The Office of the Child and Youth Advocate is an independent office of the Alberta Legislature. (Pixabay)

By Eli Ridder, Sheldon Spackman and Josh Hall

Alberta advocate’s office reports highest number of youth deaths, injuries

Nov 28, 2023 | 9:38 AM

EDMONTON, AB – Forty-one notifications of death and serious injury were concluded by the provincial child and youth advocate’s office during the 2022-2023 report year — a record-breaking number. Forty-four total went to review.

READ THE FULL 2023 ANNUAL REPORT

“This year, we saw the highest number of notifications of death of young people since our office received the mandate to conduct investigative reviews in 2012,” advocate Terri Pelton said in a statement Tuesday.

“This is profoundly concerning and underscores the importance of ensuring our recommendations are implemented to help improve services and supports for vulnerable young people.”

Of the 41 closed notifications, two were received in 2022-2023, 21 were carried forward from 2021-2022 and 18 were carried from 2020-2021.

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A new annual report emphasized that young people benefit when their voices are heard and their perspectives are considered, according to a news release.

This is particularly crucial for those involved in the child intervention and youth justice systems, the report finds.

The office of the child and youth advocate released a pair of investigative review reports that examined the circumstances of 33 young people who had died and came up with three new recommendations to the government as a result.

Several government ministries should create an action plan to address service gaps for young people with complex needs while working on longer-term fixes, read the first recommendation.

The action plan should include targeted activities and milestones that meet the immediate needs of these young people, the report adds.

The second recommendation asks for the children services ministry to examine the connections for each Indigenous child under the ministry’s care and strengthen those connections to their family, community and culture.

The advocate’s office also recommends the ministry publicly provide ongoing annual updates on its examinations of Indigenous children and their connections.

“That astounding number was 44 — almost 30 per cent more than the previous year,” said Diana Batten, Alberta NDP Critic for Childcare and Children & Family Services. “Despite these heartbreaking losses of young life, the government only met four of the 31 recommendations made by the Office of the Child and Youth Advocate. It is unbelievably clear that this UCP government doesn’t place the safety and well-being of children and youth in this province at the top of their priorities.”

“It is unforgivable that 166 young people receiving intervention services have died in the UCP’s first term,” added Batten. “Young people this government was trusted to care and provide for to help through unimaginable challenges. Alberta’s vulnerable children and youth deserve so much better. I don’t know how any member of this UCP government will be able to sleep tonight after learning they let so many families suffer.”

Also commenting Tuesday was Public Interest Alberta (PIA) Executive Director Bradley Lafortune, who calls the 44 deaths a ‘catastrophe.’

“Successive governments have failed to do what is necessary to protect children. Preliminary research from Public Interest Alberta and the Edmonton Social Planning Council shows that child poverty rates are climbing back to pre-pandemic levels. One in six children in Alberta today is living in poverty, leading to a lifetime of knockdown effects including academic difficulties, poorer health outcomes, and a far higher likelihood of living in poverty as an adult,” says Lafortune.

“We thank the Child and Youth Advocate for ringing the alarm on this issue. This shows the vital importance of having independent advocates with a clear mandate to investigate and make recommendations to improve the system.”

PIA notes that in 2024, it and Edmonton Social Planning will release a full child poverty report showing, “just how far we’ve fallen in Alberta.”

UPDATE:

On Wednesday, the Office of the Minister of Children and Family Services released a statement on the new report.

“There is no greater tragedy than the death of a child or young adult and our hearts go out to the families and loved ones forever impacted and changed. The Office of the Child and Youth Advocate is a valued and respected advisor in our shared goal of protecting Alberta’s children and we are committed to continuously improving our system to support the safety and well-being of children,” says Ashli Barrett, press secretary for the Minister of Children and Family Services.

“All OCYA recommendations have been actioned in a way that will make a positive difference for children and families across the province. We update Children and Family Service’s progress on implementing recommendations publicly, and continue to update the OCYA on our progress.”