REGINA – Five years ago, just days before his second birthday, a boy was found dead in a Saskatoon foster home, which housed about ten other children.
However, the cause of death will likely never be known.
“The autopsy showed scrapes, bruises and brain swelling but the cause of death was not determined,” said Bob Pringle, Saskatchewan’s Advocate for Children and Youth.
“Jake” as he’s called in an investigative report released Tuesday, by the province’s Advocate for Children and Youth, is the story of a boy with a troubled start to life. Legislation prevents the boy’s real name from being used.
When he was five months old, Jake was taken into foster care. He then moved 11 times in ten months before being found dead in his bed in 2009.
At the time of his death, Jake was recovering from a broken femur; however, the foster parent could not explain how it happened.
The report said the toddler was late to walk and he didn’t talk.
“When Jake was in the Lawson Heights (Foster) Home he had many tantrums. He banged his head against the floor,” said Pringle. “He wanted to be held. What baby doesn’t.”
In the past three years, 81 children either in care or recently released from care have passed away. The government said many changes have been made since Jake’s death to prevent repeating some of the same mistakes.
“There was a capacity problem that was extremely challenging and unacceptable, so there’s a number of initiatives that we put in place,” said social services minister Donna Harpauer. “There was also the issue of tracking of children because we didn’t have a computerized system, but that’s in place now.”
Pringle is calling for foster homes in Saskatchewan to be licensed.
Harpauer said she’s considering licensing but the regulations need substance: “One thing I don’t want to see is licensing just for the sake of a license.”
For the community, the report will hopefully bring some sense of closure.
“People are still wondering. People still want to know what happened,” said Eleanore Brazeau, executive director with Sturgeon Lake Child and Family Services. “Hopefully with this one coming to the advocate’s office, we’ll be able to provide some answers to the elders.”
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