Hotel rooms are still being used to house some foster children in Saskatchewan.
As of noon Monday, 23 foster children in Regina and four in Prince Albert were staying in hotels. In July and August, a total of 68 children were cared for in hotels across the province.
"It’s not our intention to continue to use hotels,” said Gary Prediger with the Ministry of Social Services.
“But until we are able to develop other plans and options and capacity, we would have no other choice to use hotels periodically.”
In June, the ministry told CTV News that putting foster children in hotels was an "emergency measure" and it was not a long-term option. Soon after, an emergency shelter with 13 spaces opened up to provide relief, along with all other backup shelters. But those spaces are now full.
"We've had higher-than-average call volumes. We’ve had higher volumes of children coming into care, due to child protection concerns,” said Prediger.
“We’ve had a corresponding decrease in the number of spaces available in foster homes.”
Saskatchewan’s NDP Opposition says the number of foster children staying in hotels is staggering.
"We are shocked and frustrated that the government misled the public,” said NDP Social Services critic David Forbes.
The NDP is calling on the government to hire more frontline social workers to reduce caseloads, and to recruit more foster families. They also want to see the province establish a legislative standing committee on children and youth to oversee the department.
The ministry admits it is in desperate need of foster parents and homes, and says it’s working to develop other long-term solutions for overflow. But officials say, in the meantime, hotels are the best option for safe care.
Based on a report by CTV Regina’s Christeen Jesse
