Ontario’s Closure Of Youth Detention Facilities Has Not Resulted In More Support For Young People

Without investment in community-based service providers to support youth being transitioned out of custodial settings, it is unlikely that youth will thrive. (Shutterstock)

The Ontario government said it would save $40 million per year by closing 26 youth detention centres in 2021, with promises to use those savings to support community services for youth.

Framed as a cost-savings strategy aligned with the objectives of the Youth Criminal Justice Act, the money saved through the closures would be reinvested in community-based services and alternatives to youth detention.

Since these closures, however, there has been no government reporting on where or when this $40 million will be reinvested. Meanwhile, organizations that serve youth report ongoing resource constraints.

The closure of youth detention centres is a positive development. However, without adequate investment in community organizations that serve youth, it is a move set up to fail.

Read more: Ontario closes half of its youth detention centres, leaving some young people in limbo

Youth detention in Ontario

Between 2018 and 2022, youth imprisonment numbers fell by around 50 per cent in Ontario. That continued a longer trend which has seen youth detention numbers fall by over 85 per cent over a 25-year period from 1997 to 2022. There has also been a recent uptick in youth imprisonment numbers, increasing from 9,654 in 2021-22 to 10,960 in 2022-23.

Currently, Ontario’s youth prisons are at overcapacity, and the Sudbury youth detention centre is set to close next year.

Several of the 26 youth detention centres that were closed were situated in northern Ontario. The Ontario Ombudsman, Nishnawbe Aski Nation and Grand Council Treaty #3 have said the abrupt closures would disproportionately impact Indigenous youth in detention.

Community organizations overwhelmed

We have examined the annual reports for 2019-24 from 46 organizations serving youth in the justice system from Kenora, Thunder Bay and Kingston where a significant number of the youth detention closures occurred.

While many community organizations believe closing detention centres is a good long-term decision, there are many immediate concerns. We found consistent reporting of limited funding to support all youth in need.

Organizations are impacted by record-high numbers of youth seeking access to services, with some organizations seeing a significant increase in the number of youth accessing their services — especially mental health programs. This has resulted in some organizations increasing the hours and days they are open to accommodate as many youth as possible, while also balancing staff burnout.

Organizations did not report any substantial increase in funds from the government due to the closure of youth detention centres. Some noted challenges around fundraising, as many events were put on hold during the pandemic. This has resulted in organizations being unable to hire new staff or increase their services. In some cases this has also led to staff layoffs.

Investing in community

Deinstitutionalization refers to the period when institutions that housed or confined people with mental, cognitive, intellectual and physical disabilities were shut down, and people were released to live in communities.

However, this process is often not met with sufficient funding for social supports. Inevitably, more people struggling with mental health end up in hospital emergency departments and in conflict with the law. This shift in responsibility has been referred to as transinstitutionalization.

We have written about these trends in Ontario following the 2021 youth detention centre closures. Many of the young people in these centres struggle with mental health issues, neurodivergence and addictions.

Significant investments in community supports are needed. Otherwise, many youth will continue to be funneled into other institutions, including hospitals and adult prisons.

Since 2009, Ontario has seen a significant increase in hospital emergency room visits for mental health or substance-related concerns, especially among 14–21 year olds. Mental illness and drug dependence are some of the most prevailing health problems for criminalized Canadians. In a study of 1,770 young people in Québec, researchers found those struggling with alcohol or drugs and familial problems are more likely to face re-imprisonment.

Helping youth in detention

In 2023, a justice centre was opened in Kenora, and in 2024, funding was announced for child and youth mental health in Ontario. Yet, more support is needed. In many northern, rural and remote communities, services for children and youth with intensive needs simply do not exist.

Youth face a number of additional barriers accessing support and treatment. These include long wait lists, overemphasis on illness-based and medical models, fragmented services, lack of developmentally and culturally appropriate services, and support that fails to consider the preferences and perspectives of youth and families.

Strains on youth community supports are also felt in other provinces. Researchers interviewed youth justice community workers in Alberta who reported inadequate funding with impacts on resources for youth, including psychological support and the ability for staff to give enough attention and time to youth. Conditions also lead to staff burnout and exit from the sector altogether.

The move to shift youth in the justice system away from confinement and towards community is a positive one. However, without investment in community-based service providers to support youth being transitioned out of custodial settings, it is unlikely that youth will thrive.

Such failures are likely to increase acute mental health crises and demands on ambulatory care within general medicine and psychiatric hospitals. These gaps are also likely to increase the number of youth who will come into conflict with the criminal legal system as adults.

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.