Page 12, Health and Social Services, operations expenditures, health services programs, not previously authorized, $716,000, community health programs, $752,000, total department, $1.468 million. Mr. Braden, please.

Mr. Chairman, under community health programs just shy of a half million dollars is identified for contributions to additional costs associated with the increased number of children receiving services under the Child and Family Services Act and to providing services for children in southern facilities due to an increase in the number of placements. This is quite a...It's a lot of money on its own and I'm wondering if the Minister could give us some idea in terms of percentage or ratio this, as I say, almost half a million dollars, how much of an increment is this in what was forecasted for this particular area here, Mr. Chairman?

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Minister Roland, please.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Our information was total area including all health authorities and the department falls in the area of $6.7 million. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister. Mr. Braden.

Okay, thank you, Mr. Chairman. So a bit under 10 percent. I guess I'm wondering what is the cause of this? Is this a trend? You know, when you look at the dollar amount here, a half a million dollars worth of additional un-forecasted services for children in care, it seems to me that it represents a lot of kids having difficulty. What's the cause? Is this a trend? Are we going to be seeing continued sustained increases in this area? Can the Minister shed some light on what's causing this, Mr. Chairman?

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Voytilla, please.

Thank you, Mr. Voytilla. Mr. Braden.

Mr. Chairman, okay, so we have some explanation of the numbers here is the cause. What's going on in communities, in families, in societies, or is it in the way we are enforcing or intervening? Do we have new laws or something that's causing this surge? That's what I'd like to get a little bit of understanding of, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, the Minister of Health and Social Services may be able to provide more of that background as to the specific causes, or at least the best estimate under the department's case, the causes for these type of increases. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Roland. Minister Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, the fundamental issue, of

course, is children in need of service and often protection. It's done in a number of ways. The laws were changed a number of years ago so that it didn't always require the children be taken into care, but there is foster care arrangements, there's support and services to parents and families while a child is in care, there's just general services to children, youth and their families if their child requires service but remains in the family home, there's adoption subsidies to support special needs of a child who was in permanent custody of the director of family and children services, which is the special needs children. So there's a number of voluntary support agreements trying to assist parents, as well, as they deal with children that may have behavioural problems or some other challenges that they're trying to deal with. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Miltenberger. Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. That's all.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. I'm on page 12, Health and Social Services, operations expenditures, health services programs, not previously authorized, $716,000, community health programs, not previously authorized, $752,000, total department, $1.468 million. Agreed?

Thank you. Page 13, Department of Justice, operations expenditures, community justice and corrections, not previously authorized, $464,000, total department, $464,000. Agreed?

Thank you. Page 14, NWT Housing Corporation, operations expenditures, NWT Housing Corporation, not previously authorized, $56,000, total department, $56,000.

Thank you. Page 15, Education, Culture and Employment, operations expenditures, education and culture, not previously authorized, $1.874 million, income security, $2.749 million, total department, $4.623 million.