Children in group homes at risk: Saskatchewan's children and youth advocate
Saskatchewan’s Advocate for Children and Youth says children in group homes continue to be at risk because the social services minister hasn’t moved quick enough to address oversight issues raised in a previous report.
In March, advocate Lisa Broda released a special investigation report, documenting the case of a high-needs boy who ran away from his group home. Broda said she found this incident illustrative of a system that doesn’t not have proper oversight.
Broda gave three recommendations for improvement, which the Ministry of Social Services accepted.
However, in a follow-up progress report released Monday, Broda said “the slow movement on achieving the recommendations made in March will continue to place children with highly specialized needs in harm’s way.”
Broda pointed to incidents that occurred this past summer, when she was made aware of a children’s group home in Prince Albert facing allegations of neglect and harsh treatment, lack of nutritious food and medical supplies, and poorly trained staff.
“That’s egregious neglect,” said Broda. “Those children didn’t even receive the basic of human needs, the basic human rights that they should be afforded to, never mind children having the right to the highest attainable standard of health.”
Broda also noted an incident where a high-needs boy in Regina ran away from his group home, and was later found floating in a creek making ‘gurgling’ sounds.
“That child ran away the same as the child here in Saskatoon that ran from his group home. That’s pure and simple supervision,” she said.
NDP social services critic Meara Conway said action is needed now.
“This is like the stuff of nightmares. It is incredibly disturbing stuff. The advocate is clearly concerned about a lack of accountability and service quality,” said Conway.
Broda said the ministry did come up with a plan following her recommendations made in March, but said the plan is not enough.
“If we continue to operate in a reactive manner of our system, and not be actively looking and reviewing and monitoring and seeing how children are being cared for… then we’re going to expect more of this,” she said.
On Tuesday, Minister of Social Services Lori Carr said the ministry is working on creating a dedicated group that will work with group homes on oversight and receiving complaints.
“It should be up an running within a couple of months. It’s taken a little bit of time to get it set up to ensure that it is done properly,” Carr said.
The advocate said on Wednesday she was not aware this group was being set up, and will be looking for more information on it. Broda said her office will also continue to monitor the progress the ministry makes on her recommendations.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cyclist issued fine for striking four-year-old girl crossing the street
A cyclist turned herself in and received a fine after striking a four-year-old girl who was crossing the street to catch a school bus.
Protest encampment cleared by Edmonton police early Saturday morning
A protest encampment set up on the University of Alberta campus was cleared early Saturday morning by Edmonton police.
'We have no judge for you': Man's assault charges dropped weeks before trial due to lack of judges in Toronto
A man who was accused of sexually and physically assaulting a woman had his charges dropped in April, just weeks before he was set to stand trial in Toronto, due to a lack of judges in the region.
Millions of Canadians have been exposed to potentially toxic chemicals, and they're not going anywhere
For decades, North Bay, Ontario's water supply has harboured chemicals associated with liver and developmental issues, cancer and complications with pregnancy. It's far from the only city with that problem.
Dutch contestant kicked out of Eurovision hours before tension-plagued song contest final
The Netherlands' contestant in the Eurovision Song Contest was dramatically expelled from competition hours before Saturday's final of the pan-continental pop competition, which has been rattled by protests over the participation of Israel.
opinion How to use your credit card as a powerful wealth-building tool
Irresponsibly using a credit card can land you in financial trouble, but personal finance columnist Christopher Liew says when used properly, it can be a powerful wealth-building tool that can help grow your credit profile and create new opportunities.
Out-of-control wildfire prompts evacuation alert for Fort McMurray, Saprae Creek Estates Friday night
An evacuation alert was issued for two Wood Buffalo communities Friday night, as crews battled an out-of-control wildfire near Fort McMurray.
Couple randomly attacked, 1 stabbed, by group of teens in Toronto, police say
A man has been transported to hospital after police say he was stabbed in a random attack carried out by a group of teens in Toronto on Friday night.
IN PHOTOS Northern lights dance across the night sky in southern Ont.
From London, to Mildmay, Collingwood and St. Thomas, here are some highlights of Friday night and Saturday morning's northern lights display.