Child Welfare in BC: The Stuff Nightmares are Made of

Make no mistake, there isn’t a time in this province over the last 7 years that MCFD has not struggled and failed to meet the needs of some of the most vulnerable, whether that is in the North, or in any region around BC. These cases aren’t anomalies. Read the BC Coroner's Service Statistics. Unfortunately you won't read any BCCS recommendations for MCFD in their last report, as the secrets are safe there, with a former MCFD insider well placed to keep a lid on things in BCCS. These children have LOST their lives, their families have been devastated and torn apart, because of the public policies and purposeful actions of the BC Liberal government from the time they came into office in 2001. It has been and continues to be non-stop chaos, designed and implemented by people who often have not actually worked in child protection, nor working in child welfare in BC and have even a passing familiarity of the issues and terrain. This is part of the neo-conservative ideology of the BC Liberals. This is what it has looks like:

- Funding cuts, downsizing & increase of workload for remaining workers,
- Deregulation, increase of administrative burdens and toxic work environment,
- Decentralize major tasks, oversight & accountability,
- Alternative Service Delivery (ASD) – devolve services from direct government from Community Living BC & now Aboriginal Services (April 1st 2008 all Aboriginal child protection in Vancouver is now the responsibility of Vancouver Aboriginal Child & Family Services Society).

The big problem is, organizations and people like KAP and many others have been trying to tell the government that this kind of governance ideology won’t work in child protection, THE COSTS ARE JUST TOO HIGH and the VICTIMS who really bear that cost are no longer with us because of a profound systemic failure, a self-serving and destructive force called the BC government, which is supposed to protect them. What has worked is being able to place things behind closed doors, no government responsibility, no accountability, arms length and the BC government doesn’t have to be responsible for a whole lot of children dying around the province. They’ve gotten away with this for 7 years.

Ask MCFD to release the statistics on the attrition rate of social workers. On the numbers of social workers who’ve resigned, gone on medical leaves, how about suicides of social workers? These are all closely guarded and anyone who does ask is likely put on a hit list and referred to the Minister’s office.

Or they are silenced and savaged until they shut up and leave so they can continue to live themselves. Workers are just literally being ripped apart working in this toxic and dysfunctional organization in every region in the province. Many young, new workers (majority women) are quitting in droves, completely burnt out by the time they reach their mid-20’s, after one, or two years on the job. But does the organization do anything to improve the working conditions? Absolutely not. Ask yourself, would you want to send your daughter, fresh out of university, into a home where someone is mentally ill/a drug addict/has criminal convictions/is involved in crime and discuss how they’re caring for their children, whether they should keep them? How about with no cell phone, by herself? It happens every day in this province and MCFD gets away with it.

Ask MCFD the amount of your taxpayer dollars that have gone into paying Worksafe BC fines for breaching legal duties and responsibilities for occupational safety & health (OSH)? They’ve been fined thousands of dollars. They have money for lots of executive and management retreats and lunches, failed experiments, but none for workers, or cell phones.

Right now, how many child death reviews are happening in MCFD? Do they even have the numbers? How many involve children & youth involved with CLBC? Do they have the numbers? Do the authorities know that each regional director makes the decision on whether a review even takes place, or not? And as those who’ve written reports know, those final reports are edited & re-written by MCFD personnel before they are released.

I think it is time that the United Nations became involved in the conduct of the BC government over this Ministry in its’ systemic negligence towards children in need of protection. MCFD Deputy Minister Lesley Du Toit, has been affiliated with the International Institute for Child Rights and Development (IICRD) for a long time. How does this all connect for her? She knows Canada is a signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and has a strong background in child welfare. She more than anyone in BC knows the worst of what is happening, except for Marilyn Hedlund, the MCFD provincial director of Child Protection. And a note to all of you, after Ms. Hedlund’s left the leadership of the child welfare system in Saskatchewan, it required and received a huge cash infusion, which only usually happens when there are a slough of child deaths, or there are BIG lawsuits.

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Hard-hitting report on the deaths of four children in northern BC released

Vancouver/CKNW(AM980). April 16th 2008.

BC’s independent child and youth representative has released a hard-hitting report on the deaths of four children in northern BC in the past decade. Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond says BC’s child protection system failed the children on numerous levels. Turpel-Lafond reviewed the deaths of 3-year-old Savannah Hall, 4-year-old Amanda Simpson, 7-month-old Serena Wiebe and 14-month-old Rowen Von Neiderhausern. Three of the children were aboriginal, one was in foster care - all had some contact with the system. The report identifies key deficiencies such as failure to recognize child abuse, inadequate child protection investigations, and information sharing...it talks about ineffective training of social workers, staffing shortages, and high caseloads. Turpel-Lafond makes 11 recommendations, saying current practices have shown no improvement since these children died.

