B.C.’s watchdog for children and youth says progress has been inconsistent two years after her office released its initial report into children who were either seriously injured or died while in care.
Representative Dr. Jennifer Charlesworth provided a progress report on Thursday to the July 16, 2024 Don’t Look Away report. She said progress is underway, but pointed to siloed systems, lack of early intervention services, and workforce challenges preventing consistent progress.
The 2024 report focused on the horrific case of an 11-year-old Indigenous boy who died while in foster care. The 2024 report detailed findings into Colby’s death in the Fraser Valley in 2021, as well as the stories of 14 other children who were subjected to harm that either caused life-altering injuries or death, all while in foster care or the child welfare system.
At the time, Charlesworth called for a formalized action plan.
That has since been addressed, with the new Child and Youth Well-Being Action Plan and Outcomes Framework announced by Children and Family Development Minister Jodie Wickens and Attorney General Niki Sharma on June 16. Charlesworth was in attendance for the announcement as the watchdog to the province’s Children and Family Development Ministry.
However, Charlesworth said Thursday (July 16), some significant changes have come into effect, but coordinated service delivery, a stronger workforce and early intervention services and support are still urgently needed.
“When we look across the spectrum of what has happened since we investigated the story of the little boy who spurred these actions, there is no question that there is positive momentum – we are seeing a recognition that an all-of government approach is needed to support young people and their families and we are seeing a renewed commitment to move away from simply crisis response to proactive support,” Charlesworth said.
“But progress has been inconsistent and data tells us young people are continuing to be harmed at a frankly alarming rate.”
Charlesworth’s office highlighted four areas where progress has stalled.
Don’t Look Away had two companion reports: No Time to Wait: Parts One and Two. Those reports called for increased recruitment and retention of staff, but since the original 2024 report, there has actually been a decrease of 76 workers delegated to child protection.
The 2024 report also called for more support for family and kin caregivers who are supporting 5,700 young people in the province. There is a review underway, but the representative said that it won’t be completed until 2027.
Charlesworth also noted that while risk assessments have been enhanced where family violence is occurring and young people may be unsafe, community-based supports for supporting families and young people who are experiencing violence are still not consistently available throughout the province.
The representative added that early help supports for families to prevent crises and child protection intervention are inconsistent and not adequately funded.
When her office released Don’t Look Away in 2024, the Representative for Children and Youth had received 6,437 reports of young people who were injured or died while receiving government services in 2023/24.
But in the last fiscal year, that number jumped 14 per cent to 7,371.
“What we see in the numbers, and the stories of young people we continue to learn about is that there is still a tremendous amount of work to do to make sure the young people of today are strongly positioned to shape our communities of tomorrow,” she said. “We all need to stay committed to doing all that we can collectively to ensure our systems of support are strong, connected and consistent now and into the future.”
Beyond the well-being report, Charlesworth’s office says there have been two other areas of progress: The development of a Ministry of Children and Family Development Workforce Plan that articulates how the ministry’s strained workforce will be strengthened and an increased focus on the transition of jurisdiction of child welfare from government to First Nations across several ministries, as well as enhanced training for front-line staff who are involved in these transitions.