The territorySA国际影视传媒檚 health minister will meet with the Foster Family Coalition of the NWTSA国际影视传媒檚 board later this month to address major concerns raised by caregivers who say the child welfare system, broken and in SA国际影视传媒渃risis,SA国际影视传媒� continues to put children at risk.

Health and Social Services Minister Diane Thom will meet with the board on Jan. 30,
Tammy Roberts, executive director of the Foster Family Coalition of the NWT told Yellowknifer Monday.

Following a Dec. 12 meeting between foster care providers, adoptive parents and representatives from Health and Social Services, including Child and Family Services executive director Colette Prevost, Roberts and the non-profit coalition sent a 27-page letter to Thom, calling for a SA国际影视传媒渓ong overdueSA国际影视传媒� sit-down to address persistent problems plaguing a SA国际影视传媒渇ailingSA国际影视传媒� system.

SA国际影视传媒淭his is our modern residential school crisis,SA国际影视传媒� wrote Roberts.

The letter, summarizing the concerns raised by caregivers at the December meeting, was accompanied by a host of recommendations. They include calls to make full-time respite care staff available in the capital and to establish a child and youth advocate position in the NWT.

Ongoing concerns and frustrations raised in the letter were echoed by several foster caregivers who sat down with Yellowknifer last week.

A damning 2018 report from CanadaSA国际影视传媒檚 auditor general found many of the deficiencies identified in the territorySA国际影视传媒檚 child welfare system four years earlier had only worsened. In 2018, 66 per cent of foster families were not properly screened, and health and social service authorities in the NWT did not maintain the required regular contact with 90 per cent of children placed in foster care, a 30 per cent spike from 2014.

SA国际影视传媒淓xhausted,SA国际影视传媒� unsupported and underappreciated, foster parents said theySA国际影视传媒檝e seen next to no progress at the ground level since the auditSA国际影视传媒檚 release - despite reassurances from the health department that improvements have been made.

Foster caregivers and adoptive parents all decried major, enduring shortcomings in accountability and oversight from Child and Family Services.

Some said theySA国际影视传媒檝e faced lies, verbal abuse and harassment from child protection workers.
Roberts is hopeful the Jan. 30 meeting will result in meaningful action.

SA国际影视传媒淭he board is optimistic about meeting with the minister and department staff next week,SA国际影视传媒� Roberts wrote in an email.

SA国际影视传媒淲e are hoping to discuss how we can work together to make services better for families and the children they care for,SA国际影视传媒� she added.

Trista Haugland, media spokesperson for Minister Thom, confirmed the meeting on Tuesday.

SA国际影视传媒淢inister Thom is committed to finding ways to work with and learn from foster parents to make things better for front-line workers, family and children and youth in care,SA国际影视传媒� stated Haugland.

SA国际影视传媒�(ThomSA国际影视传媒檚) focus right now is to find ways to work to address the serious issues that have been raised and to make sure that children, and youth in care are safe and cared for and that those entrusted with their care are heard, supported and able to help them thrive,SA国际影视传媒� continued Haugland.

Haugland added itSA国际影视传媒檚 still being determined which SA国际影视传媒渒ey staff membersSA国际影视传媒� from the health department will be able to attend the meeting.

Meanwhile, Yellowknife Centre MLA Julie Green is welcoming the meeting between both sides.

SA国际影视传媒淭hey deserve a comprehensive answer from the Department of Health and Social Services. I am hopeful that their meeting with the minister will be constructive,SA国际影视传媒� Green told Yellowknifer in an email.

SA国际影视传媒淎s an MLA I will continue to hold the government accountable for the safety and well-being of children in care. There are no easy or immediate answers to these long-standing problems,SA国际影视传媒� stated Green.

Glenn Wheeler, who led the 2018 audit into NWT Child and Family Services, could not be reached for comment.

The coalition's board is made up of up to two volunteers from each region in the territory. There are currently seven sitting board members out of a possible 14, with vacancies in Hay River and the Sahtu.