Two mothers are suing Saskatchewan social services claiming the department failed to protect their children while in foster care.
The case made headlines last summer after four-year-old girl died in hospital and her two-year-old sister was treated for severe neglect.
The foster parents, Kevin and Tammy Lynn Goforth, are facing charges of manslaughter and negligence causing bodily harm.
The case is still before the courts.
Tony Merchant, the lawyer for the women, says regardless of where the case against the Goforths goes, the primary focus of his clients’ lawsuit is the inaction of the social services department.
“Our case doesn’t turn on what happens to the foster parents,” he says. “Our case turns on what social services did not do and what social services ought to have been doing in terms of protecting the children.”
The four-year-old girl died of malnutrition in August 2012 and her sister was also hospitalized for malnutrition.
The lawsuit alleges the two children should have never been placed in the Goforths home because there were serious allegations of abuse against the couple dating back to 2009.
Both mothers are suing social services for allegedly failing to ensure the safety of their children.
The suit says the death of the four-year-old was totally preventable and both of the women complained about the treatment their children were receiving but nothing was done.
The suit is filed on behalf of one mother who had children in foster care in the Goforths home from 2008 to 2010 and the mother whose child died while under their care.
Both women allege their children were abused while in the Goforths’ home.
They can’t be named to protect the identity of the children.
No dollar amount is listed in the claim.