Advocate’s review of child protection system highlights policy action, notes limited scope
CBC
Newfoundland and Labrador’s acting child and youth advocate has completed a report commissioned by then-premier Andrew Furey more than a year ago about policies and procedures in the child protection system.
Furey ordered the review after revelations in a CBC Investigates report about two men accused of preying on youth in government care.
The new Tory government posted the 108-page report online late Thursday afternoon.
In a statement, Social Supports and Well-Being Minister Joedy Wall said the report was presented to the premier and ministers earlier that day.
“We recognize the importance of the findings and considerations in the report, and the seriousness and urgency of the matters raised within it,” Wall said in a statement.
“Our government immediately initiated the development of an action plan in response to the advocate’s findings and will release that plan in January.”
Officials said Wall was not available for an interview Friday.
Acting child and youth advocate Karen Gray wrote in the report she hopes it will “serve to enhance the current system to ensure the best services for children and youth receiving protective intervention services and to support the best possible outcomes for these young people.”
The report highlighted one recent policy change by the department in charge of child protection.
There are new documentation and police reporting requirements when information is received regarding a child or youth being maltreated — or at risk of being maltreated — by someone other than a parent or guardian.
The report called that new policy “a welcome addition.”
But there are repeated references in the report to its narrow scope.
“This review was limited in that it only examined one aspect of the broader effort to address child sexual abuse and exploitation in Newfoundland and Labrador,” the report noted.
The original cabinet order from Sept. 26, 2024 directed the advocate to investigate “policies and procedures in place to ensure the safety and well-being of children and youth in receipt of protective intervention services where a report is received alleging that a child or youth has been sexually abused or exploited.”
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