Two years after the release of a landmark report calling for an overhaul of British Columbia’s child welfare system, B.C.’s child and youth watchdog says progress has been inconsistent.
B.C.’s Representative for Children and Youth Jennifer Charlesworth released the Don’t Look Away report in 2024. It details the case of an 11-year-old Indigenous boy, referred to as Colby, who died after suffering torture and abuse from his foster parents.
Her report called for several major changes to transform B.C.’s child and youth system, including improved communication between siloed government ministries.
“As I said back then, it was a preventable death,” said Charlesworth on Thursday. “It would not have happened if people had been working together in order to support that family and that little boy.”
Charlesworth said there has been progress in some areas, but other key recommendations have not been completed.
Despite her calls two years ago for increased recruitment and retention of front-line staff, Charlesworth said there are 76 fewer delegated child protection workers in the province, and there are still severe staffing shortages in several areas.
She said her office received 7,371 reports in the last fiscal year involving young people who were injured or died while receiving government services. That was a 14 per cent increase compared with 2024.
Charlesworth said that increase is likely due to a few factors, including more income precarity and the toxic drug crisis. She said she’s also seen better reporting across the system.
“We should have always known about these situations, but now people are doing a better job of telling us,” said Charlesworth.
Her 2024 report also called for more support for family caregivers who support thousands of young people in the province. Charlesworth noted that a review is underway, but it is not expected to be completed until next year.
She said community-based and early-help supports for families and young people who are experiencing violence are still not consistently available throughout the province.
B.C. released an action plan in June outlining a new approach to improve co-ordination of child and family services over the next five years.
The plan said families and caregivers described long wait times for services that were often disjointed. Others reported concerns about systemic racism and stigma in the system. It also highlighted concerns that many support models remain largely inaccessible until families reach a point of crisis.
Children and Family Development Minister Jodie Wickens said in a statement Thursday the action plan is only the beginning of a long-term effort to improve how the government supports children.
“While important improvements are already underway, including stronger co-ordination across ministries and enhanced accountability measures, we recognize there is more work to do to ensure children, youth and families receive the timely, connected supports they need,” said Wickens.
Wickens said last month that the government is also exploring possibly merging her ministry with the Ministry of Social Development.