**
Government failing children at risk
Lindsay Kines, Times Colonist. Published: Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Excerpt:

The child welfare system failed four children who died in northern B.C. from 1999 to 2005, and the provincial government has yet to learn from its mistakes, a hard-hitting report from the independent children's watchdog says.
Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond said her investigation of the deaths found recurring problems including sub-standard safety assessments, staff shortages and poor communication between the Ministry of Children and Family Development and other professionals.
"Most significantly, the investigation found an inability on the part of the ministry to learn from valuable lessons," she told a press conference. "Even internal ministry reviews of these deaths provided lessons that were not returned to the front-lines of the system - including not returned to this day."
Turpel-Lafond said the "standard of practice has not appreciably improved" since the time of the children's deaths.
The report examined the lives and deaths of Amanda Simpson, Savannnah Hall, Rowen Von Niederhausern and Serena Wiebe. Each child had a history of family involvement with the child welfare system.
Turpel-Lafond said the deaths occurred at time when the ministry's northern region was struggling to provide service, while trying to recruit, train and retain staff.
"At the time of each of these deaths, major policy changes were underway on top of this shifting foundation of high staff turnover, staff shortages, and resource limitations," she said.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=605c7e32-fb45-4c9d-9d9e-f04f9c6ac39a&k=93562

Centre of Excellence for Learning Disabled Students

Learning disabled students could get own centre of excellence

Janet Steffenhagen, Vancouver Sun
Published: Monday, March 10, 2008

VANCOUVER - A centre of excellence to help children with learning disabilities could soon open in Vancouver if the school board approves a proposal tonight, chairman Clarence Hansen said Sunday.

Hansen said the centre would employ special-education teachers to work with students and develop programs to meet their needs. It would also offer professional development for teachers to ensure those programs continue after the students return to their home schools.

The proposal, which doesn't yet have a price tag, is one of several dealing with special education to be considered by trustees at tonight's meeting. Another calls for an audit in all Lower Mainland schools to compare the actual cost of special education with the dollars provided by the Education Ministry.

Hansen predicted the audit would increase pressure for more funding, adding that in his opinion, "the ministry has to cough up more bucks."

He said the proposed centre would be different from the controversial "model" school for special-needs children that Education Minister Shirley Bond was promoting a year ago because it would be part of the Vancouver district rather than being a provincially run school.

The proposals to be discussed tonight were floated late last year by a group called Parents for Successful Inclusion. Spokeswomen Dawn Steele and Patti Bacchus said they are pleased the district is taking their recommendations seriously.

If approved, the proposals would represent "first steps" in restoring supports for thousands of special-needs students in Vancouver public schools, they said in an e-mail Sunday.

Meanwhile, the Learning Disabilities Association of B.C. has started a petition pressing government to meet the education needs of all children through early screening for special needs and prompt intervention.

It also calls for:
- Specific funding for special-education programs that covers actual costs.
- Pre- and in-service training for all teachers to help them meet the diverse needs in their classrooms.
- A third-party appeal process for parents to deal quickly with complaints and monitor compliance.

The association's Cathie Camley said her group started the petition out of sheer frustration at a B.C. Supreme Court decision overturning a B.C. Human Rights Tribunal ruling that had ordered schools to provide adequate services for students with severe learning disabilities or pay for them to attend private schools.

Parents had hoped the human-rights decision would force government to provide much-needed services, she said, adding the petition gives voice to "their disappointment, anger, frustration and sadness."

Sun education reporter
jsteffenhagen@png.canwest.com
© The Vancouver Sun 2008
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/westcoastnews/story.html?id=a267f13b-308b-49ec-9fed-440b9bac7f93

Double that for BC's Beleaguered Child Protection Workers

Manitoba child-welfare workers stressed, some assaulted: poll

Last Updated: Friday, March 7, 2008 10:33 AM CT
CBC News

Workers in the Manitoba government's Child and Family Services Division say they are overworked, stressed and have at times been assaulted, a union-sponsored survey shows.
The poll was commissioned by the Manitoba Government Employees Union, which represents more than 300 unionized child-welfare workers in the province. A third of them responded to a telephone poll conducted in mid-February.

The biggest concern was excessive workload — identified as a problem by almost half of those polled — followed by a lack of resources, the union said in a statement Friday.

Three-quarters of those polled said it has become more difficult to meet their responsibilities on the job in recent years.

One in three reported being assaulted, while 92 per cent said they had been threatened. Of those who said they were assaulted, 20 per cent said they required medical attention for injuries they suffered.

The union said it had no information on whether police were called to deal with the reported cases of assault and threats.

More than two-thirds said they had spent their own money to buy things for the children or families they work with.

Union president Peter Olfert said the poll confirms what he'd heard anecdotally.
"There's a huge level of stress in dealing with some of these very volatile issues," he said.
"They're working with huge caseloads. They're working under very changing environments. They don't have the resources they require at the front end, and they have health and safety issues they have to deal with. It's a very difficult and stressful job."

Committed to hire 150

The provincial government keeps promising to lighten the workload by hiring more staff, Olfert said, but that hasn't happened yet.

Provincial officials said they have hired or are in the process of hiring 82 more workers. They've committed to hiring 150 over the next three years.

The negative publicity Child and Family Services workers often receive makes the situation worse, Olfert said.

The union is launching an ad campaign to draw attention to the positive results workers often achieve.

"We want to also highlight some of the successes our members have working in these very difficult circumstances," Olfert said.

Despite problems they've encountered, more than half of the poll's respondents said they liked their jobs.

The survey was conducted for the union by Viewpoints Research Ltd. of Winnipeg.

CFS agencies prepare for shift in approach

Manitoba to spend $42M to improve child welfare system

More CLBC Group Home Closures

Group home had to close, operators say
NDP releases letter citing budget cuts; B.C. still says it was 'mutual decision'

Lindsay Kines and Jeff Rud, Times Colonist
Published: Thursday, March 06, 2008.

The operators of a Victoria group home for special-needs children say the B.C. government has forced them out of business, contrary to claims by Children's Minister Tom Christensen that it was a "mutual decision."

In a letter to parents and caregivers, Corner House director Joy Moncrieff and manager Val Harrison said government cut the home's budget so drastically "that we had no choice but to agree to a closure of the facility."

