‘Serious gaps:’ Children’s advocate finds problems in social services

In just one of Saskatchewan’s child protection programs under the Ministry of Social Services, the province’s children’s advocate found multiple issues and a system marked with a “history of ongoing concerns.”

But the ministry is choosing not to accept all the recommendations to fix them – at least not right away.

On Tuesday, the Saskatchewan Children’s Advocate, Dr. Lisa Broda, released “In their sufficient interest?” a report on the provincial government’s “person of sufficient interest” (PSI) program.

When a child is removed from their parents’ care, the child can be placed with an extended family member or someone with a connection to the family, a person with sufficient interest in the well-being of the child.

According to the review, there has been an increasing reliance on the program within Saskatchewan social services over the last few years as part of the ministry’s goal to have all children placed with extended family, and almost 90 per cent of the children involved have Indigenous heritage.

The PSI program is different from others involving children because the child is not considered in the care of the ministry and there are fewer requirements of the ministry, including only a minimum contact every year. There are also fewer supports, including financial, for children in the program as opposed to others like foster care or group homes.

The advocate talked about children being left unchecked in the program, children who are struggling due to their needs not being met, and children who’ve suffered maltreatment, or rough physical treatment.

“The Advocate continues to receive notifications related to deaths and injuries, and an increasing number of calls for assistance related to the PSI program,” read the report.

The review looked at legislation, policies and services in the program, though it made a point to say it was not a comprehensive evaluation of the program.

After undertaking the review, the advocate’s office made eight recommendations:

• “That the Ministry of Social Services review and amend its current permanency planning policies and procedures to incorporate the elements of a best interest assessment as required by the UNCRC when recommending a permanency plan for a child or youth.”
• “That the Ministry of Social Services take steps to develop staff competency in assessing extended family caregivers and ensure this competency includes the ability to identify and address issues of intergenerational trauma as part of the assessment process.”
•  “That the Ministry of Social Services develop procedures to ensure potential PSI guardians have a complete understanding of their role and responsibilities prior to a recommendation for a PSI order.
•  “That the Ministry of Social Services review and amend its case planning processes to ensure that a child’s wishes are collected and documented in all assessments and that a child is consulted (as appropriate given age or maturity) prior to an application for a PSI order.”
• “That the Ministry of Social Services develop policy regarding the appropriateness of legal representation for children for court proceedings and the inclusion of recommendations to the court pertaining to maintaining parental and sibling contact when a PSI order is recommended.
• “That the Ministry of Social Services revise its policies and procedures to require additional oversight and prevent overcrowding of a foster home when there is a recommendation for a foster parent to become a PSI for a child in their care.
• “That the Ministry of Social Services complete a comprehensive qualitative review of its PSI program to evaluate whether this program is meeting its objective of permanency and a safe, stable, and healthy placement. The review should be guided by a Child’s Rights Impact Assessment13 to ensure that a child’s rights and well-being are of primary consideration in the development of a comprehensive policy framework that will also address the following issues as identified in this report:
  •  The need to give definition to the rights of the child in the PSI program;
  • Adequacy of the Annual Review process in addressing the needs of the child;
  • Training and support for PSI guardians including the potential for additional financial compensation for guardians who take specialized training to care for high-needs children;
  • Management of quality care concerns;
  • Management of requests from biological parents, siblings, other family members or significant others for contact or reunification with a child in PSI care;
  • Management of placement breakdowns/ disruptions for PSI youth aged 16 or 17 years old; and,
  • Mechanisms to address non-compliance with PSI agreements.
• “That the Ministry of Social Services amend The Child and Family Services Act to provide an extension of services to children in PSI care to age 21.”

The final recommendation, regarding the expansion of the age maximum, is the one recommendation the ministry has not accepted. The advocate characterized it as a rejection.

“Not accepting this recommendation serves to perpetuate a discriminatory condition for those children and youth who are in the PSI program,” explained the report.
The advocate also wrote that the ministry has declined to consider any legislative changes to this program either – a reaction the advocate didn’t treat lightly in the report, calling it deeply discouraging.

“The absence of legislative reform in this regard illustrates a lack of commitment to Saskatchewan’s Children and Youth First Principles and the rights of children under the UNCRC. It also results in the continuation of legal issues involving the definition of the rights and responsibilities of a PSI guardian which, in turn, affects the entitlements of children in PSI care,” read the report.

Social Services Minister Gene Makowsky said he appreciates the work of the advocate and that they’re all looking to have the best situation for children in the province. He said some of the recommendations are being worked on and some will be soon, including the comprehensive review of the PSI program.

The minister explained briefly why the last recommendation isn’t being accepted.

“For now, we’re not accepting that. We want to take a fulsome look at that to understand what might be the implications of that,” said Makowsky. “We want to review the program and make sure we take a strong and close look at it before making any changes.”

Makowsky couldn’t say why the program only supports kids up to the age of 18 while some other social services programs for children offer supports up to the age of 21. The minister also couldn’t say why the change might not be made.

“Maybe there are some unintended consequences. We want to do a review and, not saying we aren’t going to, but we can take a look at it,” he explained.

Makowsky also said they’ll look at the possibility of legislative changes in the review as well.

“The legislative process does take some time and we’re prepared to take a look at that,” he said.

The minister said he does appreciate a sense of urgency in situations involving vulnerable people, like kids in care.

“But at the same time we want to do things thoroughly and there’s a process involved and we want to talk to people to make sure we get it right. We want to find a balance between doing things in a reasonable amount of time but also trying to get it right by talking to folks and understanding where there potentially may be challenges,” said Makowsky.

The minister couldn’t give a timeline on how long the review will take, only saying that consultation takes time and it will be several months.

NDP Social Services Critic Meara Conway said she’s deeply disturbed by the ministry not accepting the last recommendation.

“Obviously the stakes are very high. We’re very concerned. This is a very straightforward ask from the children’s advocate. It’s basically just to extend services to the age of 21. The government is doing this with other programs, (so) it doesn’t make sense to deny this to kids in the PSI program,” said Conway.

“I think this is a case of the government just simply not wanting to comply with this recommendation.”

Conway called it a lack of concern for this area by government and a refusal to put up the resources. She said she’s concerned about the reasons there’s an increased reliance on the PSI program by the provincial government.

“I think that when children are in a PSI arrangement the ministry can, to some extent, wash its hands of that issue – of that family or of that child. They have to do an annual review but it’s much less resource-intensive and cumbersome for them to care for that child as opposed to, say, a group home situation,” said Conway.

Conway said there are situations where the program is the right one, but it needs to be reformed to provide quality and safety for kids.

“And if the government can’t comply with those recommendations, it sends the signal that this program is lacking. These are tangible fixes that they can make today,” said Conway.