Quebec aims to slash youth protection wait lists by hiring 400 social workers

The Quebec government is going to invest $47 million in the province's youth protection services (DPJ) money that will be used to hire 400 new social workers and reduce wait lists for evaluation.

There are about 3,000 children waiting to be evaluated right now, said Lionel Carmant,the minister in charge of youth protection in Quebec. Some are waiting as long as two months to have their cases examined.

The system has been plagued by workers quitting or opting for early retirement, many of them burnt out from heavy caseloads. That means most but not all of the new recruits will likely befresh out of school.

"If there's any young retirees that want to come back to DPJ and help us, we'll gladly have positions for them as well,"said Carmant.

The union representing provincial government social workers saidthis investment is a good first step but still falls short, estimating that $270 million is required to fix the system's current problems.

Granby girl's death sparked calls for action

Carmant has already announced a sweeping review of youth protection services, prompted by the death of a seven-year-old girl in Granby in April.

The child, who had an activefile withthe DPJ, was found in critical condition in her home and died in hospital. Her father and stepmother are facing criminal chargesin connection with her death.

The regional health authorityin the Eastern Townships, the CIUSSS de l'Estrie, released a report Wednesday with14 recommendations following an investigation into the child's death.

Dr. Stphane Tremblay, president and CEO of the agency, told CBCNews thatstaff shortages and an overloaded youth protection system left the girl in a "high-risk" situation.

Tremblay saidstaff didn't follow best practices due to lack of time and personnel to manage the 1,900 child protection cases in the region.

The first of the 14 recommendations is to increase the number of home visits from two a yearto one permonth.

A commission of inquiry is to examine every aspect of youth protection in Quebec and come up withrecommendations by November 2020.