Treat Us Like We Matter: The Role of Youth In Measuring and Telling their Stories about Health and Well-being 3 rd Conference of the International Society for Child Indicators University of York, July 27, 2011

Presentation Outline Report Context Report Development Methodology Youth Engagement Key Findings Report outcomes Growing Up in B.C.

Map of British Columbia

Growing Up in B.C. Report released October 2010 Focus on the most vulnerable child and youth populations in the province International and national data experts Voices and views of youth fundamental to report development Growing Up in B.C.

Domains Growing Up in B.C. 5 Child Health Child Learning Child Safety Family Economic Well-being Family, Peer and Community Connections Child Behaviour

Youth Indicator Perspective Top 10 RCY /PHO Indicators Rates of substance abuse Supportive adult in your life High school graduation Rates of suicide Physical activity rates Smoking rates Rates of youth in care School safety Teenage birth rates Rates of involvement in positive leisure & recreational pursui ts Top Additional Indicators Suggested by Youth Poverty Positive self esteem Rates of experiencing extreme stress and depression High risk substance use (e.g. binge drinking, early use) Rates of accessing, not accessing mental health Rates of bullying, harassment & discrimination 6 Growing Up in B.C.

Focus Groups Focus groups were held with youth from urban and rural areas across BC 152 youth participated in the first round of focus groups to identify health indicators 49 of these youth returned to comment on the data along with an additional 63 youth 7 Growing Up in B.C.

What the Youth Said Growing Up in B.C. 8 Youth in care face particular challenges Youth want to be heard Young people in middle school are seen as particularly vulnerable Adult support is valuable and necessary to youth well-being Family financial vulnerability leads to child and youth vulnerability Responsibility for actions and choices

Growing Up in B.C. Learning – High School Completion

Youth Role in Report Dissemination Growing Up in B.C. 10 Youth from across the province made films to highlight concerns and recommendations Films were screened at a RCY conference and report launch 11 youth involved in the project participated in the launch Films continue to be utilized

Challenges Growing Up in B.C. 11 Accessing youth Timelines Roles and responsibilities Some data does not exist

Benefits Growing Up in B.C. 12 Youth voice included in determining how child and youth health is measured Youth provided feedback on the data and how it could be improved Partnership working allowed greater access to communities Have authentic baseline health data Conversations have moved beyond politics

Summary Growing Up in B.C. 13 For many this was their first experience of being asked for their feedback on youth health and almost all indicated that they would like to remain involved in an ongoing dialogue about how to improve youth health and well-being Insightful and honest feedback and recommendations from youth enriched data analyzed by the RCY/PHO Challenges along the way highlight the importance of clarifying policies to protect rights of youth involved

Thank you For more information: Growing Up in B.C. - Measuring our Health: Domains and Indicators of Youth Health and Well-being in B.C. – Treat Us Like We Matter: Youth’s responses to the data on Growing Up in B.C Michelle Wong Annie Smith Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond