New report continues to find issues with Saskatchewan’s foster care system

A new report released by Saskatchewan’s Children’s Advocate says there are still ongoing issues with the province’s foster care system. 

“Progess Report II on Foster Home Overcrowding in Saskatchewan” was tabled in the legislature Thursday morning. 

In the report, Bob Pringle, Saskatchewan’s Children’s Advocate, said his office is still seeing examples of serious case incidents and/or policy non-compliance that is placing children and youth at risk of harm in some foster homes. 

“We have continued to experience numerous referrals requesting advocacy for children and youth placed in foster homes.” 

Pringle cited three recent cases where children died in foster homes where overcrowding and other factors should have prompted better interventions and decision making by ministry staff. 

“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 report found that Ministry of Social Services staff in Saskatoon and other regions were continuing to report caseload pressures preventing them from meeting case planning or contact standards. 

“If the Ministry of Social Services cannot find the resources to increase supervision and monitoring in these cases – where it is known there are increased risks for children and youth placed in over capacity foster homes – how can it ensure that placing a child or youth in these out-of-home resources is a safer option than remaining with his or her family?” 

The report did recognize solutions implemented by Social Services to address overcrowding in foster homes including the hiring of 30 new Child Protection Case workers and a new monitoring and approval system. 

Pringle also found the level of overcrowding in foster homes has dropped since 2008. 

Thursday’s report is an update on the February 2009 report “A Breach of Trust” into overcrowding in Saskatchewan’s foster care system.