Chair of Child Welfare Review says System Fails

Chair of Child Welfare Review says System Fails

Friday, July 30, 2010 at 13:36

 

 

Chair of the Child Welfare Review Panel says as it’s structured now, the province’s child welfare system is failing the very children it’s supposed to help.

 

He says it needs to be changed radically.

 

Pringle’s observations are contained in a letter he sent this week to Social Services Minister June Draude.

 

The final report is expected to be delivered in October.

 

The vast majority of children in the system are Aboriginal, so the panel focused on their needs.

 

Pringle says the current system is an adversarial – us against them – style.

 

The panel suggests changing to a more inclusive and preventative system.

 

That means solving problems like poverty, poor housing and addictions, Pringle says.

 

Pringle also says culturally appropriate support would help prevent the problems that lead to intervention in the first place.