Findings released in inquiry on teen’s death

A provincial court judge has released a series of recommendations stemming from a fatality inquiry into the death of 16-yearold Tyla Chipaway in March 2015, including a call for further training for child intervention caseworkers.

In a report released Wednesday, deputy chief Judge Lillian McLellan’s first recommendation is that information about a child’s background and historic involvement with child protection personnel be shared immediately with the caseworker working with that person, or if a child has moved to another jurisdiction, the file should be immediately accessible there.

Chipaway died when she was run over by a taxi on 16th Avenue N.E. around 3:30 a.m. on March 18, 2015. The report indicates she was walking in and out of traffic before she lay down across the centre westbound travel lane. Taxi driver Stanislaw Maguder fled the scene and was later handed an eightmonth sentence for hit and run.

Collision reconstructionist Kenneth Reed told the fatality inquiry that he believed Chipaway had spent some time that evening drinking with a quadriplegic uncle.

“He apparently fell out of his chair and Tyla was trying to flag down a vehicle to help her get him back in his chair,” the report states. “She became drowsy and lay down on the roadway.”

The report indicates that Chipaway possibly had fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) and cognitive mental-health issues, but no assessment had been completed. McLellan is recommending that children with possible FASD or mental-health issues be identified as early as possible, that they be directed into programming, and that Children and Youth Services staff, schools and agencies receive training in FASD.

She also calls for child intervention caseworkers dealing with highrisk children to have “extensive training in addiction and mental health issues,” which could involve a worker having a smaller caseload.

Chipaway had been in the care of her grandparents as a small child, before both guardians were killed in a collision in 2001, the report indicates. She then lived with various family members and had been placed in group and foster homes. Her biological father died by suicide in 2011 and her mother, a quadriplegic, lived in a Calgary care home. Chipaway’s aunt in Hinton was granted guardianship in June 2013, but the teen ran away from the home and went to see her mother in Calgary, where she lived for two years before her death.

She was apprehended by the director of Children and Youth Services on Jan. 8, 2015, and while an initial custody order was granted on Feb. 23, an application for a permanent guardianship order was adjourned to March 16. Before her death, she was staying at a youth shelter in Calgary.

McLellan’s report recommends that the Child, Youth and Family Enhancement Act be amended to allow a summary judgment process, which would have allowed Chipaway’s guardianship case to move forward.

“The process needs to balance the rights of parents and guardians against determining if there is a genuine issue for trial and the need to make plans immediately in the best interests of the child, especially a child who is a high risk child,” the report states.

The judge also wants to see child intervention caseworkers consult with the child’s Indigenous community to develop a plan.

Alberta Children’s Services said in a statement that it will review McLellan’s recommendations to look for ways to strengthen the system. Children’s Services requires “timely and effective information sharing across the province,” including requiring workers to use an electronic case management system provincewide, the statement continues.

Since the 2015 death, the ministry said it has implemented measures including new training for staff and caregivers on supporting children who have experienced trauma, grief and loss.