EDMONTON – Alberta’s foster care caseworkers are experimenting with a new information management system that should help prevent lapses in care similar to those identified in a recent fatality inquiry.
Judge Marilena Carminati could not identify the cause of 13-year-old Samantha Martin’s death in 2006, but her report highlighted a series of missed medical appointments and a lack of understanding of Samantha’s underlying disability.
The medically fragile child died five months after returning to live with her biological parents.
The new $34-million upgrade allows caseworkers to better share information among team members, especially about the extended family members available to help with care and medical appointments. It also alerts caseworkers to upcoming deadlines in each file, such as the point at which the province should consider applications for a permanent guardianship order, ministry spokeswoman Roxanne Dube Coelho said.
Caseworkers started testing the new system in 2011; the whole province should be using it by next April.
In her fatality report, Carminati recommended the government develop better methods of tracking visits and medical appointments.
In Samantha’s case, a caseworker was supposed to visit every three months but Child and Family Service records show gaps of up to 14 months. Her pediatrician testified he would normally see children with her genetic disorder every three months, but he saw her, at best, once a year.
Human Services Minister Dave Hancock said the government is hiring more supervisors to help teams of three or four caseworkers. “The key is to say, what can we learn from this. What can we do better,” he said Tuesday.
NDP critic Rachel Notley said the problems identified in the fatality inquiry won’t be solved just by better tracking. The real problem is a continuing lack of resources to help foster children with disabilities.
Samantha couldn’t speak, but started to learn a few words after she returned to her biological parents. “I’d like to hear how much time she spent with a speech pathologist,” Notley said. “I’d like to hear about the special-needs programming she was in to maximize outcomes. It that was a child that wasn’t in care, they would have a raft of experts working with them to maximize their potential.
“This is what I see so often with kids who have special needs who are in foster care.”
Even getting reimbursed for basic medical supplies can be challenging, Notley said.
Families of children with disabilities need money for special dietary needs, medical supplies, transportation to and from therapy appointments, adjustments to the house and diapers, and many costs require separate forms to get reimbursed, she said. “It’s a full time job to get the sign off from the government for the supports they need.”
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