"It has been a fulfilling eight years for us at Corner House, getting to know so many wonderful children and their parents," Moncrieff and Harrison say in the letter, a copy of which was released yesterday by the NDP. "Writing this letter has been one of the hardest things we have had to do."

Parents who needed a break from caring for a child with complex needs were able to leave their son or daughter at Corner House for short periods of time. The group home, which served 19 clients, will close at the end of April.

Christensen told the media on Tuesday that the home's operators reached a "mutual decision" to end its $260,000-a-year contract with Community Living B.C., the government agency that services children and adults with developmental disabilities. He stuck by those comments yesterday despite the letter from Moncrieff and Harrison. "I haven't seen any letter," he said. "I've been advised that CLBC had worked with Corner House."

But NDP children's critic Nicholas Simons ridiculed Christensen's version of events.
"You can't come to someone and say you've got a choice between the noose or the electric chair and then say that they've got a choice," he said. "The fact of the matter is government's cut funding to children needing services and their families."

Christensen said government can deliver the same respite service to four times as many families by shifting the money to a cheaper model. Families will now be able to have a caregiver come into their home, or let their child stay with the caregiver for a day or a weekend, he said.
"I think, on balance, this is good news in that we're going to have more children and families in the Victoria area who now have access to respite," he said.

The families who use the Davie Street facility, however, say the decision is anything but good news for their children.

"It devastated my son," said Mary Japp, a single parent of two autistic children. "Because as a child with autism he struggles socially. And for one weekend every month, he could go to Corner House and he could just be a regular kid.

"Everybody there has a challenge and it's just normal to have a challenge, and so it wasn't something that made him feel like the odd man out. He finally felt like he had a place where he could just be himself. So he's losing that social connection which, for a child who's socially disadvantaged, that's a big blow.''

Annetta Orrick said she doesn't want a different type of service. Her 14-year-old daughter with autism, cerebral palsy and an intellectual disorder has been going to Corner House one weekend a month for seven years.

Orrick will now have to hire an individual caregiver for brief periods of respite, she said.
"It's very difficult to find people to do these small jobs," she said. "It's never their real job. It's something they're picking up. They're generally a student or it's something that they're doing for an extra bit of pocket money. So they do not look at it as a career or a professional service. It's glorified babysitting."

Orrick said it's also up to her to assess the reliability and qualifications of the caregiver. "There's no accountability," she said.

lkines@tc.canwest.com
jrud@tc.canwest.com
© Times Colonist (Victoria) 2008

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I fail to see how this will achieve Mr. Campbell's great goal for people with special needs:

Goal #3 - Build the best system of support in Canada for persons with disabilities, those with special needs, children at risk and seniors.

Perhaps Minister Christensen and Premier Campbell can provide some concrete evidence to prove that the failed experiment that is CLBC has improved the lives of at-risk populations and their families? Lois Hollstedt, the Chair of CLBC seems to think otherwise, when she publically stated that they still don't have actual waitlists to see just how many children in the province aren't receiving any services yet. And, more importantly, Ms. Hollstedt stated that CLBC hasn't been given the budget to allow them to meet the province's great goal for people with disabilities, or the goal of the legislation that created CLBC. A pretty important statement for the head of the CLBC board to make publically. It seems to contradict the government's position.

MCFD & CLBC Fail to Live up to It's Obligations & Promises

Group of adults with disabilities may lose their B.C. home
L'Arche home says it can't keep going without more provincial money

Last Updated: Tuesday, March 4, 2008 9:38 AM ET
CBC News

A group of developmentally disabled adults may lose the only stable home they've ever known, and the group that runs the Burnaby, B.C. facility says the Campbell government is to blame.

Trudi Shaw, board president of L'Arche Greater Vancouver, tells Go Public reporter Kathy Tomlinson, right, that the Campbell government is failing B.C.'s most vulnerable citizens.(CBC)
"There's something going on in this province that people need to be aware of and it concerns all of us, as taxpayers and citizens," said Trudi Shaw, board president of L'Arche Greater Vancouver. "This government seems to be overlooking some of its most vulnerable and marginalized citizens."

L'Arche, an internationally recognized organization, is unique because it not only houses developmentally disabled adults, but strives to give them meaningful roles in the community. Its woodworking shop in Burnaby was one example — a thriving workplace for the disabled that L'Arche recently had to shut down, partially due to its budget problems.

"Without exception everybody [who lives there] has said they want to stay in a L'Arche community — and we have been told that is not possible," Shaw said.

'Disaster' feared for residents

Barry Thomson, one of two dozen people who live in the faith-based Burnaby residential care facility, has severe autism, and has been there for 24 years. For people like him, it's highly unusual to find such long-term stability in one home.

Barry Thomson, who has severe autism, stands to lose the only stable home he's known for 24 years. (CBC)

His brother Gordon says he has no idea how his family would cope if that suddenly changed.
"Oh, disaster," Gordon replied when asked what would happen if Barry had to move. "It would be an absolute disaster — unless there were some other place like L'Arche and I don't think there is."

L'Arche is a normally a media-shy organization, but the group decided to "go public" about its funding crisis because they feel they've exhausted all of their options.

L'Arche has gone without any budget increases for eight years, Shaw said, while its overhead, including salaries, has climbed. The group needs about a $1.5 million boost to their $2 million provincial allocation to make up for an historic shortfall.

Gordon Thomson, Barry's brother, says moving him into foster care would be a disaster.(CBC)
Without that funding, Shaw said, residents might be forced to move into adult foster care, where they move around frequently and sometimes don't get the love and support they need.

