BCGEU supports recommendations from B.C.'s Child Advocate
Jul 30 '09

The B.C. government should act quickly to implement five recommendations made by B.C.'s Children's Advocate Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond stemming from a 2006 child-in-care tragedy, including one designed to give front-line social workers more flexibility to address poverty issues faced by families at risk.

"These are important findings by Turpel-Lafond that we fully endorse," says BCGEU President Darryl Walker. "We also support her efforts to pressure government to deal with poverty issues that are the root cause of far too many child protection cases," he says.

"This is what our members on the front line are telling us," says Walker. "They want more flexibility, more coordination and more resources to deal with the enormous challenges faced by families at risk."

The recommendations include a call for more coordination between the Ministry of Children and Families and the income assistance programs provided by the Ministry of Housing and Social Development to empower front-line staff to be more proactive when dealing with circumstances when families at risk can't afford or obtain proper housing.

Other findings call for Victoria to develop a poverty reduction plan for Aboriginal children and families in collaboration with First Nations and federal governments, and to expand the number of Aboriginal foster parents with whom to place Aboriginal children.

"We encourage the respective ministers, Mary Polak in MCF and Rich Coleman in MHSD, to act quickly to implement Turpel-Lafond's recommendations," says Walker, "and we'll work cooperatively with them to achieve the necessary changes."