Systemic Advocacy

What is Systemic Advocacy?

Systemic advocacy is about working towards broad changes in policy, practice, and legislation that will benefit many young people now and into the future.

Systemic Advocacy Work

Systemic advocacy occurs throughout all roles in the OCYA and includes:

• Engaging communities on issues affecting young people (e.g. youth suicide)
• Encouraging and supporting the child advocacy efforts of other organizations
• Organizing opportunities for young people to speak to decision makers (e.g. at public forums)
• Educating the public on the issues that matter to young people

Our systemic advocacy work also includes the release of special reports on issues such as the experiences of LGBTQ2S+ young people in the child welfare and youth justice systems, and investigative reviews concerning children who have sustained a serious injury or died while receiving designated services (or who had received them within two years prior to their serious injury or death). These reports make recommendations to government to improve systemic issues affecting young people. Following their release, we also track and report on the government’s progress meeting the recommendations made.