"We look at what is happening in the foster care system and we are really frightened," Shaw said. "I'm afraid that they will cease to have a sense of their own value and dignity. We're talking about people being isolated; we're talking about people ceasing to have a sense of value and purpose in their life."

Request for more money denied

A statement by Community Living B.C., the Crown corporation that provides L'Arche with provincial funding, read in part: "Our first commitment is to those individuals with developmental disabilities and the families that L'Arche serves. CLBC supports the model of service delivery that L'Arche has been providing for the past 25 years … L'Arche has asked for a 75 per cent increase to their contract to provide service differently to the same number of individuals. CLBC does not support that request."

CLBC CEO Rick Mowles was not available for an interview.

Thomson said he doesn't understand why the Crown corporation would shortchange a place such as L'Arche to save money. He figures L'Arche saves millions of tax dollars in the long run by keeping its residents out of already overcrowded hospital emergency rooms.

Laney Bryenton, of the B.C. Association for Community Living, says hundreds of organizations are starved for funding while hundreds of disadvantaged people remain on waiting lists. (CBC)
"Barry had to go into the hospital about a month ago and the staff went down with him and stayed with him in the hospital," Thomson said of his autistic brother. "You wouldn't see staff from any other home doing that."

If Barry and the others had to move, Shaw said, they would not only lose their home, they would lose their second family.

"They've lived in this environment where they have been loved and where their gifts have been recognized and drawn out for years and years and years," Shaw said.

Similar shortfalls across the province

"[L'Arche] is very representative of organizations that have not had increases in their contracts," said Laney Bryenton, executive director of the B.C. Association for Community Living, an advocate for thousands of developmentally disabled people in B.C.

Each year, Bryenton said, the Campbell government fails to give CLBC the money it needs, so the Crown corporation has no choice but to shortchange hundreds of organizations such as L'Arche. In the latest budget for 2008-09, Bryenton said, the government gave CLBC $22.3 million for new services, when its service plan said it needed at least $35.5 million to shorten its waiting list.
Approximately 700 developmentally disabled adults are on currently on that waiting lists in B.C., unable to get various types of assistance, Bryenton said.

"We've got a lot of stories of families who have their 19-, 20-, 21-year-old [disabled child] simply sitting at home," Bryenton said. "We have stories of families who have had to quit work in order to look after their 19-year-old because when their child transitioned out of school, there was nothing for them."

When she hears Premier Gordon Campbell promise to make B.C. 'the best place on earth' for disadvantaged people, Bryenton said, she wants to see the proof: "We want them to make a substantive investment in those services. We want them to make good on that promise."
Tom Christensen, the minister responsible for funding CLBC, told CBC News the Crown corporation received a 6.5 per cent budget increase this year, and what it does with the money is not his decision.

"I have confidence that CLBC will work with different service providers to look at some of the challenges they face and insure that both the service provider and CLBC are focused on what they both should be focused on — and that is serving the clients that need their assistance," Christensen said.

He refused to comment on the future of the L'Arche residential care home.
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FYI - Rick Mowles, CEO of CLBC, is also the employer's bargaining agent for Community Social Service Employees Association (CSSEA) in times of bargaining new collective agreement. Anyone smell conflict of interest there? How much has CLBC spent on office renovations since July 1st 2005?

So much for Great Goals for Literacy and People with Disabilities

Court deals blow to disabled students

Catherine Rolfsen, Vancouver Sun
Published: Sunday, March 02, 2008

METRO VANCOUVER - The B.C. Supreme Court has quashed a landmark human rights tribunal ruling that advocates hoped would mean major changes for students with learning disabilities in B.C. schools.

In a written decision released Friday, the court overturned a 2005 ruling that the B.C. Education Ministry and the North Vancouver school board discriminated against learning-disabled students when it failed to give them proper support.

The tribunal decision hinged on the case of Jeffrey Moore, who struggled with dyslexia for four years in public school before his parents pulled him out in favour of a costly private school.


"We're extremely disappointed," said his father, Rick Moore, of the court's ruling. "It doesn't seem right to me that the only learning-disabled children who are given a chance to succeed are the ones whose parents can afford an expensive private school education."

The tribunal had ordered the ministry to provide full funding for the education of severely learning-disabled students. But with Friday's decision, Rick Moore worries that other students will continue to face Jeffrey's challenges at public school.

Rick Moore said he has not decided whether to appeal the decision.

The Learning Disabilities Association of B.C. estimates that one in 10 Canadian students has a learning disability such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, dyslexia or dyscalculia.
North Vancouver was in a financial squeeze between 1992 and 1995 when Jeffrey was a young student at Braemar elementary school.

Although identified as a learning-disabled student and referred to a special district facility called DC1, that facility was closed just weeks later to save money.

Jeffrey's parents elected to send him to Kenneth Gordon, a Burnaby school for students with specific learning disabilities, which cost the family nearly $100,000 for nine years. There, his reading skills and self-esteem skyrocketed, his father said.

Jeffrey is now a 21-year-old apprentice plumber. But his father believes that had he remained in public schools, he probably would have dropped out.

Rick Moore said identification and assistance for learning disabled students has worsened since Jeffrey left public school.

"Right now it seems like learning-disabled students are invisible and the education system can ignore them," he said.

Education Minister Shirley Bond was unavailable for an interview Sunday, and the North Vancouver school board chair could not be reached for comment.

The court's decision found the tribunal failed to establish "differential treatment" of severely learning-disabled students such as Jeffrey.

