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Reporting a situation to the Director of Youth Protection (DYP)

Under the Youth Protection Act (YPA), the DYP is responsible for protecting children and youths whose safety and development are compromised. The DYP intervenes if it receives a report from someone with reasonable grounds to believe that the development and safety of a youth aged between 0 and 17 are compromised.

What does reporting mean?

Reporting means communicating directly with your local Director of Youth Protection (DYP) about a situation where you have concerns regarding the safety or development of a child aged 0 to 17. This communication is confidential, and is generally done by phoning 1 800 567-6810 or 819 776-6060. Reporting can also be done in person during business hours. Contact us for details of your nearest centre.

Professionals will review all the facts you report to determine whether the situation you describe meets one or more criteria identified under the Youth Protection Act.

Reasons for reporting

Under the Youth Protection Act (YPA), the Director of Youth Protection is responsible for responding within families and helping children and youths whose security or development is compromised. The main grounds are:

  • Abandonment
  • Neglect
  • Psychological abuse
  • Sexual abuse
  • Physical abuse
  • Serious behaviour disorders

 Did you know that

The identity of the person who files a report is confidential?

The Youth Protection Act protects the act of reporting. No person shall reveal or be compelled to reveal the identity of a person who has filed a report (art. 44 YPA). Anyone choosing to identify himself can be confident that his identity will not be disclosed without his consent.

When can reporting be done?

The service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

If you have concerns regarding the situation of a child or youth aged between 0 and 17, please call us immediately at 1 800 567-6810 or 819 776‑6060. You don’t need to be absolutely certain that a child needs protection to report the situation. If you can deduce from observation or from statements by the child that there are reasonable grounds for suspicion, then call us.

If you are a professional and you know a child or youth who is a victim of any of these situations, you are required under the Youth Protection Act to notify the Director of Youth Protection immediately.

What happens when a child’s situation is reported?

Once the child’s situation is reported, the Director of Youth Protection and its authorized partners conduct a summary analysis. They consider:

  • the presence, the nature, the seriousness, the chronicity and the frequency of the facts reported;
  • the vulnerability (age and personal characteristics of the child);
  • the ability and willingness of the parents to correct the situation;
  • local resources available to assist the child and his/her parents.

This analysis allows them to determine whether or not the report should be retained for assessment, as well as the degree of urgency of the response.

If the report is not retained, the Director of Youth Protection stops the intervention, and then notifies the person who reported the situation that it is no longer being considered. Information provided in a report is held in the child’s file for a period of 2 years or until the child reaches the age of 18, whichever is shorter.

If the reporting is retained, the Director of Youth Protection then assesses the child’s situation to determine whether his security or development has been compromised. The child and his/her family are met by a social worker authorized by the Director of Youth Protection. Other people will also be contacted to complete the assessment.

If the assessment determines that the child’s safety or development has not been compromised, the Director of Youth Protection ends its intervention, after which it notifies the person who reported the situation that it is no longer being considered. The child or his/her parents could need basic help extending beyond the scope of the Director of Youth Protection, in which case the Director of Youth Protection could refer the family to a help resource in the community, such as a food bank, an employment office or a CLSC.

If the assessment determines that the child’s safety or development has been compromised, the DYP takes over the child’s case. The DYP case worker, together with the parents and the youth (to the extent possible), identify the best ways to resolve the compromising situation and prevent it from reoccurring.