Child welfare deaths in Alberta spiked last year

EDMONTON Thirty-three children died while in care or receiving support from Alberta child services last year, equalling a post-2009 high set four years ago.

Youth deaths in the 2017-18 fiscal year rose by seven over a year earlier. Sixteen of the youths were aged five or younger. Eight were older than 18.

For the first time since 2009, most of them were not Indigenous.

Six deaths were deemed accidental (compared with seven last year), two were suicides, five weren’t investigated by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and one was due to natural causes. Two occurred outside Alberta.

The causes of death in the remaining 16 cases are awaiting a decision by the chief medical examiner. Four children receiving care or supports have died since the fiscal year ticked over at the end of March.

ACTION PLAN IN THE WORKS

The latest numbers are contained in government data going back to 2009-10. In the 2014-15 fiscal year, 33 children also died while in care or receiving support.

The province is entering the final stages of developing an action plan to address gaps and systemic issues in the child welfare system.

Children’s Services Minister Danielle Larivee told Postmedia on Monday the plan will be released by June 30.

Larivee said a big part of developing it has so far involved working with Indigenous leaders and communities to craft solutions.

But it’s also about co-operation between ministries and governments.

“This is not something that is just about children’s services. We can work with kids and families, but ... we need to work with the federal government and with Indigenous communities so that we can all, together, improve the outcomes for children and families,” Larivee said.

Larivee said the province has also been pressing Ottawa for promised federal funds for First Nations.

“They put money in their budget, but the challenge is getting it from their budget line into (Indigenous) communities. So we’re continuing to work with communities to advocate on their behalf ... and make sure that happens sooner rather than later,” she said.

The plan comes at the behest of Alberta’s all-party child intervention panel, which wrapped up its two-stage work in January.

The panel, tasked with identifying systemic problems in child intervention services, was set up in 2016 after the death of four-yearold Serenity.

It came up with 26 recommendations, including ending the service disparity in Indigenous communities, improving transitional supports for youth entering adulthood, and expanding access to preventive mental health care.

“We’re not just putting those recommendations on a shelf, but are working hard in collaboration with our Indigenous communities and leadership to co-create an action plan together,” Larivee said.

“All deaths of children receiving services are unacceptable in my mind.”