The Elk Island Youth Ranch’s licence is now under “conditional status” after the assault of a woman there last weekend raised safety concerns.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the Alberta Children’s Services Ministry said:
“Safety for workers and youth is paramount for us, and we continue to work to ensure safety. Following an initial review of the Elk Island Youth Ranch, we made a decision to place their licence into conditional status.
“This means that the department will have an expanded role in staff ratios, that the agency will not be taking any additional placements, and that day-to-day decisions will be made in much closer consultation with the department.
“While we are continuing to review the facility internally, and Occupational Heath and Safety will continue to investigate, changes have been made to protect both youth and staff at the facility.”
READ MORE: 2 teens arrested and charged with attempted murder in assault near Edmonton
After the assault, a 14-year-old and a 15-year-old were charged with attempted murder, vehicle theft, breach of probation and breach of recognizance.
Former staff members have come forward, saying they’re worried about security at the Elk Island Youth Ranch near Lamont. The ranch offers an intensive treatment program for children and youth covered by the province’s Child, Youth and Family Enhancement Act. It treats children as young as 10.
A former employee says RCMP would often be called to the ranch and a lack of security is part of the reason she quit.
READ MORE: More security needed at Alberta youth ranch where woman was assaulted: former employee
The youth ranch is a contracted agency and Minister Danielle Larivee said Thursday morning that means the province is not directly involved in the everyday dealings.
However, Larivee said her department is looking into the incident and that her department will take any necessary action and make recommendations as soon as she has the details.
“If I have to pull the licence – if there are safety concerns for children and staff… We will take immediate action. We will contemplate revoking the licence,” she said.
“Obviously this incident highlights there is an issue but I need to know if there’s an acute issue or threat right now for staff and children. If there are, I’m going to know that right away. If there’s long-term actions that are less acute in nature, then we’ll look at whether we can make a plan to rectify.”
Larivee was at the second meeting of an all-party committee tasked with looking at the provincial system that handles children in government care.
“There are substantial challenges in the system, which is why we are all here today,” she said.
“When we’re looking at a contracted facility, there’s that little bit of arm’s length there in which we are not as directly involved in everyday dealings.
“When we delegate powers and responsibilities to people, we need to be very careful about that,” Larivee said. “It’s something we need to look closely at and make sure we have the right balance.”
She said her department would be looking more closely into the situation and what the requirements are for facilities like it.
Wildrose MLA Jason Nixon said there appears to be a lack of communication between service agencies and the ministry.
“There’s no way that, clearly, the ministry has been checking up to see if the recommendations have been implemented from past situations like this,” Nixon said.
He said lessons should have been learned and steps taken after the fatality inquiry into the death of Camrose mental health worker Valerie Wolski was released.
READ MORE: Fatality report finds errors contributed to death of Alberta mental health worker
“There were going to be steps put in place to make sure those caregivers were safe and they could handle that situation,” Nixon said. “And, clearly, from what we’re seeing so far, it does not appear that that was the case.”
The youth ranch issued a statement on Monday:
“Our staff, residents’ and the community’s safety is of the utmost importance to our organization. Even when every precaution is taken, unexpected incidents can occur, and we have procedures in place to support an appropriate and rapid response.”
When contacted by Global News on Thursday, the ranch said it has no more comments on the subject.
A bail hearing for the teenagers was held Monday. Both remain in custody.
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