Minister of Children and Family Development Stephanie Cadieux has issued the following statement today in response to the release of the Representative for Children and Youth’s report that reviews residential placements for children in care:

“The Representative’s Aggregate Review of Residential Placements, while otherwise thorough, does not reflect my ministry’s most recent and ongoing work in this area.

“The Representative is aware - given the numerous updates and interactions our offices have had on each and every case outlined in the report - of the detail and scope of our work to address the report’s key themes. This includes our recent piloting of Caregiver Support Networks, where highly trained lead foster parents provide mentoring, training and respite through a Support Home to a network of foster homes. We also have a new six-bed facility at the Maples Adolescent Treatment Centre in Burnaby, with additional resources to expand into communities throughout the province, for children and teens with complex care needs.

“While the ministry will continue to improve its residential resources, the three-month timeline set by the Representative is unrealistic given our need to balance this work with other priorities, such as the enhancement of child-protection services through the addition of 200 front-line staff - a move the Representative supported.

“Overall, we will certainly take the Representative’s views into consideration as we proceed to improve residential placements for children and youth with complex needs. And I can assure the Representative that we will continue to implement improvements as quickly as resources and budgets allow.

“As we do with every report, senior staff will meet with the Representative’s office to discuss the recommendations and how best to move forward.”

Media Contacts:

Government Communications and Public Engagement
Ministry of Children and Family Development
250 356-1639