FAMILY INJUSTICE

[Admin]

Children at risk as foster care crisis escalates

Regina (20 Oct. 2008) - Children in the care of the Ministry of Social Services in Regina are at risk as an emergency situation in the foster care system escalates, says the Saskatchewan Government and General Employees' Union (SGEU/NUPGE), the union which represents front-line child protection workers and Family Services staff.


Children, from infants to 16-year-olds, are being housed in overflow facilities, such as hotel rooms, a situation that social services staff say is not appropriate and not safe.


"The Ministry of Social Services is mandated to act in the best interest of the child and to ensure the safety of children, particularly those that require out-of-home care. The Ministry is failing to do this, and is putting children at immediate risk of serious harm or injury," according to Barry Nowoselsky, SGEU Vice-President.


Social Services staff, from child protection workers to administrative support staff, are now expected to step in to help provide 24-hour care and supervision to children and youth in temporary facilities.


"Our members are worried, not only about an immediate crisis, but about the long-term impact on children's health and well-being," Nowoselsky said. "For example, children, especially very young ones, have emotional attachment needs, which cannot be met when there is a constant turnover of care givers. Failing to provide appropriate and quality care may result in a growing number of adolescents with serious developmental delays and behavioral disorders."


Those who now find themselves responsible for children in care may not be adequately equipped for the job, added Nowoselsky. "These children may be physically aggressive, have intellectual disabilities, or other special needs. Yet, people with no specialized training, and possibly even no experience with children at all, are being asked to care for these kids. This situation puts the safety of both children and workers at risk."


Many Social Services staff are being asked to work double shifts to ensure coverage at the temporary facilities. So after putting in a full day's work, a staff member may be expected to work a 12-hour shift to supervise children in care. "This raises many problems for our members," Nowoselsky said.


"Many of them have their own young children to care for, and many are single parents. They have no ability to manage their own family responsibilities in this situation."


Requiring staff who work for Family Services to provide on-going care and supervision of children means that they are not able to perform their core work, and the important job of investigations, placements and monitoring remains undone, or is shunted onto other already overburdened workers.


SGEU is calling on the government to take some immediate steps to address the crisis: "In the short term, the Ministry needs to hire additional workers who are trained in caring for children with a variety of special needs and from different age groups to meet the current demand for care-providers. In the long term, it must re-instate prevention programs to help support families before they are in crisis," he added.

The increase in the number of children coming into the care of the Ministry can, in part, be traced back to government decisions to erode and eliminate preventative programs that provided support to vulnerable families, according to Nowoselsky. "In recent years the Ministry has done away with the Family Builders, Family Preservation, Family Reunification, and Teen and Young Parent programs. These services allowed staff to work intensively with families to help prevent the kind of crises that result in the removal of children from the home.


"This short-sighted approach has not solved the problem. It obviously has long-term consequences and we are just starting to see the beginning of the kinds of problems that emerge when you cut back on prevention."


While the current emergency situation in Regina demands immediate action, the inadequacy of resources for dealing with children and families in crisis is not new. SGEU raised concerns about the ability of the foster care system to cope with the demands placed on it in a brief to the Minister of Social Services last year. Many communities throughout the province are experiencing increases in the number of children in care and a lack of appropriate resources. In Saskatoon, the Children's Advocate is currently conducting an investigation into the foster care system.


"It's time to get our priorities straight. Given that our province has a $3 billion surplus, it's difficult to see why we cannot even keep society's most vulnerable children safe," said Nowoselsky.


Web posted by NUPGE: 20 October 2008

http://www.nupge.ca/news_2008/n20oc08b.htm