Manitoba altering ways foster kids are counted

WINNIPEG— Manitoba is changing how it counts the number of children in its care to exclude hundreds of cases such as Tina Fontaine’s amid concerns it is being unfairly compared to other provinces.

The 15-year-old, who was killed in 2014, was placed into the care of Child and Family Services voluntarily by her guardians. Unlike other provinces, Manitoba counts voluntary placements in its total number of 10,293 children in its care.

But changes are being made to how the numbers are reported publicly.

The province will no longer include children who are voluntarily placed in care as part of the overall number. When those 700 are removed, the official number falls below 10,000.

It will also exclude kids who are brought into the system under new customary care legislation in which children at risk of apprehension are placed with a family member in their community. Both will be reported in a separate category. Manitoba has continued to come under fire for the large number of children in its care. It is also facing a provincial election in April and the First Nations children’s advocate is calling the changes a “deplorable” election ploy.

“Children’s lives, human lives, are reduced to be ploys in their campaign tactics. It’s deplorable,” said Cora Morgan.

Family Services Minister Kerri Irvin-Ross said Manitoba is just levelling the playing field. There is a world of difference between apprehension and a voluntary placement, she said.

“They’re reaching out to us and saying, ‘Please come and help us.’ They can come at any time and say, ‘I want my child back,’ ” she said. “It’s very different than a case of a child coming to school with bruises and Child and Family Services being called . . . and feeling they have to apprehend for the child’s safety.” The number of kids in Manitoba’s care has jumped 55 per cent since 2006.