Staff shortages factor in longer youth protection waiting lists, says DPJ official

“We have never seen such long waiting lists in Montreal, but also in other regions,” said Assunta Gallo.

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Even as the youth protection authorities (DPJ) in Montreal reported a slight drop in the number of new cases over the past year, the shortage of staff has caused the waiting list for services to grow even further.

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More than 700 children await the services of the DPJ offices in the Montreal area, said Assunta Gallo, DPJ director for the Center-Sud-de-l’île-de-Montréal health and social services authority.

“We have never seen such long waiting lists in Montreal, but also in other regions,” Gallo said during a press conference to discuss DPJ’s local operations over the past year. “This is because we have had increases in reporting in other years, but also because we have a shortage of staff.”

Gallo said there was an extra effort being made to recruit staff, but there are 50 openings left in Montreal that must be filed to meet the demand for services.

The DPJ recorded 15,000 cases between April 2020 and the end of March 2021, a drop of around three percent that officials attribute to the pandemic.