Child welfare failed girl nearly starved by grandparents

No less than three child welfare bodies failed on some level to protect an aboriginal girl who nearly starved after she wasmoved from the care of the B.C. government to her grandparents in Saskatchewan, according toB.C.'s child watchdog.

"This child'sbest interests were never taken seriously and, as a result, she was left in adangerous situation,severelytraumatized andemotionally andphysicallyinjured," Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond said in a written release.

"Thisoutcomecould have been preventedif social work in bothprovinces had met basic standards. We must learn from this caseand obtain strongassurancesthattheseimportantservices work for childrenin the future."

The girl, who can't be named, was moved from B.C. to Saskatchewan in2007, at the age of two. She waskept in a windowless room with a cement floor in the home of her grandparents near Reginabefore beingremoved from the houseabout 18 months later.

The grandparents were found guilty in February 2012 of failing toprovide the necessities of life and were sentenced to three years inprison.

Turpel-Lafond, B.C.'s representative for children and youth, released a special report into the incident on Tuesday morning.

'Accountability is required'

The report recommendsB.C.'s Ministry of Children and Family Development review its policies for out-of-province placements for all children under the province's care, and also suggests thatareview be undertaken of the provincial/territorial protocol on moving children between provinces.

AlthoughTurpel-Lafond's authority doesn't extend outside B.C., she saidthe case points to major social work practice and record-keeping deficiencies by Saskatchewan's First Nations Child and Family Services, and a lack of oversight by the Saskatchewan's Ministry of Social Services.

It is up to these public bodies to take appropriate steps to demonstrate the accountability and effectiveness of Saskatchewans child welfare services, she said.

"TheSaskatchewanministry has identified areas for improvement and I commend them fordoing so.In the meantime,I urgeB.C. child welfare offices to use great caution and carein relying on home assessments, criminal record checks and postplacement courtesyservicesfrom Saskatchewan."

Turpel-Lafondalso urged the federal government to take a more active role in assessing the well-being of aboriginal children under provincial care.

The needs and safety of children must be at the centre of all social work practice,Turpel-Lafond said. Uniform standards must be applied across the country so that this doesnt happen to another child in the future.Accountability is required and we do nothave that for some ofourmost vulnerable children."

In a written statement, Saskatchewan Social Services Minister June Draudesaid the government accepts the report's findings.

"It is a horrific tragedy whenever a child is abused or neglected at the hands of their caregiver.Tragedies like this are heartbreaking and warrant our utmost attention, along with action to try to prevent this from happening again," Draude said.

"The ministry has started the work on addressing these observations and will continue to work closely with the Saskatchewan advocate for children and youth to report on our progress."

Accept and implement

B.C.'s Minister of Children and Family Development, Stephanie Cadieux, says the province's new Family Law Act has closed some of theloopholes, butshe accepts Turpel-Lafond's recommendations.

"Work on implementing the recommendations in this report will begin immediately," she said.