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
Prince William and Kate release photo of daughter Charlotte to mark ninth birthday
Prince William and his wife Kate released a picture of their daughter Charlotte to mark the princess's ninth birthday on Thursday.
Weight-loss drug Wegovy available in Canada starting May 6
The makers of Ozempic say their weight-loss drug Wegovy will be available to patients in Canada starting Monday.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Goring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
NEW A mother's hopes to free her son from a Syrian prison is revitalized by a new human rights report
Just days before the seventh anniversary of the day Jack Letts was thrown in prison with thousands of suspected ISIS fighters, his mother, Sally Lane, delivered a small stack of envelopes to the headquarters of Global Affairs Canada in Ottawa.
NEW Companies letting customers opt out of Mother's Day ads
In an effort to balance the profitability of Mother's Day with the pain it causes some people, some brands are offering customers the choice to opt out of Mother's Day email advertising.
Dental care program accepting claims for 1 million seniors
Citizens' Services Minister Terry Beech says 1,200 seniors have already visited a dentist and had their claims processed by the federal government's new dental care plan.
Concerns about Plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall Plexiglass barriers.
NEW Facial reconstruction reveals what a 40-something Neanderthal woman may have looked like
Scientists studying a Neanderthal woman's remains have painstakingly pieced together her skull from 200 bone fragments to understand what she may have looked like.
Ont. woman who faked pregnancy to defraud doulas arrested again on similar charges
Victims of a Brantford, Ont., woman who was sentenced to house arrest earlier this year for defrauding and deceiving doulas say they’re not surprised she’s been apprehended again on similar charges.