Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Auditor General’s observations can be summarized as follows: • The department and regional authorities are not

adequately meeting their key responsibilities for the protection of children, youth and families.

• The department has not established an

adequate accountability framework.

• The department has not assessed the financial

and human resources required to carry out its obligations under the Family and Child Services Act.

• Regional authorities do not always complete

required steps to keep children safe.

o

In 28 percent of files, child protection

concerns were not investigated.

o

18 percent of investigations were not

completed within 30 days as required.

o

In 27 percent of investigations, required

interviews were not conducted.

o

In 13 percent of investigations the child’s

immediate safety was not assessed.

o

Longer-term risk assessments were not

conducted in any of the investigations.

o

14 percent of plan of care agreements had

not been signed by the parties.

o

In 54 percent of plan of care agreements,

compliance with conditions was not properly monitored.

• Regional authorities are not meeting

requirements for screening and reviewing foster care homes.

o

69 percent of foster care homes were not

properly screened.

o

Annual reviews were not performed in 81

percent of the files.

I. General

Considerations

1. Develop and implement a comprehensive action

plan

The committee is alarmed by the number of deficiencies identified by the Auditor General and the degree of inaction displayed by the department following the 2010 report. During the public review, departmental witnesses were unable to explain to the committee’s satisfaction why so little has changed. Instead, witnesses tended to deflect responsibility and blame the system.

In light of this grave situation, the committee expects to see a comprehensive action plan for addressing deficiencies. The action plan should differentiate between short-term and long-term priorities, and identify specific goals, timelines and indicators for measuring progress. Such an action plan will be critical to successfully implementing recommendations contained in this report.

The Auditor General has sounded a warning in this area. The 2012 status report examined progress made by GNWT departments in implementing recommendations of previous performance audits and identified the absence of strong action plans as a significant impediment to effective management.

In addition, the department has already failed to deliver on a number of promises. For example, in response to the Auditor General’s report in 2011, the department re-committed to revising the funding methodology for the regional authorities by the end of 2012-13 having made the original commitment in 2006, but it did not follow through. Given this poor track record, the department’s next steps will be closely monitored. The committee may request that the Auditor General conduct a follow-up audit if progress is unsatisfactory.

Recommendation 1

The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Department of Health and Social Services produce its action plan by June 30, 2014, and table it in the Legislative Assembly at the earliest opportunity.

2. Focus on prevention, early intervention and

family preservation strategies

The Auditor General’s report underscores a fact established in the 2010 report: the legacy of residential schools reverberates throughout the child and family services system. Over 90 percent of child welfare cases involve Aboriginal children.

The effects of this inter-generational trauma show themselves in struggles with poverty, substance abuse, and domestic violence, which figured prominently in the case files reviewed by the Auditor General. In 83 percent of them, alcohol or drugs were identified as putting a child at risk. Alcoholism and other addictions ravage families and communities, yet regional authority officials regularly told the Auditor General there are not enough practical avenues for treatment or prevention services to assist families.

Neither the department nor the regional authorities have developed comprehensive guidelines to assist child protection workers in accessing prevention services.

The committee recommends swift and vigorous action in the area of prevention, early intervention and family preservation strategies. Specifically, prevention services should be expanded in three areas:

A.

Alcohol and drug treatment options - Community-based options must be expanded to ensure that parents requiring alcohol or drug treatment or rehabilitation are able to complete the terms of the plan of care agreement within a reasonable time frame. Without such treatment options, the plan of care process for these families is doomed to failure.

B. Healthy Family Program - This program is

aimed at providing in-home support to parents of young children and educating them about nutrition, oral health, play-based learning and risk factors associated with developmental delays. The program is especially beneficial for survivors of the residential school system. In that system, children were forcibly taken from their families, placed in institutional settings and often unable to form loving attachments with their parents. Thus, many parents, even those a generation or two removed from the residential school experience, do not have the necessary life skills or emotional capacity to form strong, loving bonds with their children. The program is currently operating in all regions but not in every community. It should be expanded into all 33 communities with the goal of reaching every at-risk family in the territory.

