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NWTfosterhomesnotscreenedkidsneglectedreportAuditorGeneralndsgapingholesinNWTchildandfamilyservicesHealthWellnessSocialServices6TuesdayMarch112014ByMEAGANWOHLBERGAscathingreportbytheAuditorGeneralonthestateofchildandfamilyservicesintheNorthwestTerritorieshasrevealedlongstandinggapsinservicesthathaveleftat-riskyouthinunsafeunscreenedsituationsofne-glectandabuse.Thereportreleasedlastweekreviewedasampleof46oftheapproximate1000caselesforyouthincareintheNWTover90percentofwhichareAboriginal.Thoselesincludedyouthreceiv-ingservicesinthehomeandinfostercare.Itsndingsshowedinad-equacyacrosstheboardintermsofcareforat-riskyouthandaccountabilitywithinthedepartmentofHealthandSo-cialServices.WeconcludedthattheDe-partmentofHealthandSocialServicesandtheHealthandSocialServicesauthoritiesarenotadequatelymeetingtheirkeyresponsibilitiesfortheprotectionandwell-beingofchildrenyouthandtheirfamiliesthereportstatedin-dicatingthatdespitepreviousauditsnothinghadchanged.Asfarbackastheyear2000recommendationsweremadetotheDepartmenttoaddressweaknessesintheareasofaccountabilityre-sourceallocationstoregionalauthoritiesandguidanceandtoolstosupportservicede-livery.Ourauditfoundthatthesesameissuespersistandarecriticalshortcomingsinthechildandfamilyservicessystemthataffectmeetingkeyresponsibilitiesforchil-drenyouthandfamilies.Amongmajorconcernstheauditorsfoundthatastartlingtwothirds-69percent-offosterhomesintheNWThadnotbeenscreenedforsafetyandin81percentoffostercarehomelesan-nualreviewswerenotdoneregardlessofwhetherornotinitialscreeninghadtakenplacemeaningchildrenwereputindanger.Thisresultedintheplace-mentofsomechildrenininap-propriateorunsafesituations.Intwocaseswereviewedchildrenhadbeenplacedinhomeswheretherequiredscreeninghadnotoccurredandwherethereweresubse-quentallegationsofneglectandphysicalabuse.Bothfos-tercarehomeswereclosedaftertheseallegationsarose.Ofthe46lesreviewed17werechildrenintemporaryorpermanentfostercare.In59percentofthoselesauthori-tiesdidnotmaintainregularcontactwithchildren.Requiredcasereviewswerenotdoneforanyofthechildrenincare.Thismeansthattherewaslimitedassessmentofthechildrenshealthandoverallwell-beingoffosterfamiliescapacitytocareforthechildrenandthequalityofcaretheywerereceivingtheauditstated.Althoughregionalauthori-tiesrespondedtoahighmajor-ityofconcernsregardingchildprotectionwithintherequired24-hourperiodkeystepstotheinvestigationswerentfol-lowedtodetermineifthechil-drenweresafeandfollow-upprocedureswererarelytaken.Some28percentoflesincludedreportsofconcernsaboutchildrenneedingprotec-tionthathadnotbeeninvesti-gatedatall.Sixty-sixpercentofthosecaseswherestepswerenotfollowedwentontoshowyouthinneedofprotection.Investigationsalsodidnotincludeassessmentsoflong-termrisksforyouthbecausepropertoolswerenotgiventochildprotectionwork-ers.Inmostcasesworkersclosedlesafterconclud-ingimmediatesafetywasnotcompromiseddespite59percentofthosecaseslead-ingtoadditionalconcernswarrantingprotectionwithsomeextremecasesrequir-ingmedicalattention.Overhalfofplan-of-careagreementssignedbetweenauthoritiesandfamilieswerenotmonitoredtoseeiftheirprovisionsweremetandregu-larcontactwithfamilieshadnotbeenmaintained.In76percentofthosecasesfurtherchildprotec-tionconcernsaroseafteragreementshadbeensigned.Otherconcernsraisedbytheauditweredirectedatinternalmonitoringmech-anismsformeasuringre-quiredmonetaryandhumanresourcesthedevelopmentofstandardsandguidelinesforworkersandtheneedforan-nualreportstobecompleted.HealthandSocialServicesMinisterGlenAbernethyad-mittedthereismuchworktobedoneinimprovingthesitu-ationintheNWTforfamiliesandchildreninneedofsupport.ThisisaseriousconcernforallofusAbernethysaidintheLegislatureWednesday.Icaredeeplyaboutensuringthatwetakeaggressiveactiontoimproveoursupportstochildrenandfamilies.ThedepartmentacceptedalloftheAuditorGeneralsrecommendationsandindi-catedthatworkhasbegunonseveralfrontsbasedonpre-viousrecommendationsandaninternalstudyonservicesintheterritory.Abernethyalsopointedtonewgovernmentinitiativesthathebelieveswillhelptoallevi-atethepovertyandaddictionsattherootofmostchildpro-tectionissueswhichincludetheupdatedEarlyChildhoodDevelopmentFrameworktheextensionoftheHealthyFamiliesprogramacrosstheterritoryandmovementsonaddictionstreatmentwhichincludesincreasingon-the-landhealingoptions.AswellthenewAborigi-nalHealthandCommunityWellnessdivisionofthede-partmentisworkingoncom-munitywellnessstrategiesrightnowheadded.Takentogetheralltheseinitiativeswillhelpustoreachourultimategoalofensuringthatnochildneedstotakeadvantageofchildprotectionservices.ButweknowthatdayisalongwayoffAbernethysaidaddingthatheplanstobringfor-wardlegislationtoimproveaccountability.SincebecomingministerfourmonthsagoIhavedi-rectedthedepartmenttotakeimmediateactiontodesignatechiefexecutiveofcersofau-thoritiesasassistantdirectorsofchildandfamilyservicesundertheacthesaid.Thisappointmentwillmakethemdirectlyresponsibleforen-suringthatoursystemdoesnotdroptheballonanychildwelfarecase.GraphAuditorGeneralWeconcludedthattheDepartmentofHealthandSocialServicesandtheHealthandSocialServicesauthoritiesarenotad-equatelymeetingtheirkeyresponsibili-tiesfortheprotectionandwell-beingofchildrenyouthandtheirfamilies.AuditorGeneralAnexampleofthendingsreportedbytheAuditorGeneralonthestateofchildandfam-ilyservicesintheNWT.