"The DC1 was one of many models for delivery of specialized services to [severely learning disabled] and other special needs students..." wrote Justice Janice Dillon. "Moore was not completely denied a service. In fact, he was provided with a number of accommodations."
Thealzel Lee, president of the Learning Disabilities Association of B.C., said the ruling shows that the provincial government has not yet taken responsibility for educating all children.
Lee said a recent survey of about 350 parents by her association found that 61 per cent felt the system poorly met or failed to meet their children's needs, while just over half believed that their child's teachers were knowledgeable about learning disabilities.

A Langley inquiry into special education published earlier this year identified several province-wide problems, including underfunding, lack of resources in classrooms, and inadequate teacher training to deal with special needs.

crolfsen@png.canwest.com

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=aea7331a-eb6b-4cf7-900d-d3a9c8c4c549&k=2270

Special Needs Delivery System, Adult Services & "Internal Review" by CLBC

Meanwhile, under the microscope
The Public Eye Online.

Yesterday, child and youth representative Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond released a monitoring brief identifying a number of key concerns with the service delivery system for children with special needs. But, what wasn't mentioned in the coverage of that brief, is that Ms. Turpel-Lafond also suggested during her news conference the need for a wider review of services for the developmentally disabled in British Columbia. "I know there's been an internal review of CLBC adult services inside the government," she said. "But it may very well be it may very well be that there needs to be a full-blow external evaluation of this area. The challenge for me is I only have the children's piece."

Posted by Sean Holman at 07:48 AM

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Representative's Office:

February 26, 2008
Action required to improve supports for children/youth with special needs
Vulnerable children and youth with special needs and their families and caregivers need a more responsive and accountable system of supports, said BC's Representative for Children and Youth, Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond.

Other documents shared at the Representative's February 26 news conference:
Monitoring brief - System of services for children and youth with special needs

Thumbs up for Aboriginal schools

Native-only getting the thumbs-up from BC's child advocate
Feb, 29 2008 - 12:40 PM

VANCOUVER/CKNW(AM980) - A native-only public school proposal in Prince George is getting the thumbs-up from BC's child advocate.

Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond says the education system needs to do more to improve graduation rates for aboriginal children, and that means celebrating their native heritage through courses and activities.

"Many first nations students in British Columbia feel they have challenges in some of their school settings, especially in the urban context, they experience racism, they may experience exclusion. We have to work on that, but we may also need to create some choices where you have those schools."

BC has an 80 percent graduation rate, but only 48 percent of aboriginal children graduate....that rate falls to 15 percent for aboriginal children in care.

Important BC Child Welfare Case

Parents hope judge rules seizure of sextuplets was unconstitutional

Last Updated: Friday, February 29, 2008 11:02 PM ET
The Canadian Press

Excerpt:

Medical opinion, the government's duty to protect children, parental rights and freedom of religion clashed in a B.C. courtroom Friday over the seizure of three premature sextuplets.
Three of the four surviving sextuplets were taken from their home last year and given blood transfusions, contrary to the beliefs of their Jehovah's Witness parents.

They've long since returned to their parents, but the mother and father want the B.C. Supreme Court to declare that the seizure was unconstitutional.

Justice Donald Brenner said Friday that such applications often proceed in what is perceived as a life-and-death issue.

But Shane Brady, the lawyer for the parents, said the children were not in danger and because the parents weren't given the right to make their case in court before the children were taken away, the law allowing government to seize children should be declared unconstitutional...

B.C., New Brunswick, Northwest Territories and Nunavut are the only jurisdictions in Canada that allow the government to seize children without a hearing.

Brady said he wants the court to rule that it is unconstitutional to do so.


Other CBC stories:

B.C. sextuplets didn't need transfusions, expert testifies
Sextuplet parents take B.C. to court over baby seizures

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What this is essentially about is challenging the Child, Family & Community Services Act (CFCSA), the prevailing legislation for child protection in BC. As it stands now, MCFD removes children from their parents, or legal guardians care prior to going to court and asking a judge's permission to do so. If a removal takes place, planned, or otherwise, MCFD must appear in court within 7 days of the removal and present their reasons for why less intrusive measures were not available. It is often the case that the matter is adjourned until parents can obtain legal counsel, although legal aid lawyers (Duty counsel) are often available to provide initial advice. Unless MCFD withdraws the removal at the time of the first appearance, the child(ren) remains in foster care, or in a placement with someone else. At some point, a judge will be satisfied the removal was necessary and that the child was in need of protection, or they may disagree and return the children home, or the children might be returned home right away by MCFD, or placed with kith & kin.

If the judge finds the parent's rights were violated, or the children were not at imminent risk he would find that the children shouldn't have been removed in the first place and that the CFCSA
is unconstitutional and their rights were violated. This could set a precedent and turn the child protection system on it's head.

CLBC Excuses: How About the thousands of kids or adults not even on their radar at all?

Agency claims repeated tries to house disabled teen

Man's former foster parent disputes account of Community Living B.C.

Lindsay Kines, Times Colonist

Published: Friday, January 25, 2008

A B.C. government agency says it has tried repeatedly to help a 19-year-old developmentally disabled man who has at times been left to roam the streets on Vancouver Island.

In response to a recent series of Times Colonist stories and editorials, Community Living B.C. issued a statement saying it has explored more than a dozen housing options that met resistance from the young man or his advocates.

CLBC says the man left a temporary group home last year after one month to stay with friends in a neighbouring community.

