An 18-year-old who spent about nine months at the Elk Island Youth Ranch in 2015 says he wasn’t shocked to hear a staff member was assaulted there.
“It sounds pretty realistic,” said the young man, who can’t be identified. “Group homes have a lot of children that are involved in gangs; they’re pretty violent, raised in abusive situations or just not raised, abandoned, and they’re really messed up.”
Between the ages of 12 and 16, he lived in seven different group homes.
“The usual problems in group homes are just, like, kids getting in fist fights, arguments, being disrespectful to staff.
“Elk Island was significantly worse,” he said. “There was a lot more violent disputes. I’ve seen people straight-up bleeding. I’ve seen people have their knees broken.”
On Feb. 5, a 60-year-old woman was attacked by two residents at the ranch near Lamont. A 14-year-old and a 15-year-old were later charged with attempted murder, vehicle theft, breach of probation and breach of recognizance.
Since then, former employees have come forward with concerns about safety and security at the ranch, which offers intensive treatment for children and youth aged 10 and up who are covered by the province’s Child, Youth and Family Enhancement Act.
READ MORE: More security needed at Alberta youth ranch where woman was assaulted: former employee
One said RCMP would often be called to the ranch and a lack of security is part of the reason she quit.
“By the time they get there, it’s either over, someone’s injured, they’re not needed anymore or they have to arrest someone because the kid gets violent with the cops.”
But most of the time, the staff tried their best and wanted to help, he said.
“They are usually very nice. They’re pretty respectful. They’re usually there to help you.
READ MORE: 2 teens arrested and charged with attempted murder in assault near Edmonton
“I have seen people get hit with various objects in the head… It’s just a very volatile thing.”
He said he got the impression the owners were focused on keeping costs down, and an employee was once fired for buying new bed sheets instead of ones from a thrift store.
He also doesn’t feel staff received enough training or support.
“Crazy turnover. We had staff that would come for a week and quit. We had staff that would be fired and hired again because they couldn’t find any more staff.”
He wants to see things change.
“With this group home specifically, I don’t think it should be running unless there’s a change in ownership and I believe it should be much more closely watched than it is.”
READ MORE: Alberta increases funding to double staff nights at Elk Island Youth Ranch
On Thursday, the province changed the ranch’s licence to “conditional status.” The facility is a contracted agency and Children’s Services Minister Danielle Larivee said the change would mean the province would have more direct control over day-to-day dealings.
“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.
READ MORE: Alberta changes Elk Island Youth Ranch’s licence to ‘conditional status’
On Friday morning, the Elk Island Youth Ranch said it was happy to announce the Children’s Services ministry “increased funding to support double staffing for overnights” and it “immediately implemented that change.”
The ranch also said it was “working diligently with Occupational Health and Safety as well as Children’s Services to review the tragic incident that occurred.”
In the news release, the ranch also reiterated it takes the safety of staff very seriously.
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