Thank you, Minister. Member for Hay River South.
That's all. Thank you.
Thank you. Health and Social Services, administrative and support services. Member for Monfwi.
Thank you. Thank you. I see here, okay, the administrative has increased to $935,000. And human resources increased to $1.06 million. And all 80 administrative and support services positions are located in headquarters. Can any of these positions be decentralized to regional office, like, sonographer. You know, like, we've been asking there's a lot of challenges why some people do not want to go to Yellowknife to access services. There's the transportation. There's the childcare. There's the interpreters. So there's all kind of reason why some people choose not to go to Yellowknife to access services. So I'm just wondering if any of some of these positions can be transferred or can be decentralized to the regional office to regional to the larger regional or to the small communities? Thank you.
Thank you. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, can I confirm with the Member that she's looking at page 192?
Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, these are Department of Health and Social Services staff. There is only the one location. It's in Yellowknife. And it provides the policy, legislation, financial, and service support for NTHSSA and for the Tlicho Community Service Agency and Hay River Health and Social Services Agency. So the service delivery is decentralized but the policy and planning is located in Yellowknife. Thank you.
Thank you. Member for Monfwi.
Yes, thank you. Well, this is where I think we we're all saying that, you know, we need more jobs in small communities. Some of those jobs I think it can be delivered from small communities in small communities. So I'm just asking if some of those positions can be transferred or can be decentralized to small communities.
Thank you. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I'll ask the deputy minister to respond.
Thank you. Deputy minister Cecchetto.
Thank you, Madam Chair. If I understand the question right, so in this section there are only two positions that are being increased in the administrative and support services for the department of health and one position is the assistant deputy minister for finance, policy and planning, and the other one is a senior communications officer. And both of those positions are located in the department here in Yellowknife.
Thank you. Member for Monfwi.
Thank you. Yeah, well the human resources increased to $1.06 million. So that's why I'm asking that, you know, and there's 80 administrative and support services even though that, you know, with the increase but there are still 80 administrative and support services positions located in headquarters. Can we have some of those jobs transferred to the region?
Thank you. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I don't see that as practical. There is regional administration of the different health and social services authority, like the Tlicho Community Services Agency. But the department provides overall direction here in Yellowknife. I am not clear how it would work to have a few people in another location. Did you want to add on? The deputy minister would like to add on, please.
Thank you. Deputy minister.
Thank you, Minister. And thank you, Madam Chair. I would just add that for the Member's awareness, the authorities also have their own administrativetype positions that are located within their own authorities as well, similar to what we have at the department. And so, yes, those are located at the community level. And I just wanted to be able to explain that those similar positions are within the department as well as within the three health authorities.
Thank you. Member for Monfwi.
Thank you. Yeah, when we talk to young people nowadays, you know, we tell them what you know, what's their career choice. They all they are always saying, you know, I don't know, you know. That's what they normally say because we don't have too many jobs for them that are, you know, situated in Tlicho region. Well, I'm speaking for Tlicho region. And so they have they feel like, you know, there's no other choice or they have no other choice because there's not too many in small communities. And a lot of administrative support where, you know but if there's more program and services and, you know, young people will have, you know, a better choice, can make a better choice, can make a good career choice. But we don't have too many. So that's why I'm asking that if we can have more or some of these positions transferred to the regions. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. Minister.
Yes, thank you. I understand the Member's point. There's a very high rate of vacancies among nurses in the Tlicho region. So if I was giving a young person advice in the Tlicho region, I would suggest that they take a look at all the different healthcare professions to see if they could find one there that would meet their needs and that would then keep them in their community. And the same could be said for the social work program, which I was delighted to hear will be started up again next year. We would like to hire people who are trained locally to do these jobs. Where it's possible to decentralize, we have. For example, some of the community and cultural initiative people are not in Yellowknife and so if we can find someone who can do the work in another location, we have no problems hiring them. Thank you.
Thank you. Did you have anything further, Member for Monfwi?
Thank you, Madam Chair. Yes, we would like to have more of our young people going in to become a nurse, you know. But if our education system was better, was good like Yellowknife and other regional centre, larger regional centre, yes, we can graduate, we can send more, we can encourage. But it's going to take years some of them to upgrade. They have to go through upgrading. And, you know, like, a lot of them are behind as noted in the 2018 health status report. Our education system is low and our graduation system is also low. So, yes, we would like to encourage. We would like to encourage more young people to take the nursing programs. And we do have some Tlicho nurse, but they did not go to school in my region, in our region. They went to school somewhere else. So they have more you know, like they have more advantage than our Tlicho youth who were born and raised in our region. So, yes, we would it would be good, you know. I think that's what would that's what we've been doing, telling our young people to take nursing program, to take other health care healthcare programs and services. Even sonographer, you know, that's I heard quite a few young people they would like to get into that, you know, but we don't have the capacity because our education system, we lack a lot of program and services. And, you know, it's that's a disadvantage. Yes, that's that's the disadvantage. So and maybe Ms. Green can, you know, transfer more of those positions and can work with our young people and encourage them and support them because if the more young people see these positions in the small communities, then maybe they will make a good you know, a good career choice. Just like the sonographer which is possible. That can be situated that can be transferred to Tlicho region, and our youth can benefit from that. Thank you.
Thank you. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you to the Member for her comment.
Any further questions under this section? No? Okay, so Health and Social Services, administrative and support services, operations expenditure summary, 20232024, $54,550,000. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you. We will now turn to health and social programs, beginning on page 198. Oh just wait, mixed up here; my pages are coming out.
Health and social programs, 198, with information on pages 199 to 201. Questions? Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I'm seeing that there is a decrease a small decrease but still a decrease in funding to child and family services. And I'm wondering if the Minister can speak to why we're seeing a slight decrease here and what's fuelling that? Thank you.
Thank you. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I'll ask the director of finance to answer, please.
Thank you. Ms. Johnson.
Thank you, Madam Chair. That's funding that's being reduced as time limited funding for child and family services legal fees and just to be resubstantiated as needed.
Thank you. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. So resubstantiated as needed for legal fees. I know that one of the things that social development had asked for was kind of an automatic avenue for people who are involved with child and family services to have access to a lawyer without having to kind of go the route of waiting in line from legal aid. And so would that kind of cover this or is it can the Minister speak a little bit more towards what specific legal fees would be covered under this line item. Thank you.
Thank you. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I'll ask the deputy minister to explain. Thank you.
Thank you. Deputy minister.
Thank you, Madam Chair. If I understand the question correctly, so these legal fees are particularly for, as I understand it, for the program and services consultation with legal. I believe that the Member is asking a question specific to clients' access to legal services, and that funding is not for that.
Thank you. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you very much for that, Madam Chair. That was a very helpful differentiation.
I'm wondering if the Minister can let us know how many youth in care that this $44 million serves and how many youth it serves who are under voluntary service agreement, just for numbers purposes. Thank you.
Minister responsible for Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I don't have a breakdown in front of me, but I can say that there are about 1200 children in the Northwest Territories receiving some kind of service from social services. Thank you.
Thank you. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. And, Madam Chair, just to be very specific, 1200 youth in it the Northwest Territories receiving some form of care doesn't necessarily mean that all of those children have been removed from their homes; they could be under voluntary service agreement but still in their own homes. So just to confirm that piece, plus to confirm the Minister does not have a breakdown of how many youth they are serving in their own home versus in a foster care situation? Thank you.
Thank you. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, according to the last annual report from child and family services, 93 percent of children were living in their own home or in their own community. And of all the children in care, about half of them are supported with voluntary support agreement. Thank you.
