SASKATOON – The number of kids in overcrowded foster homes in Saskatchewan is down since a scathing report came out that likened one place to a puppy mill, but the children’s advocate says too many youngsters are still at risk.
Bob Pringle says 483 children, or 28.8 per cent, lived in foster homes with more than four children at the end of last year. That still exceeds the current capacity guideline in Saskatchewan, but it’s a drop from 2008 when the Ministry of Social Services reported nearly half of all children in foster care were placed in overcrowded conditions.
Pringle said it’s a significant reduction and “this is good.”
“I think we have to give credit where it’s due, but having said that we still believe that the ministry cannot guarantee that these 500 children are safe. That is a significant concern of ours,” Pringle said.
“We believe the risk for those 500 children that are in the overcrowded homes has not been reduced substantially at all.”
The advocate said he’s not satisfied that there’s appropriate monitoring, supervision or support in the homes. Children are at risk because workers’ caseloads are too high, he suggested. There are serious cases of unsafe physical surroundings, and complaints of abuse or neglect go uninvestigated.
Pringle’s progress report released Thursday was a followup to one released in February 2009 by the previous children’s advocate, Marvin Bernstein.
Bernstein wrote about disturbing tales of violence and abuse in Saskatoon homes for children in care. His report cited one home with 13 children in which two girls, nine and 11, sexually assaulted a nine-year-old girl with a low IQ. In another home, an eight-year-old boy was caught urinating in the mouth of a three-year-old boy.
Bernstein’s report also contained numbers that showed foster homes in the city were more overcrowded than anywhere else in the country. At one time, as many as 21 children were living in a single foster home.
It said overcrowding was a common occurrence in Saskatoon, Regina and Prince Albert, and was a symptom of a system in crisis.
Bernstein outlined 45 recommendations in his report, including creation of a compensation panel that would decide if children should be given counselling, treatment and payment for damages if they were abused.
Pringle’s report said just under half of the original 45 recommendations remain active. Some have been accepted; others have not. He noted that the ministry has committed to a new way of monitoring and approval when maximum placements in a foster home are exceeded. A case management system is expected to roll out by March 31.
He also noted that there have been three publicly reported deaths of children in foster care “where overcrowding and/or other factors known by the Ministry of Social Services should have prompted better interventions and decision making.”
“These cases demonstrate that there are still too many vulnerable children and youth living in foster homes that do not have the capacity to safely care for them.”
The progress report said 16 recommendations relate to legislative amendments that will be considered during a review of existing child and adoption legislation planned for next year.
The Opposition New Democrats suggested the government is dragging its heels.
“Why is this taking so long? It’s been 2 1/2 years since the government first identified these specific recommendations and now we find out it won’t be until the spring of 2013 – at the earliest – that they may come into effect. And we know that this government, when they want to work quickly on legislation, has in this term demonstrated that,” said social services critic David Forbes.
“We think there’s some significant work that needs to be done, continues to be done in this area.”
– By Jennifer Graham in Regina
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