System under duress; Shortage of social workers, foster parents cited

Mike Sadava and Archie McLean

EDMONTON - A shortage of frontline workers and high turnover are compromising the supervision of foster children, says the president of the union representing child welfare workers.

With the shock of a murder charge laid against a foster mother in the weekend death of a three-year-old boy, the longstanding issue of caseloads of social workers has again been raised.

Doug Knight, president of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees, said Monday that new workload standards developed by the department in concert with the union when new legislation came in, were shelved, and instead the department put in a standard "which allowed staff to put things on the back burner that weren't a priority."

It is not known what kind of support the woman who fostered the dead child had received.

"Priorizing the cases is very difficult because they don't have the time to get the detailed knowledge," Knight said. "Over 50 per cent of the frontline workers have less than two years experience."

There is also a shortage of support workers for families in general, he said.

A recruitment and retention survey done last fall by the Alberta Association of Services for Children and Families found large vacancy rates approaching 15 per cent among agencies for positions such as youth workers and addictions counsellors, as well as high turnover rates.

Knight has personal experience with the system. His own family is fostering two children and his own support worker went to a new job three or four months ago. He said he just met the new support worker on Friday.

"I'm hopeful they'll address the problem before there are more incidents," Knight said. "It always seems to come to a head when something like this happens."

Children's Services Minister Janis Tarchuk said Albertans are right to ask questions and be concerned about the death. But she offered few answers, saying they will come at the end of a special case review her ministry is conducting.

Tarchuk doesn't know how much of the review's findings she will be allowed to release, but will give as much as she can.

"I will commit to making public whatever it is that I'm legally allowed to do," she said.

Tarchuk wouldn't say if there is a shortage of foster parents in the province.

She said the panel will likely be convened in the next week or two, but wouldn't speculate on its timeline or its effect on this year's budget.

Liberal critic Weslyn Mather said she was disappointed with Tarchuk's response.

"I was hoping for more," Mather said.

See CHILDREN / B5

"We talk about family values over and over in this government, and yet we are not providing the adequate resources to support the children we take from a home and say we can do better. This is not better. This is not acceptable," Mather said.

NDP Leader Brian Mason also blasted the government. He sent a letter to Tarchuk asking her to address the adequacy of the system as a whole.

"It's important that the specifics of the case be looked at, but that's not the whole picture," he said.

Meanwhile foster parents say they are "devastated" by the death of a boy in care, but maintain that taking in children is very rewarding.

Graham Jones, a teacher whose family has taken in more than 100 foster children over the past 20 years, said the media usually only cover foster parents when a death occurs.

"Everybody wants to watch a movie with a shark having a feeding frenzy, but there are so many good foster parents in this province," Jones said. "I'm sure everyone in the foster parent community feels really bad for the child, for the family and or the foster mom herself."

Foster parents don't get into it for the money, which comes in at a maximum of $50 per day to cover expenses, he said.

They are supposed to be screened and must take numerous courses in a number of areas, including understanding the legislation, child development and maintaining a child's aboriginal culture.

"Both my wife and I have good jobs. I think the best way to explain it is on Christmas Day, when a lot of the most recent ones come over and we have 14 or 15 there," he said.

Jones said it's a great feeling to know you have influenced a kid who might have come from tough circumstances and see the improvement.

Norman Brownwell, president of the Alberta Foster Parents Association who has fostered 600 children since 1969, said it's definitely been a positive experience, with many good placements and children being reunited with their families.

But the problems the children in the system face are more complex than they used to be, especially with children being born with problems created before they were born by their parents' use of alcohol and drugs, he said.

"It is hard work, but definitely there are lots of rewards and there are lots of positives."

msadava@thejournal.canwest.com

amclean@thejournal.canwest.com

THE CHARGES

A 32-year-old woman is charged with second-degree murder, assault causing bodily harm and the following two charges:

w Failure to provide the necessities of life -- a parent, foster parent, guardian or head of a family has a legal duty to provide necessities of life for a child under the age of 16, a spouse, common-law partner or anyone unable to provide for themselves. The offence occurs when the accused fails in that duty and endangers the health or life of another.

The maximum sentence under this charge is two years in prison.

- Abandonment of child -- The accused intentionally abandons or exposes a child under 10 years old under circumstances that are likely to endanger the health or life of that child.

The maximum sentence under this charge is two years in prison.