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TuesdayOctober21201415HEALTHWELLNESSSOCIALSERVICESByDALICARMICHAELInresponsetoincreasingcriticismsoffostercareintheNorthwestTerritoriestheGNWThastabledanewprogramtoimprovethesysteminawayitsaysisbenecialnotonlytochildrenbutalsototheirfamilies.HealthandSocialServicesMinisterGlenAbernethyintroducedtheActionPlantoTransformChildandFamilyServicestotheLegislativeAssemblyonOct.16anewstrategytoimprovethechildwelfaresystembasedonover100recommendationsmadebytheAuditorGeneralaswellastheterri-torialStandingCommitteesonGovernmentOperationsandSocialPrograms.Attheheartofthenewprogrammingisthegoalofworkingwithfamiliestoimprovetheirsituationsratherthanremovingchil-drenfromtheirhomesandplacingtheminfostercare.EverychildhastherighttoapermanentfamilyforaslongaspossibleandthatisnothappeningforanumberofchildrenthatwecurrentlyhaveunderourcaresaidAndyLangforddirectorofchildandfamilyser-viceswiththedepartment.Thepreferenceisalwaystohaveaper-manentplacementwiththeirrealparents.Theonlywayweregoingtobeabletoac-complishthatisbytransforminghowwedochildprotectionservicesandassurethatwegivethebirthparentsthesupportsandser-vicestheyneedinordertobeabletokeeptheirchildrensafe.AsofAugusttherewere147childrenfromtheNWTuptotheageof18infostercare.EasingprocessesforchildrenandfamiliesOutofallofthedirectivesinitiatedbythenewactLangfordsingledoutnewmethodsofhomeassessmentasoneofthemostimportantstepstosuccesscategorizedasdifferentialresponse.AbuserequiresimmediateinterventionbecausetheimpactofabuseisimmediateanddevastatingLangfordsaid.Neglectontheotherhanddoesnthavesuchanimmediateimpactbutithasajustasdevastating-ifnotamoredevastating-impactinthelongerterm.Newassessmenttoolsthatwilldeterminewhatmakesacaseofabuseversusneglectareintheworks.IncasesofchildneglectLangfordsaidhomeswillbeassessedfortheirstrengthsandweaknessesratherthanimmediatelyin-vestigatedcreatingamoreequalpowerdy-namicbetweenfamiliesandsocialworkers.Amendmentshavebeenmadetotheamountoftimechildrencanspendastem-porarywardsofthestate.Childrenupto5yearsoldmusthaveapermanencydecisionmadewithinoneyearby18monthsforchil-drensixto11andforchildrenbetween12and18thatperiodistwoyears.Whereasbeforechildren16andupcouldnotaccesschildwelfareservicesforthersttimenewruleswillallowwardsbetweentheagesto16to23tovoluntarilyaccessservicesandcounselling.IncreasedorganizationandassessmentLangfordandhiscollaboratorswouldliketoseethesystembecomecentralizedwithinthenextveyearsbutfortheinterimstrat-egieshavebeencreatedtobetterassesstheworkbeingdoneintheNWTssevenregions.Regionalhealthandsocialservicesau-thoritieswillbereportingperformancereportsonaquarterlybasisandwewillalsobedoingannualcomplianceauditsLangfordsaid.Thesedocumentswillincludeinformationonhowmanyreportsofchildabuseandneglectregionsreceiveonamonthlybasisaswellasthenumberofinvestigationsinitiatedandtheirtimelines.Theywillalsoincludequarterlyre-portsonthenumberofindividualcareplansenactedandongoing.Finallytheywilldocu-mentthenumberofchildrenreceivingchildandfamilyservicesandinformationonfosterhomeinspectionsandoperations.Newstatutorytrainingforsocialworkersandtheirmanagershasalsobeenintroducedalongwithplanstocreateanewchildandfam-ilyservicesinformationmanagementsystemaninitiativethatrecentlyreceived3millioninfundingfromtheterritorialgovernment.FinallyagreaterfocusonworkingwithAb-originalgovernmentshasbeenmadeapriorityespeciallyasmorecommunitiesturntoself-governance.WheneveranAboriginalchildistakenintocustodythelocalgovernmentmustnowbemadeawareoftheapprehension.AnationalproblemIsatdownwithdirectorsofchildwel-farefromjurisdictionsacrossthecountry.Asasystem-notjustintheTerritoriesthisiscountrywide-weneedtostepbackandconsiderhowtodothebusinessofchildcareandchildprotectionLanfordsaid.Inmyviewwearepositionedtoactu-allysucceedatmakingsubstantivechangetotheseprogramareashesaidnotingthatothergovernmentinitiativesaddressingpov-ertyandsubstanceabusewillhelptobuildstrongerfamilies.Idontseeushavingbeenthiswellposi-tionedinmyentiredurationwiththepub-licserviceandthatspans30yearshesaid.NWTannouncesoverhaulofchildandfamiliesservicesactNewprogrammingfocusesonbuildingstrongerfamiliesdirectorInmyviewwearepositionedtoactuallysucceedatmakingsubstantivechangetotheseprogramareas.Idontseeushavingbeenthiswellpositionedinmyentiredurationwiththepublicserviceandthatspans30years.AndyLangfordChildandFamilyServicesBridgerepairsneedednearDelineBridgesonthewinterroadnearDelineareinvaryingstatesofdisrepairfromanaturalprocesstheGNWTcallssettling.EngineerKevinMcLeodregionaldirectorofhighwayswiththedepartmentofTransportationsaidthebridgeswillneedtobeassessedforrepairsbutsaidtheproblemstemsfromthenatureofwinterroadconstruction.Weseesomeseasonaldecienciesbecausewebuildthesestructuresinthewinterwhentheconstructionisnotallthathighqualityduetothefrozensoilandwenormallyhavetogobackinthespringandortheyearafteranddealwiththesettling.PhotosAmosScott