C. Family preservation workers -

Another promising avenue is to employ family preservation workers across the territory. According to the Auditor General’s report, at least one such position exists. The purpose is to provide in-home, individualized intervention services, with the aim of preventing the out-of-home placement of children whenever possible. The family preservation worker may provide assistance in the development of effective parenting skills such as: instructions in family budgeting; guidance in managing daily household tasks; information about nutrition and health; and identification of services that might help at-risk families.

The goal of prevention and early intervention strategies is to reduce the overall need for child apprehensions. In conjunction with vigorous prevention-based strategies, the department should therefore establish targets, such as a 20 percent reduction in the number of child apprehensions over a given period.

As a word of caution, reductions in the number of child apprehensions must never be achieved by cutting back on child protection services but rather only by improving the well-being of children and families.

Recommendation 2

The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Department of Health and Social Services focus on prevention, early intervention and family preservation strategies with the goal of reducing the need for child apprehensions. Measurable targets should be specified for the upcoming five- and 10-year periods.

Recommendation 3

The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Department of Health and Social Services investigate the feasibility of territory-wide expansion of family preservation workers. These workers provide in-home, individualized intervention services in order to promote the well-being of children and families.

Recommendation 4

The Standing Committee on Government Operations concurs with the Auditor General of Canada and recommends that the health and social services authorities, in consultation with the Department of Health and Social Services, assist child protection workers in identifying and accessing the prevention programs available to children and families. They should also ensure that prevention programs such as the Healthy Family Program are offered to families in need.

3. Build linkages in earnest with Aboriginal

governments

As a continuation of the previous set of recommendations, stronger linkages must be forged between the child and family services system and Aboriginal governments. This should be accomplished through enhanced community engagement.

Band administrators should be encouraged to participate and advocate at all stages of the child protection process. They should also be included in training activities and workshops and given regular opportunities to develop and participate in training programs for child and family services committees.

Recommendation 5

The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Department of Health and Social Services build stronger linkages with Aboriginal governments pertaining to child and family services.

4. Monitor future progress through updates to

Exhibits 3, 4, 5 and 6 of the Auditor General’s report

The committee concurs with the Auditor General that ongoing progress will be best monitored through updates to performance indicators associated with Exhibits 3, 4, 5 and 6 of the Auditor General’s report.

Updates should be provided on a quarterly basis to the Standing Committee on Social Programs, which will monitor progress on the department’s action plan.

Recommendation 6

The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Department of Health and Social Services provide quarterly updates to the Standing Committee on Social Programs on improvements to child and family services. These updates should replicate indicators associated with Exhibits 3, 4, 5 and 6 of the Auditor General’s report. These exhibits pertain to the following areas respectively: conducting investigations; addressing confirmed child protection needs; attending to children in care of the director; and screening and reviewing foster care homes.

5. Address deficiencies without delay

During the public review, the committee heard departmental witnesses blame a broken child and family services system for ineffective management. The deputy minister alluded to the need for amendments to the Hospital Insurance and Health and Social Services Administration Act as this legislation contributes to the convoluted accountability framework. The deputy minister also alluded to impending changes to the broader structure of health care governance.

The committee is gravely concerned that efforts to correct deficiencies in child and family services may be delayed or postponed until governance reforms take place. Members agree with the Auditor General that deficiencies can and must be addressed within the existing legislative framework, even as improvements are made to the governance system.

Recommendation 7

The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Department of Health and Social Services begin immediately and in earnest to correct deficiencies in child and family services. Improvements must not be delayed until governance reforms have taken place as reforms may take until the end of the 17th Assembly or longer to complete.

6. Develop a communication plan

Finally, given the long-standing and serious nature of the deficiencies identified by the Auditor General,

key stakeholders and the public have a right to be informed about the department’s progress in addressing them.

Recommendation 8

The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Department of Health and Social Services develop a communication plan pertaining specifically to child and family services so that stakeholders and the public are informed about completed actions, upcoming changes and anticipated timelines.

Mr. Speaker, I’d like to pass the reading of the report to my colleague MLA Dolynny.