Latest news with #Don'tLookAway
Hamilton Spectator
3 days ago
- Hamilton Spectator
One year after scathing report into 11-year-old's death, watchdog says not enough has changed
One year after the province promised a 'new vision' for child welfare following a scathing report into an 11-year-old boy's death, the B.C. Representative for Children and Youth (RCY), says not enough has been done to fix the system. Jennifer Charlesworth says some progress is being made one year after she released Don't Look Away on July 16, 2024 — but expressed concerns about 'fiscal limitations' and other challenges standing in the way of advancement. 'For some reason, it's very difficult to shift a system in the way it needs to shift,' said Charlesworth during a media event on Tuesday. 'So we're committed to keep reminding the sector that we can do so much better for children and families.' Don't Look Away tells the story of 'Colby,' an Indigenous boy — whose real name and specific community have been withheld to protect his identity — who was failed by multiple systems meant to keep children safe. The report outlines how those failures, rooted in long-standing patterns of colonial oversight, led to his untimely death at the hands of extended family caregivers in a 'Fraser Valley' foster home in 2021. The mistreatment of Colby and his sister was called 'incomprehensible' by a provincial court judge who sentenced their two caregivers to 10 years in prison in 2023. 'One of the most heartbreaking findings of this report was that this beautiful child's many critical injuries — and his death — could have been prevented,' said Charlesworth in a July 15 press release. 'I want to acknowledge the incomprehensible grief and loss that this child's family, those who loved him, and the communities he was connected to continue to experience. 'I want to be able to tell them that we have learned and that things are better for children and families in B.C., but I need to see more change on the ground before I am able to do that.' The report centred Colby's story to examine what went wrong — not just in his case, but as a lens to interrogate the broader system of care. It offered detailed recommendations to prevent similar tragedies and called for a fundamental overhaul of 'B.C.'s' child welfare system. Of the 50 main recommendations made in Don't Look Away, Charlesworth says 'a good half of them' are being addressed, but noted that the data is still currently being pulled, so couldn't confirm any specific numbers. The same day that the RCY spoke to media, the B.C. Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) released a statement providing an update on the steps it has taken since the report was released one year prior. The statement referenced the development of a 'child and youth well-being action plan and outcomes framework,' with several other ministries, including Education and Child Care, Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation and Social Development and Poverty Reduction, among others. This collaboration follows criticism that ministries were working ineffectively in silos to address issues experienced by children, Youth and families. But Charlesworth added that she is only seeing collaboration at the senior level. 'On the ground, it really depends on the players at the local level,' she said, noting that ministries such as Health, in many cases, contract out mental health and substance-use services. 'So it's not just the ministries, but the agencies who are involved in service delivery,' she said. 'It's fragile and community dependent.' Charlesworth noted that she hasn't received a timeline for the completion of the plan, nor has she seen a first draft. 'We've seen what they would like to include in the plan, but no timeline on when this is going to be available,' she said. According to Jodie Wickens, Minister of Children and Family Development, 'the work is already well underway, and a draft plan is developed,' she wrote in an email to IndigiNews. 'The plan introduces fundamental, systemic changes that will take time to implement.' 'In the meantime,' said Wickens, 'we have already taken several actions to improve child safety and wellbeing, and the RCY acknowledges we have made progress on 65 per cent of the recommendations from various reports, including Don't Look Away.' But when IndigiNews asked Charlesworth about the percentage, she hesitated. 'Yes, there is progress on many of our RCY reports,' she said. 'But of course, progress exists on a scale — from none, a little, some, significant, to complete — and many are still only at the 'some' stage.' Charlesworth also raised concerns that 'fiscal limitations' will restrict any good intentions the government has, and delay on-the-ground improvements for young people and their families. With the current unstable state of the economy, Charlesworth says more families will be dealing with poverty, 'which we know has an impact on child wellbeing,' she said. Additionally, Charlesworth added, the government is currently under a fiscal deficit, 'and we know from the past that what gets cut is social programs — we've seen it many times,' she said, adding that it's social programs that help support and stabilise families, particularly those facing poverty and experiencing disabilities.' Charlesworth argued that by limiting early support for families often leads to 'very expensive services' down the line — like staffed group homes, which she says can cost the government up to $100,000 per month. 'Surely if we backed up the bus, we'd be able to save money,' she said, noting that while early intervention would require upfront investment, it could lead to 'significant financial, emotional, and spiritual transformations.' Among positive steps the MCFD has taken, more than 90 per cent of young people are now being seen within 90 days, as per the ministry's policy — Colby was not seen by his social worker for seven months. 'Information is being collected and monitored in real time,' the RCY added in its media release. Additionally, new training has been delivered to more than 800 child welfare workers to ensure that they are better prepared to work with nations resuming jurisdiction over child and family services. But the MCFD says it has also increased staffing levels by 20 per cent, a figure which is disputed by Charlesworth. 