"The individual is an adult and, as much as we might agree that an individual may make choices that do not appear in their best interest, CLBC has no authority to compel an adult to accept its offered supports and services," Roz Ingram, acting director of communications, said in the release.

The agency's account, however, is disputed by the former foster parent on whose doorstep the 19-year-old arrived two months ago.

Michael Steele, who looked after the man as a child, has been housing him since late November while pressing CLBC to find him a permanent home.

"If a dozen housing options have been explored, CLBC has failed to communicate them to either [the man] or his advocates," Steele said. "I am aware of six." Those include a temporary group home, one caregiver placement that failed and four other cases in which the group homes or caregivers refused to accept the man, who suffers from a range of problems including fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, Steele said.

In the case of the failed group home, Steele said it was a youth facility designed for brief stays and located some distance from the community in which the man grew up. The young man was told the placement would be temporary, but he became increasingly frustrated the longer he stayed.

"The notion that [the young man] has refused and continues to refuse offered CLBC services is a myth which CLBC's representatives have tried to float from time to time," Steele said.

He pointed to the fact the young man has stayed with him for two months, while regularly attending a day program as proof he can thrive if given the proper support.

In its statement, CLBC also challenged the TC's characterization of the man as having the mental capacity of a six-year-old.

"A developmental age generally applies to one aspect of a person's life," Ingram writes. "However, when a developmental age is generalized to the whole person this can be misleading. Every individual has a range of skills and abilities that will be at different levels."

CLBC argues that the young man in this case can speak, makes his wishes known in writing, has friends, attends vocational training and gets around on his own.

The TC based its stories on a court report that quoted a registered psychologist as stating that "except for gross motor skills, in most areas of independent function, [his] age equivalent range is at about the six-year level."

Elsewhere, in the same report, the authors says that a consistent theme emerged in interviews with officials and caregivers that the young man "functions at an age of approximately six to eight years, is extremely sensitive to peer interactions, is unable to self-monitor his behaviours, and is incapable of living independently."

NDP children's critic Nicholas Simons, who has also been advocating for the man, accused CLBC of "splitting hairs" instead of dealing with the issues.

"Everyone involved will tell you that whether he's got the capacity of a six-year-old or a 10-year-old, the fact remains that he needs 24-hour supervision for his safety and for the safety of the community."

lkines@tc.canwest.com

They Just Couldn't Get Away with this One

Budget boost to BC's representative for children and youth
Dec, 14 2007 - 1:50 PM

VANCOUVER/CKNW(AM980) - Humbled members of the legislative finance committee reversed themselves today, granting a 1.7 million dollar budget boost to BC's representative for children and youth.

The decision comes just one week after the committee pared down that request to one million dollars.

"I’m hoping that there's gonna be more Santa and less Scrooge after today."

And Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond got her wish after once again making the case for a 36 per-cent budget boost. "The decision of the committee was unanimous, that the child and youth representative receive the full budget ask." says committee chair Bill Bennett.

Bennett also says the public appreciates when politicians admit they made a mistake. New Democrat committee member Bruce Ralston says today's meeting was just to provide the government with some political cover.

"The government members have been politically embarrassed and forced into this decision, which fortunately for the office, is the right decision."

Child Protection in BC These Days

Neglected by the province, foster care is a fast track to the streets
News Features

By Pieta Woolley. Publish Date: December 13, 2007
Georgia Straight. Excerpt:

Jody Coyen isn't surprised that half of the women Robert Pickton is guilty of killing are alumnae of the provincial foster-care system. At 34, she's already a veteran of the Downtown Eastside's street life and was friends with many of the missing women. In an interview at the Ovaltine Cafe on December 11, Coyen told the Georgia Straight that "most people down here have the same story. They were abused as children, come from alcoholic homes, stayed in foster care."

In fact, 65 percent of people who live on the street are former kids in care, according to a study commissioned by the B.C. Federation of Foster Parent Associations. The statistic chills the federation's president, Melanie Filiatrault. Having fostered 42 children, she knows some of them are not making good choices and are vulnerable, just like Pickton's victims.

"It just makes my heart ache," she told the Straight in a phone interview. "It's almost criminal."

********************
It is criminal, not just almost. Canada became a signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989. The BC government is well aware of that fact and the responsibilities this entails. The provincial & federal governments have perpetuated and encouraged an onslaught on the human rights and needs of children, youth, marginalized and vulnerable citizens. Why has this happened and why does it continue? In spite of numerous child protection reviews, inquiries and recommendations, government, media and academic reports, coroner's inquests, advocates and the Representative and the pleading of many to stop the carnage and destruction of a generation or more of people. The answer is and always has been greed, power and a complete lack of concern and disconnection from the lives of those who need and deserve government care the most.

And just so people are clear, it's no surprise Vancouver has also now been chosen as the break-in capital of North America. That the UN Special Rapporteur on Housing was shocked and brutal in his assessment of housing and homelessness BC. That BC leads the country in child poverty for the 4th year in a row. And that thousands of people in BC cannot even access income assistance to provide even basic shelter, income, food and much needed medical benefits.

BC Coroner's Report fails to offer meaningful insight & Recommendations for Aboriginal & MCFD children & Youth

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among children in BC
Dec, 12 2007 - 4:20 PM

VANCOUVER/CKNW(AM980) - Second only to motor vehicle accidents, suicide is a leading cause of death among children under 18 in BC.

The finding comes in a review of 244 child deaths between 2003 and 2006 conducted by the Child Death Review Unit of the BC Coroner's Service.

