Winnipeg foster home operator that gave cannabis to kids in care blasts province's decision to cut ties

A private foster home oper‐ ator that gave cannabis to kids in Child and Family Services care is blasting the province's decision to break ties with the com‐ pany, arguing the real issue is the lack of support for vulnerable teens who face addiction.

A CBC News investigation found Spirit Rising House was giving some foster kids in its care marijuana daily as a form of harm reduction, which was confirmed when the provincial government launched its own investiga‐ tion and found unauthorized cannabis was being given to the teens.

The province said it would cut ties with the foster home operator and has asked police to investigate.

In a memo sent to staff Wednesday morning, Spirit Rising House management said they were devastated by the province's decision, say‐ ing they cannot "express how misled we feel by all levels of government and the agen‐ cies we work with."

"We have done our best to work inside a system fraught with denial and turn‐ ing a blind eye to the trauma and real epidemic of addic‐ tion these kids face," said the memo from executive direc‐ tor John Bennett.

"We did not receive proper support from guardian agencies, medical and psychiatric care, from law enforcement, from crisis supports."

CBC's investigation found staff were told by upper management it was better to have workers at the home provide cannabis than risk teens going elsewhere and using harder drugs, such as methamphetamine and opi‐ oids.

The Winnipeg-based forprofit company, which has been around since 2021, runs nine foster homes and two specialized group homes for 34 high-risk youth in Child and Family Services care.

The foster homes are in charge of Level 5 CFS chil‐ dren in care - youth with high, complex care needs deemed at risk of sexual ex‐ ploitation, drug use and selfharm.

Following the province's investigation, Families Minis‐ ter Nahanni Fontaine said her department immediately stopped all placements and informed the necessary CFS agencies of the findings.

Company told of deci‐ sion Tuesday

Spirit Rising House says it was told on Tuesday the province would no longer place kids in its care and the youths it is currently housing would be transitioned out of their homes. That could take months, the company said.

The memo called the province's decision "ex‐ tremely unfortunate" and ar‐ gued Spirit Rising House was being publicly sacrificed, say‐ ing the failures that exist in child welfare go beyond one grassroots provider.

Bennett said the province could have worked with his company to correct the con‐ ditions and keep the youth in their homes.

"We were very open about strategies in every piece of literature we have shared with agencies," Ben‐ nett wrote in the memo.

Bennett stressed absti‐ nence from drug use is his company's ultimate goal for kids in its care, but said Spirit

Rising House does not shame kids if they chose to use mar‐ ijuana instead of more harm‐ ful drugs.

In response to the memo, Fontaine said the province stands by its decision, stating the company took shortcuts when it came to harm reduc‐ tion that put vulnerable youth at risk.

"I refuse to believe offer‐ ing unprescribed drugs as a way to keep children pla‐ cated is the best we can do as a province," she said.

"It's not good enough for my children. It's not good enough for your children. And we can't expect it to be good enough for any children in Manitoba."

Kids in care need love, patience: foster mom

One longtime foster mom said while she agrees foster parents and those in charge of kids in care lack supports, she applauds the province's decision to end its relation‐ ship with the company.

"[If] it was a harm reduc‐ tion approach, maybe it should have gone through the channels of child protec‐ tion services," said Jamie Pfau, who is president of the Manitoba Foster Parent Asso‐ ciation.

"I guarantee no social workers of these children would have approved the mode of the transactions tak‐ ing place," she said.

"I think it sends a really dangerous message when you are essentially becoming these children's drug deal‐ ers."

Pfau says what Level 5 kids need is a stable home, rather than a group setting like Spirit Rising House.

"They don't need staff in and out of their lives. They need love and they need pa‐ tience. And they need adults in their lives who know them very well," she said.

Acknowledging there is a shortage of foster homes, Pfau said the government needs to invest more funds and resources to attract fos‐ ter parents.

A 2019auditor general's report found Manitoba pays the second-lowest rates to foster parents in the country.

"It's expensive to run a home," said Pfau.

"Really good and wellmeaning and well-inten‐ tioned foster parents are closing their homes … just because they have no sup‐ port."