Child and Family Services—Department of Health and Social Services and Health and Social Services Authorities
At a GlanceChild and Family Services—Department of Health and Social Services and Health and Social Services Authorities
What we examined (see Focus of the audit)
A complex range of issues—such as family violence, poverty, alcohol and drug misuse, and the intergenerational effects of the former residential school system—put some children and families in the Northwest Territories at risk and in need of child protection and family services. The link to a portable document format (PDF) fileChild and Family Services Act recognizes that all children are entitled to protection from abuse, harm, and neglect and promotes the best interests and well-being of children. The Act outlines the Government of the Northwest Territories’ responsibility to protect children and provide for their well-being and development when parents do not meet their fundamental responsibilities. According to the Department of Health and Social Services, an average of about 1,000 children per year have received either protection or prevention services under the Act over the past 10 years.
In March 2014, the Office of the Auditor General of Canada reported an audit of child and family services in the Northwest Territories. The audit found systemic, serious, long-standing deficiencies in services provided to children and families that put children’s safety at risk and failed to support their best interests and well-being.
This audit focused on whether the Department of Health and Social Services and the Health and Social Services authorities met key responsibilities for the protection and well-being of children, youth, and their families.
Why we did this audit
This audit is important because social issues—precipitated largely by alcohol and substance misuse, family violence, poverty, and intergenerational trauma—can put children and families at risk and contribute to the need for child protection and family services. The number of children and families requiring these services has remained consistent over the last 10 years.
Overall message
Our audit determined that there continued to be serious deficiencies in the delivery of child and family services in the Northwest Territories. We found that many of the services provided to children and families were worse than when we examined them in 2014.
Families involved in the child and family services system face many challenges, including struggles with poverty and alcohol and drug use, which limit parents’ abilities to care for their children. Almost 80% of the files we reviewed referred to alcohol or drug misuse as a factor that put children at risk. In about 50% of the files, domestic violence put children at risk. When parents are unable or unwilling to care for their children, the Department of Health and Social Services and the Health and Social Services authorities are required to intervene, becoming in essence the parent for some of those children.
Since our 2014 audit, the Department of Health and Social Services had focused on changing its processes without sufficiently considering the impact of introducing complex changes into an already overburdened system. We found that many of the changes we examined were not well implemented or resourced and, in our opinion, produced worse services for children and their families.
For example, we found that Health and Social Services authorities had adopted an approach of permanently placing some children by transferring guardianship to a family member or other person without basic checks—such as home studies, criminal record and family background checks, or in-person interviews with potential guardians—to ensure that the children were being placed in safe and appropriate homes.
In our view, the Department of Health and Social Services and Health and Social Services authorities must start working on how they will achieve their common objective of providing better services and achieving better outcomes for children, youth, and families. Children will remain at risk until the Department and the Health and Social Services authorities make the changes they said were critical, and that they committed to making.
What we found about…
Services for children in parental care
Services for children in temporary and permanent care
Foster care
The system for delivering child and family services
Entity Responses to Recommendations
The audited entities agree with our recommendations and have responded (see List of Recommendations).
Related Information
| Report of the | Auditor General of Canada |
|---|---|
| Type of product | Performance audit |
| Audited entities |
|
| Completion date | 12 September 2018 |
| Tabling date | 23 October 2018 |
| Related audits |
For more information
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