Children's group fires back at the premier

(Submitted by Jill Drews)  The group singled out by the premier for not doing enough to help a boy in government care is accusing Christy Clark of playing politics with this case. The Fraser Valley Aboriginal Children and Family Services Society is giving its side of the story.

The 18-year-old died on September 18th after falling from a window at the Abbotsford hotel he had been living in for two months. Christy Clark says the society did not inform the Ministry of Children and Families that Gervais had been living in a hotel, something which is against policy. She promised consequences at a news conference last week.

FVACFSS Board Chair Gwen Point says they know they need to do better, but so do all the parties involved. “We’re walking through fire right now. This is a very difficult issue. It’s a very difficult time and we’re walking through fire. And it’s not a time to turn away. It’s not a time to lay blame, rather it’s a time to think about how do we move forward and how do we make a difference for the youth that are in care.”

Point couldn’t address Clark’s claim FVACFSS didn’t report Gervais’ hotel stay to the Children’s Ministry, citing privacy concerns.

The NDP has called for Children’s Minister Stephanie Cadieux to resign.

FULL STATEMENT:

“Everyone at Fraser Valley Aboriginal Children and Family Services Society (FVACFSS) is deeply saddened by the tragic loss of this young man. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends and the community.

The entire FVACFSS family will – as professionals and as mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, cousins and as fellow human beings – participate in and cooperate with any and all reviews or investigations related to this devastating death. This includes any reviews instigated by the Ministry of Children and Family Development, the Representative for Children and Youth and/or the Coroner’s Office.

The FVACFSS Board of Directors and leadership have met with senior Stó:l? leadership to brief them on the details of this tragedy. We have recommitted ourselves to working together in order to increase communication, improve the governance of children and family services, and to resolve policy barriers.
As an organization, we will work with our leadership, our communities and our partners to improve services that will better protect children and keep our families together.

We would like to make a clear statement at this time: This is a time when it is necessary for the entire system to step forward and accept accountability for the historical and current challenges that fail the children, youth and families. It is crucial that we work together to find ways to ensure that a tragedy like this never happens again. Ways such as, MCFD & DAA’s working to create proper residential placements for youth who need extensive support. These placements must bring a strong Aboriginal healing focus to the program by involving trained Aboriginal staff and Aboriginal Cultural and healing supports. Committing to this involves people at all levels and in all areas of the child welfare system – including government, agencies and our community.

The FVACFSS Board of Directors and leadership know that we all need to work together to do better. The Ministry of Children and Family Development cannot disengage or distance itself from its role in the systemic issues that create devastating outcomes, such as the death of this young man. Shifting focus solely to the delegated agency appears to be a political move and is not what is needed at this time. What we need now – more than ever – is leadership, not politics.

Everyone at FVACFSS is hopeful that the Ministry of Children and Family Development will come and work in partnership with us to ensure that this young man’s death is not in vain, and that we can find a way to create a process that stops this type of tragedy from happening again.”