Special Report – Reporting of Critical Injuries and Deaths to the Representative for Children and Youth

December 2010

Purpose of this Special Report

This Special Report1 was sparked by a recent incident in which the Representative was advised through the media and by family members that a vulnerable special needs girl who was known to the Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) was left for several days with the body of her deceased mother. The Representative heard of this circumstance almost two months after it happened.The seriousness of this case and the way that she became aware of it, in combination with other specific examples of non-reporting by MCFD, convinced the Representative that a Special Report was urgently needed, as ongoing efforts with MCFD at resolving the issue of notification of critical injuries and deaths have not been fruitful. The Representative is concerned that public confidence in the system of independent review of critical injuries and deaths will be impacted if immediate policy changes are not made to bring ministry practice into compliance with the duty to report.

In particular the Representative was asked the question “Why wasn’t this case reported to your Office?” This Report strives to answer that question, and address the underlying policy gap in reporting matters to the Representative to enable her performance of the oversight function of reviewing critical injuries and deaths of children. In relation to the case of the child with the deceased mother, following a review of the file and of relevant information from within and outside the ministry, the Representative has determined that a critical injury has in fact occurred. The Representative has completed a review under the Representative for Children and Youth Act (RCYA), and has commenced a full investigation of this matter. However, the Representative has to date still not received an official ministry report of the critical injury in this case. Discussions with senior ministry officials suggest a notification will not be forthcoming.

The Representative will release a full public report on this case within the next several months, when her investigation is complete. The investigation will closely examine the interaction between the ministry and this family, and whether the harm suffered by the child could have been prevented.

DOWNLOADS:
• Special Report – Reporting of Critical Injuries and Deaths to the Representative for Children and Youth
• Special Report – Summary Document