A report which analyzed all contributing factors leading to a young boy’s death in British Columbia has been published, and now the BC government is looking at ways to change the way foster care is overseen in the province.
The report, titled ‘Don’t Look Away’, and investigation were carried out by BC’s Representative for Children and Youth (RCY).
In this report the RCY determined that a “series of significant missteps” took place which caused the young boy known as “Colby” to be tortured and killed in the Fraser Valley in 2021.
Specifically, the RCY is calling for a commitment to “stop tinkering at the edges of an outdated system that does not work for too many children and families” and instead make transformative changes for the benefit of children’s safety.
“We need to recognize that young people are currently 20 per cent of the population, but they are 100 per cent of the future of this province,” said Jennifer Charlesworth, BC’s RCY.
“Given this, we must commit together to move their needs up the priority list significantly. This report highlights all too clearly how poorly we are serving too many young people and their families in BC And when we know better, we can do better.”
Colby was technically in the Province’s care through the Ministry of Children and Family Development when this took place and it was determined he was killed at the hands of his extended family caregivers.
“This child’s death was completely preventable and I want to acknowledge the incomprehensible grief and loss that this child’s family, those who loved him, and the communities he was connected to have experienced,” said Charlesworth.
“The provincial care system completely and utterly failed this child and his family and the result of that was the loss of a beautiful little boy and so many lives being forever changed by this trauma.”
According to the report, Colby was not visited by a social worker in over seven months before his death. Policy dictates that no more than 90 days may pass between social worker visits.
Additionally, the RCY determined the Province and involved agencies made the following missteps:
- Failed to adhere to legislation, policy and practice requirements designed to protect the safety and rights of children
- Missed criminal record checks
- Conducted inadequate assessment and follow-up to reports of family violence
- Made flawed decision making regarding placements for the boy and his siblings
- Had confusion over roles and accountability between the ministry and Nation that the boy belonged to
“It would be too easy to point the finger at a worker, or the caregivers or [Ministry of Children and Family Development] and blame them for this tragic outcome. But what we see when we look at the totality of this boy’s story are multiple missed opportunities by many people and agencies, not just a single person, or a single ministry,” said Charlesworth.
“In spending almost a year looking very closely at what happened to Colby and his family and examining the systems of care more broadly, we are saying unequivocally that significant change must happen. A collective commitment to young people must ensure that no other child endures the horror that this boy and his siblings experienced.”
The RCY added that Colby’s story was not an outlier.
Their report says that in 2023/24 the 6,437 reports of deaths and injuries came in which impacted young people in care or receiving reviewable government services.
They say close to 3,000 of those meet the criteria for critical injuries and deaths that are within RCY’s mandate for reviews and investigations.
“These numbers are far, far too high,” said Charlesworth.
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She noted the current system is over 50 years old and rooted in colonialism, discrimination and not enough resources.
“It is time to think differently, act differently and feel differently in our work with young people,” Charlesworth continued.
The reports says that the key themes that were prevalent in Colby’s death were:
- Inequities and a lack of oversight in family caregiving arrangements
- Significant weaknesses in interagency collaboration and communication
- Impact of inadequate family supports and early prevention resources
- Risks of confusion over lines of accountability as Nations transition to having jurisdiction over their own child welfare systems
Additional central findings in the report are the prevalence of violence in the childrens’ lives and too often, families do not receive the supports that they need.
Charlesworth is now calling for collective responsibility and action in five key areas: enhancing child well-being, addressing violence, supporting families including kinship carers, enhancing accountability and supporting jurisdiction.
To accomplish this, several recommendations were made by the RCY.
Recommendations
The first recommendation is to use a “whole of government approach” to enhance child-care. This is to be done in collaboration with First Nations, Métis governments and community leaders. The RCY says BC should develop a Child Well-being Strategy and Action Plan, with progress to be measured and reported publicly and annually.
The second is to address the prevalence of violence in children’s lives through adhering more strictly to some policies and legislation already in place and alter others to be brought up-to-date.
Thirdly, the RCY is recommending BC establish clear outcomes and indicators to measure child well-being and inform planning, decision-making and investments in child, youth and family services.
The fourth recommendation is to work together with Indigenous leadership and the federal government to identify and mitigate the gaps in provincial and federal legislation that put children and youth at risk during the transition and jurisdiction changes.
The last recommendation is to update the Ministry of Children and Family Development’s case tracking system to embed “non-negotiable” procedures. These are to include criminal record checks, violence assessments and follow-up practices.
“Colby’s true legacy is a strong call to action,” said Charlesworth.
“He has much to teach all of us about how our current systems work, where they are strong, where they are weak, what could be done to prevent such tragedies in the future and how we might collectively ensure that children throughout BC.”
Ministry of Children and Family Development’s response
Grace Lore, BC’s Minister of Children and Family Development was in attendance at the event in which the Don’t Look Away report was publicly released on Tuesday, July 16th.
There she spoke to the Province’s commitment to change the way the ministry operates.
“As the minister, as a mom, there are not words for what Colby and the other children whose stories are shared in this report experienced,” said Lore.
“Every child in our province deserves safety, belonging and love. For each of the children in this report, we must commit to getting it right and rise to the changes their stories demand.”
The Province says they will now work toward the following:
- Developing a child and youth action plan focussed on child and youth well-being
- Developing an outcomes-based framework for measurement and accountability
- Strengthening information sharing between ministries and service providers
- Requiring that all policy decisions consider the implications for children and youth
- Working across ministries to address the causes and ongoing impacts of family and gender-based violence
- Examining what functions of family supports and child protection can be separated to provide a more coordinated approach
- Exploring the reconfiguration of child and family services across ministries
- Exploring the establishment of a body to support Indigenous governing bodies with the resumption of jurisdiction
“We must fundamentally shift our approach to supporting vulnerable families and communities,” Lore continued.
“We must do things differently and are committing today to a new vision for child well-being that focuses on prevention, care and a new way of thinking.”
Early this year, the Ministry of Children and Family Development was shaken up with former minister Mitzi Dean being transferred to a different ministry and Lore receiving the Minister title.
This came after Colby’s death prompted a call for Dean’s resignation by the BC Green Party’s Adam Olsen, MLA for Saanich North and the Islands.