'Our observation is that 20 per cent is not something we're seeing,' she told reporters. According to Charlesworth, MCFD has focused on filling pre-existing vacancies, of which there are many. But this doesn't account for a 20 per cent increase in the total workforce. '20 per cent seems inflated to us,' she said. In a response from Wickens, she said that 'these jobs are some of the hardest and complex in B.C., and the ministry is working hard to strengthen our workforce.' Another area MCFD needs to address, according to the RCY, is supporting families with regards to basic income and housing support. When IndigiNews asked Wickens about whether the government will be stepping up to provide these supports, she did not specifically answer the question, but noted that MCFD has 'clarified with staff how they can use discretionary funding to provide timely, family-centered, needs-based and practical assistance to families in crisis situations,' and that they're improving resources for kinship care providers. Charlesworth also believes the province has not done enough to 'tap into the knowledge, wisdom and creativity of nations, other sectors and community services to find better ways to support children, youth and families,' focusing on internal, cross-ministry collaborations. Wickens' responded that 'B.C.' is 'leading the country with First Nations' as they reclaim jurisdiction over child welfare; that it has appointed Jeremy Y'in Neduklhchulh Williams as an Indigenous child welfare director to advance 'meaningful reconciliation including a focus on the overrepresentation of Indigenous children and youth in care;' and that it is committed to working 'in lockstep with First Nations' as their work unfolds. According to the Our Children Our Way society, on Wednesday the RCY hosted a ceremony and gathering with community leaders, Elders, matriarchs, Indigenous child and family agencies, and ministry representatives to coincide with the anniversary of the report. 'We know from past experience that many reports end up sitting on the shelf,' said Charlesworth. 'We owe it to Colby not to look away.' Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. 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Global News
4 days ago
- Health
- Global News
A year after report into boy's torture, death, B.C. still laging on reforms: Advocate
WARNING: This story deals with situations that may be distressing to some readers. Discretion is advised. One year after releasing a report into the horrific abuse and death of an 11-year-old boy, British Columbia's representative for children and youth says the province must do more to protect kids in government care. The report, titled Don't Look Away – How one boy's story has the power to shift a system of care for children and youth, profiled the preventable death of 'Colby' (a pseudonym to protect his privacy), an Indigenous boy born with medical challenges and who was placed in multiple foster homes. 2:02 B.C. boy's story of torture, neglect has power to inspire reform: report He ultimately died in February 2021 while in the care of two extended family caregivers, four days after suffering repeated beatings from his mother's aunt. When he died, he had multiple fractures and injuries to his brain, head, lungs, organs and skin — and weighed just 63.5 pounds (28.8 kilograms), not much more than half the weight of an average child his age. Story continues below advertisement The report, penned by representative for children and youth Jennifer Charlesworth, called for an overhaul of the province's child welfare system, including more family support services, improved violence prevention resources, better support for people providing kinship care and improved collaboration between agencies. 'Our hope was that it would point government in the direction of not just tweaking at the edges, but actually substantively shifting their approach to child, youth and family services, what we called the 'North Star' with a different way of thinking about things and with a much deeper focus on child wellbeing, which of course brings in mental health, health care, education, poverty reduction,' Charlesworth said Tuesday. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy But Charlesworth said despite some progress, the province has a long way to go. She said the province has yet to produce a child wellbeing strategy and action plan, nor a timeline for a first draft. And she said that despite welcome efforts by the province to improve staffing, much of the new hiring so far has been to fill vacancies, not to expand the workforce enough to deliver the kinds of services that are necessary. 2:29 Torture, death of boy in care prompts demand for change from B.C. watchdog Charlesworth said her concerns were further exacerbated by the current economic climate which is simultaneously putting more pressure on low-income families, while creating pressure for the government to cut services just as they're needed most. Story continues below advertisement 'We see on a daily basis that in the absence of doing the preventive services, we see very expensive services needed to be provided when a child is older, when the family is in a significant state of crisis or when the child has come into care,' she said. 'It's going to require an infusion of resources to support families in the short term in order to achieve better outcomes in the longer term — but if our kids aren't thriving, if they are struggling, and if we've got families that are falling to pieces and unable to care for their children, there are significant social, emotional, and financial costs attached to that.' Minister of Children and Family Development Jodie Wickens told Global News the province has fulfilled nearly two-thirds of the report's recommendations, and remains committed to implementing the rest. 'Minister (Grace) Lohr stood up at the time and apologized on behalf of government, and we took action immediately,' she said. 'So there are a number of small, quick actions that our government and my ministry took. And then there are larger systemic actions that will take much longer, some of which that are generational in nature.' 2:54 Father of boy who died in foster care demands accountability The province has improved integration between ministries and renewed its commitment to First Nations self-determination. Story continues below advertisement Critics say the improvements to the system aren't enough. 'It's on the brink of collapse, the brink of functional collapse. And in Colby's case we can directly attribute the lack of staffing to his death,' said BC Conservative children and family development critic Amelia Boultbee. 'Many children are currently not safe in the system that MCFD currently has designed, especially due to staffing.' The province was currently working on a child and youth wellbeing plan and outcomes framework. If you require emotional support the following resources are available: Kid's Help Phone (1-800-668-6868, or text CONNECT to 686868) is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to Canadians ages five to 29 who want confidential and anonymous care from a counsellor. KUU-US Crisis Line (1-800-588-8717) is available to support Indigenous people in B.C., 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The Métis Crisis Line (1-833-638-4722) is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Youth in BC ( Online Chat is available from noon to 1 a.m. in B.C. Mental Health Support Line (310-6789 – no area code) will connect you to your local B.C. crisis line without a wait or busy signal, 24 hours a day. Crisis line workers are there to listen and support you as well as refer you to community resources. Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Crisis Line (1-844-413-6649) is available to individuals impacted by missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and LGBTQ2+ people, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The National Indian Residential School Crisis Line (1-866-925-4419) provides 24-hour crisis support to former Indian Residential School students and their families.
