Foster care probe is a test: Swann
Tory promise to protect kids under scrutiny
Disturbing allegations that a 13-year-old boy sexually assaulted three younger boys in his Calgary foster home will be the ultimate test of the province’s promise to protect children in its care, critics say.
Following shocking criminal charges laid against the teenager Tuesday, critics are calling for openness and transparency as the province investigates.
“This is a test case, and we’re going to be watching very closely how this is going to be managed,” said Calgary Liberal MLA David Swann.
“This is one of the most secretive governments that I’ve been aware of. I’m not optimistic, but we will be calling for openness and accountability.”
The province has removed the children from the foster home, which is shut down during an investigation by Alberta Human Services, which oversees children’s welfare.
Police call charges against a 13-year-old boy accused of sexually assaulting his three young foster brothers “shocking” and “horrifying.”
The boy had been living for years in the foster home with the victims, ages six, four and two, according to police.
A witness outside the house called police.
The boy remains in custody awaiting a bail hearing Monday.
Police say they’re looking into the possibility the assaults had been ongoing and there may be more victims.
Although foster homes are subject to regular monitoring by the province, privacy regulations prevent saying how often the victims’ southwest foster home was checked, of- ficials say.
That’s not good enough for critics with concerns the system has too many weak points to keep children safe.
“My main concern is that we provide the supports that our social workers need to reduce their caseloads to allow them to establish a riskbased monitoring system so that they spend more time in places where they think the risks are high,” Swann said.
“I’ve heard from some caseworkers that their loads are too heavy.
“Certainly, in this case it was clear the mental health component isn’t adequately identifying people for help early enough and getting them into care,” Swann said.
The province acts as the legal guardian for 8,700 Alberta children.
Since September, two children have died while under government protection.
In 2010, five of the six children who died in care were aboriginal. Twenty children were hospitalized.
Premier Alison Redford called for establishing a “truly independent” children’s advocate office to report directly to the legislature.
Del Graff, who was appointed the province’s child and youth advocate, says the case underscores the need to protect children in care.
“The first thing is making sure there’s safety for children that both the police and the professionals involved are looking into the situation, and to identify those areas we want to focus on to prevent these kinds of situations from occurring,” he said. “It’s very early in the process yet.” Legislation is likely to be introduced this fall that would make the child advocate report directly to the legislature — similar to the auditor general — rather than to the political minister in charge of the department. “In circumstances where there is death or serious injury to children in government care, we’d have the ability to investigate,” he said. “This is a very difficult circumstance; we need to stay focused on the needs of the children involved.” Other provinces, such as British Columbia, have an independent children’s representative who often criticizes government actions. In Calgary, a trial has been set for nearly a year from now for a former foster parent accused of sexually abusing three boys in his care. Garry Dale Prokopishin, 52, is charged with three counts of having sexual contact with a youth by a person in authority. Police have said the assaults occurred at the accused’s Calgary home and at locations outside the city between 2001 and 2008, when the complainants were in their midteens. Sweeping changes to the child welfare system were proposed in the wake of toddler Elizabeth Velasquez’s May 2, 2010, death. An expert panel found police and social services officials failed to heed a warning from Elizabeth’s grand- parents and apprehend the 14-month old from her parents Despite the child’s arms and legs being broken at different times and her grandparents contacting social services and police with concerns of abuse while in her mother’s care, the child was never removed from the home. Shortly after, she was taken to hospital and pronounced dead from asphyxiation. The child’s mother and the mother’s boyfriend have been identified as suspects, but have not been charged. Then-child and Youth Services Minister Yvonne Fritz launched a provincial investigation into the case. The panel’s August 2011 recommendations, some of which included better training and communication, improved tracking and reporting of serious incidents, and pairing police child abuse detectives with social workers. At the time, Fritz admitted the systems “could have done better for this child” but defended her staff.