Indigenous suicides highlighted in report by child advocate

The suicide deaths of two Indigenous youth after being denied services by government workers are indicators of a larger problem, Alberta’s child and youth advocate said Monday.

Del Graff’s office has seen a “marked increase” in the number of youth who have asked child intervention services for help but have been denied, a new report said.

Graff said he isn’t sure whether it’s because more young people are aware of services, “or if there’s an actual change in terms of ministry behaviour.

“The other area that is of concern to us is there is no recourse when a young person is denied service,” he said Monday after the release of reports on the suicides of two Indigenous teen boys who had received child welfare services.

Fifteen-year-old Jimmy, a pseudonym, asked for help multiple times in the lead-up to his death, one report said. He was under the legal guardianship of his 19-year-old sister, but was spending time on the streets.

Jimmy was exposed to domestic violence, substance abuse and mental health issues in his childhood, the report said.

In the months before his death, Jimmy approached child intervention services on both his First Nation, as well as at a city shelter. But those connections ended because staff members believed there was a duplication in services.

“Some community organizations have indicated that young people whom they work with have been denied services so often, they simply have stopped asking,” the report said.

The review into Jimmy’s death led to two recommendations aimed at the Ministry of Children’s Services, including creating an accessible appeals process for adolescents denied services, as well as ensuring intervention staff have a “comprehensive understanding of the ongoing impacts of early childhood trauma.”

Two additional recommendations were put to the Ministry of Justice and Solicitor General — to review the guardian application forms under the Family Law Act and standardize the application process across Alberta.

Children’s Services Minister Danielle Larivee said Monday the government is committed to addressing Indigenous youth suicide: “It’s obviously an epidemic right across Canada.”

A 2014 Health Canada report found suicide accounted for close to one-third of the deaths among First Nations youth ages 15 to 19, based on data collected in 200304.

The second report released Monday said that a 17-year-old — with the pseudonym Donovan — died by suicide. Ten days after he was moved to an open custody group home in 2015 after serving time, he asked to call his mother and was denied. Soon after, he was discovered non-responsive in his bed and taken to hospital, where he later died. Donovan was taken into care permanently at age three, the report said. At age 15, he returned to living with his mother and child intervention services ended.

Graff made two recommendations involving better communication between the children’s services and justice ministries. In particular, the report emphasized the importance of communication so youth in care can maintain contact with their families.

“(Those relationships) shouldn’t be removed just because their circumstance changes through being in care or in custody,” Graff said.

United Conservative Party children’s services critic Jason Nixon said Graff’s latest reports show failures in the system that need to be addressed immediately.

The children’s services ministry is reviewing the recommendations, but hasn’t formally accepted them.