Unit director, Kelli Kilpatrick says a number of recommendations have been made, "We're working with the Firearms Canada Centre to look at the possibility of trigger locks for unsecured firearms because that kept coming up in the children's deaths we reviewed."

Kilpatrick’s says they are also working with the Ministry of Education on risk assessment protocols.

Kilpatrick was speaking on CKNW's The World Today.
**********************
Why is it that this report and review fails to discuss anything substantial about the reasons so many young people are choosing suicide? How about looking at whether they were denied intervention and support from MCFD? How about some real recommendations for proactive intervention. Right now there is a suicide epidemic for youth in the Hazelton area, what meaningful insights and recommendations does the BCCS have to offer, or MCFD? Last time I checked the province still has responsibility for child protection & safety of ALL young people.
Maybe more interest could be shown while they are ALIVE, than after they're gone. This is a tragedy and brings shame to our province.

Justice for Savanah and all of the Others

Coroner's Jury Rules Toddler's Death a Homicide

Nov, 04 2007 - 3:20 AM

PRINCE GEORGE/CJCI-CKNW(AM980) - The coroner's jury at the inquest into the death of Prince George toddler Savannah Hall has come to a verdict.

The five-woman jury deliberated for nine hours and determined Hall died from a brain injury due to suffocation.

They have ruled her death a homicide, but that classification does not assign blame.

26 recommendations were made, directed mainly at the Ministry of Children and Families.

They include asking the ministry to improve procedures when allegations of neglect or mistreatment are brought forward and to clarify the policy on the use of a harness.

During testimony, the inquest heard a harness was used to treat the little girl's night terrors.

Savannah Hall was found unresponsive in her Prince George foster care home in January 2001 and died a few days later in hospital.

What Is Wrong with Police who Would Taser a Sick Child?

Bizarre incident at Save-On Foods
Oct, 25 2007 - 4:40 PM

NORTH VANCOUVER/CKNW(AM980) - A 14 year old girl in possession of some knives was arrested during the noon hour at Lynn Valley Centre.

North Vancouver police constable Randall Wong describes what happened.

"Two members arrived on scene. They found a young female in the fruit isle stabbing fruit and waving the knives around."

Wong says officers tried tasering the girl, but it deflected off her clothing and knapsack.
The girl finally threw the knives at one of the attending officers and she was subdued.

Police are contemplating charges of assault and threatening.
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Is this really the best this society can do for a CHILD who is obviously mentally ill. Seriously, a charge of child abuse must be brought against these officers. This is just a shocking abuse of power against this child. It is time for police to be trained in non-abusive ways of working with people with mental health and psychiatric issues and held accountable for their abuse.

Child Poverty: BC Leads the Country In Spite of $4.1 billion Budget Surplus

POVERTY: Each and Every Child: Understanding and working with children in the poorest and most difficult situations [publication] [25 October 2007] - This report discusses the challenges that confront Plan and other child-focused organisations as they seek to assist those children whose rights are most violated and who are living in some of the poorest and most difficult situations in the world. Organisations have mainly worked with these children according to different categories, such as street children, children in conflict with the law and children in the worst forms of child labour. However, many children have multiple problems and belong to more than one category or move between categories over time. Many of the root causes and factors that impact on the lives of these children are similar. There is therefore the need to develop a more holistic approach, particularly in terms of prevention. This report proposes a framework that can help staff think about working with these groups of children from an integrated, child-centred and rights-based development perspective.Working with children in the poorest and most difficult situations is important because of significant inequities both within and between countries, and the increasing concentration of poverty among specific marginalised groups in many cases. Within marginalised groups, poverty and lack of opportunity are experienced disproportionately by children. As a result, very large numbers of children live their lives without adequate care and protection from adults and are excluded from the benefits of their societies. In their choice of where and with whom to work, child-focused organisations therefore need to consider how the impact of poverty is distributed between different social groups and within the family, as well as its geographic distribution.Further information

Senior UN official urges rights based approach to achieving anti-poverty targets (10 July 2007)

Plan report: Because I am a Girl: The State of the World's Girls 2007 (May 2007)

For more information, contact:Plan International - HQChobham House, Christchurch Way, Woking, Surrey GU12 1JGTel: +44 1483 755 155 / 733 285; Fax: +44 1483 756 505Email: info@plan-international.orgWebsite: www.plan-international.org/
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=15260

How Does BC Measure Up?

DISABILITY: Promoting the rights of children with disabilities [publication] [25 October 2007]
Children's Rights Information Network (CRIN)

Children with disabilities and their families constantly experience barriers to the enjoyment of their basic human rights and to their inclusion in society. Their abilities are overlooked, their capacities are underestimated and their needs are given low priority. Yet, the barriers they face are more frequently as a result of the environment in which they live than as a result of their impairment.While the situation for these children is changing for the better, there are still severe gaps. On the positive side, there has been a gathering global momentum over the past two decades, originating with persons with disabilities and increasingly supported by civilsociety and governments. In many countries, small, local groups have joined forces to create regional or national organisations that have lobbied for reform and changes to legislation. As a result, one by one the barriers to the participation of persons with disabilities as full members of their communities are starting to fall.Progress has varied, however, both between and within countries. Many countries have not enacted protective legislation at all, resulting in a continued violation of the rights of persons with disabilities.The Innocenti Digest on Promoting the Rights of Children with Disabilities attempts to provide a global perspective on the situation of the some 200 million children with disabilities. The Digest is based on reports from countries across regions and from a wide range of sources. These include accounts by persons with disabilities, their families and members of their communities, professionals, volunteers and non-governmental organisations, as well as country reports submitted by Member States to the United Nations, including to human rights treaty bodies responsible for monitoring the implementation of international human rights treaties.This Digest focuses particularly on the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). The latter instrument was signed by an unprecedented 81 countries on opening day, 30 March 2007. As of 15 August 2007, 101 countries had signed the CRPD and 4 had ratified it. For entry into force, it is necessary that the Convention receive 20 ratifications. The Disabilities Convention offers a unique opportunity for every country and every community to reexamine its laws and institutions and to promote changes necessary to ensure that persons with disabilities are guaranteed the same rights as all other persons.It expresses basic human rights in a manner that addresses the special needs and situation of persons with disabilities and provides a framework for ensuring that those rights are realised.

