Advocate for Children and Youth releases investigation of toddler’s death in foster care

REGINA—Bob Pringle, Saskatchewan’s Advocate for Children and Youth, released his report Lost in the System: Jake’s Story today. It is an investigation into the death of a child in foster care who died shortly before his second birthday.

This child, who is referred to as “Jake,” was found unresponsive in his bed by a staff member on the morning of December 10, 2009. In a post-mortem exam, the Coroner determined that he had passed away sometime before midnight the previous evening. The Coroner was unable to determine either the cause or the manner of Jake’s death. A police investigation found no evidence of foul play.

Jake’s real name was not used in the report as The Advocate for Children and Youth Act prohibits the disclosure of names to protect the privacy of the children and families involved.

The primary focus of the report is an examination of the services that Jake and his family received from the Ministry of Social Services and other child-serving agencies, to determine if they received the services to which they were entitled. The 32 page report includes seven recommendations, which are reprinted in full in the attached backgrounder.

Jake and his older brother were taken into foster care when he was five months old, following a domestic dispute in which his mother was hospitalized and his father was taken into custody. In the next ten months, Jake moved 11 times.

For the last nine months of his life, Jake lived in a high-capacity emergency foster home alongside his brother and 10 other children under five. Throughout his time in care, health professionals and one of his foster parents raised concerns about his health and development, which were not followed up sufficiently by the Ministry of Social Services.

“I am troubled by the number of times that Jake moved while he was in care, and why he spent so long at an overcrowded foster home,” Pringle said. “I was also concerned to learn that when he died, he was recovering from an unexplained leg fracture, and he had never learned to talk.”

“While it is too late for Jake, telling his story can help us improve systems for other children.”
Pringle said that he has noticed the perception that the child welfare system lacks accountability for what happens to children in care, which he is addressing by making and following up on recommendations to child and youth-serving ministries and agencies. He is “disappointed that the Coroner could not determine both how and why Jake died.”

Pringle acknowledges that the Ministry of Social Services has made significant changes in the years since Jake’s death, conducting a joint child death review with Sturgeon Lake Child and Family Services Inc. and implementing many of its recommendations. Recommendations in this report emerged from this investigation’s findings and reflect what the Advocate feels still needs to change to ensure better outcomes for children in foster care.

“Jake did not get the good start in life to which all children are entitled,” Pringle said. “He spent the better part of his short life in foster care, and the many caregivers he had made it difficult for him to feel secure and form healthy attachments. His mother was the most constant presence in his life.”
“As signatories to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which we have simplified into the

Saskatchewan Children and Youth First Principles, we need to make sure that all children are safe, protected, and that they have the supports to develop to their full potential.”

The Advocate for Children and Youth is an independent officer of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan. He leads a small team of regional advocates, investigators and other staff who work on behalf of the province’s young people. Our vision is that the rights, interests and well-being of children and youth are respected and valued in our communities and in government legislation, policy, programs and practice.

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Backgrounder attached.
For the full report please visit: www.saskadvocate.ca.
For more information contact:
Fleur Macqueen Smith
Senior Advisor, Communications
(306) 933-6700 or (639) 471-8585
fmacqueensmith@saskadvocate.ca
@saskadvocate

Lost in the System: Jake’s Story

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