ottawa region, as well as some representation from government departments of various levels.

 All members who serve on the OYJSN should have the authority of their respective agency to represent their service in any decision-making processes by the Network.  Members or their designated alternates are expected to be in attendance at 75% of the Network meetings in order that they can fulfill the role of an active participant.

 Requests for new membership will be brought forward to the OYJSN at a regular meeting for consideration and approval.  They will be selected based upon the need to fill identified gaps in service area representation.

 The OYJSN will strike a subcommittee to complete a review of membership in June each year to assess ongoing needs.

Committee Structure:

 The OYJSN will not have an “Executive Committee”.  Subcommittees will be struck on an as-needed basis.  The Subcommittee Chairs report directly to the OYJSN Chair.  Examples of such committees might be:

Operational Problem Solving Subcommittee

Conference Subcommittee

Mental Health Subcommittee

Education Subcommittee

Website Subcommittee

Finance Subcommittee

OYJSN Chairperson: 

The Chairperson role is to be neutral, facilitating and ensuring collaboration within the Network.

Responsibilities

  • calling and chairing the monthly meetings, setting agenda
  • ensuring the timely progression of the meetings
  • striking subcommittees as needed and monitoring their activities
  • preparing correspondence at the direction of the committee
    • letters of support will be in keeping with the Terms of Reference and will support the principle or need addressed by a proposal, and will not be in support of the individual proposal or project
  • circulating information that is pertinent to the membership
  • overseeing the content of the website
  • represents the first official point of contact for the Network

 Tenure – the Chairperson will have a two-year term.  At the end of each two-year term, in June,  the Chairperson may present himself/herself for re-election.  At this time, the opportunity exists for other interested OYJSN members to run for the position.

 The Past Chairperson will support the Chair and provide continuity of leadership and corporate knowledge.

Administrative Support:

 The administrative support (taking and distribution of minutes, conference preparation support, etc. as needed) will be provided by a member agency.

Contact information:

For more information regarding th OYJSN, including membership queries, please contact:

Janet Crupi, Chair, OYJSN
Crupij@algonquincollege.com
(613) 727-4723 ext. 5347

Julie Ellis
Jellis@ysb.on.ca
(613) 738-7776 ext 223



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