Further information CRIN's thematic page on children and disability

From Exclusion to Equality - realising the rights of persons with disabilities (October 2007)

The new disability Convention and the protection of children

More Victims of the BC Child Welfare system

Savannah Hall's mother raised concerns with foster-care home, inquest told

Last Updated: Wednesday, October 24, 2007 1:12 AM ET
CBC News

The natural mother of Savannah Hall raised red flags about the girl's foster-care home seven months before the three-year-old died in foster care in January 2001, an inquest heard Tuesday.

Hall said she had concerns about bruises to her daughter's face, legs and feet and she was also concerned about hunger when she visited.

This is a photo of Savannah Hall with her mother, Corinna Hall, and her grandmother at a library in happier times. (Courtesy of Corinna Hall)

"She'd be really hungry when I came over," Hall said. "I'd feed her, but the foster mom told me not to feed her."

Corinna Hall was testifying on the second day of a coroner's inquest into Savannah's death in Prince George, B.C.

Savannah died after being taken by her foster parents to hospital in a coma with massive brain swelling, hypothermia and multiple bruises.

Social workers weren't listening to her concerns, Hall alleged.

Hall also testified she was denied opportunities to be with her daughter on special occasions like her birthday and holidays in the months before Savannah died.

Corinna Hall said Tuesday she's determined to find answers into the death of her three-year-old daughter, Savannah. (Betsy Trumpener/CBC)

One Christmas the foster mother cancelled the get-together, saying the girl was ill, while other pre-arranged visits were also cancelled by the foster mother with little or no explanation, Hall said.

During one visit, Savannah said she didn't want to go back to the foster home.
"She held onto me and started crying," Hall said.

Savannah was found unresponsive in her foster-care home in PrinceGeorge and died in B.C. Children's Hospital two days later.

The inquest, which began Monday, is scheduled to continue through Nov. 2.

With files from the Canadian Press.

Excerpt from Michael Smyth's column

Spookiest tales of season come from Victoria
Break-ins, shady deals and plain bad behaviour

Michael Smyth, The ProvincePublished: Sunday, October 21, 2007

Halloween seems to have come early to Victoria, where tales of witching-hour break-ins, shady double-dealings and general skulduggery have the provincial capital in an October tizzy.
There's quite a brew bubbling in Victoria's cauldron. And it ain't Red Rose tea. Let's lift the lid and take a peek:

All in the family: Husband-and-wife bureaucrats Ron and Joan Danderfer seemed to have it all. They both had senior, well-paid jobs in the provincial government.

Until last week, that is, when they both quit amid official inquiries into a $10,000 cheque paid to Joan by a consultant who landed a contract with Ron's Health Ministry department.

"The ministry was contacted by the RCMP," Health Minister George Abbott confirmed. "I presume they were looking for information, but I don't know that."

The RCMP refused to comment. So did the Danderfers. But you can bet the office water coolers have been awash in chatter.

The Heat is On...

Two B.C. officials under audit quit
Married couple may be under investigation by RCMP over cheque

Jonathan Fowlie, Vancouver Sun. Published: Friday, October 19, 2007

VICTORIA -- Two senior government officials whose financial dealings were being audited both quit their jobs this week, and an NDP MLA said Thursday that the RCMP might now be investigating their affairs.

The married couple -- Ron and Joan Danderfer -- held senior positions in different ministries, and were already on leave following an allegation of financial impropriety involving a $10,000 cheque.

NDP health critic Adrian Dix asked Health Minister George Abbott during question period Thursday whether an audit of the couple's dealings had been completed, and to "confirm that the audit ... is now the subject of a police investigation."

Abbott said the audit was continuing and confirmed the police has talked to the government about the case, but would not say whether there was a police investigation. "I am advised that we were contacted by the RCMP in respect of the matter, but I cannot provide any further advice as to the status of that file," he said.

Ron Danderfer was an assistant deputy minister for knowledge management and technology in the Ministry of Health. He also sat on the ministry's eHealth initiatives committee. Joan Danderfer was a senior manager with the Ministry of Children and Family Development.

The audit is being run by the Ministry of Finance's internal audit branch, and involves looking into whether a $10,000 cheque -- issued to Joan Danderfer by a consultant working for her husband -- was appropriate and adhered to ministry policy.

RCMP "E" division spokeswoman Const. Annie Linteau said Thursday she could not confirm or deny if police were investigating the couple. "If there are allegations, they would be looked into, but I can't confirm or deny anything," she said.

Abbott told reporters his ministry had been contacted by the RCMP in July about the matter, but said he did not know what they wanted. Abbott said Ron Danderfer officially left his job on Monday, and was not given severance. Another government official said Joan Danderfer had retired from her job on Wednesday. No one answered the phone at the Danderfer home Thursday.

jfowlie@png.canwest.com
© The Vancouver Sun 2007