Child intervention panel gives itself more time

Changes to Alberta’s child welfare system will take longer than expected.

The panel tasked with the work has extended its timeline and removed its original six-month deadline. Originally, Alberta’s child intervention panel had until June to explore the root causes of why families are involved in the child intervention system, examine funding and identify concrete actions to improve the system.

With the mountain of work that needs to be completed, that was always going to be a mammoth undertaking — particularly when the first phase of work took 15 weeks, as opposed to the scheduled eight to 10 weeks.

Children’s Services Minister Danielle Larivee wasn’t available Tuesday to comment on the delay.

In an emailed statement, Larivee said after the first phase of work, the panel realized it needed more time to engage Indigenous leaders, families and communities, and explore funding disparities for onreserve services.

The panel is in the midst of travelling to each treaty area in the province to hold a series of three on-reserve meetings. The first was Monday.

Speaking with the Journal on Paul First Nation this week, NDP panel member Heather Sweet said it’s about doing the work correctly, not doing it fast.

Sweet said the panel hasn’t discussed when it will wrap up, and she doesn’t feel it needs to push work along at breakneck speed.

Conversations around changing the child welfare system and doing things differently have been happening for a long time, Sweet said.

The all-party child intervention panel was set up after the death of Serenity, a four-year-old Indigenous girl who died in care.