One year after the province promised a "new vision" for child welfare following a scathing report into an 11-year-old boy's death, the BC Representative for Children and Youth (RCY), says not enough has been done to fix the system.
Jennifer Charlesworth says some progress is being made one year after she released Don’t Look Away on July 16, 2024 — but expressed concerns about “fiscal limitations” and other challenges standing in the way of advancement.
“For some reason, it's very difficult to shift a system in the way it needs to shift,” said Charlesworth during a media event on Tuesday.
“So we’re committed to keep reminding the sector that we can do so much better for children and families.”
Don’t Look Away tells the story of Colby, an Indigenous boy — whose real name and specific community have been withheld to protect his identity — who was failed by multiple systems meant to keep children safe.
The report outlines how those failures, rooted in long-standing patterns of colonial oversight, led to his untimely death at the hands of extended family caregivers in a Fraser Valley foster home in 2021. The mistreatment of Colby and his sister was called “incomprehensible” by a provincial court judge who sentenced their two caregivers to 10 years in prison in 2023.
“One of the most heartbreaking findings of this report was that this beautiful child’s many critical injuries — and his death — could have been prevented,” said Charlesworth in a July 15 press release.
“I want to acknowledge the incomprehensible grief and loss that this child’s family, those who loved him, and the communities he was connected to continue to experience.
“I want to be able to tell them that we have learned and that things are better for children and families in BC, but I need to see more change on the ground before I am able to do that.”
The report centred on Colby’s story to examine what went wrong — not just in his case, but as a lens to interrogate the broader system of care.
It offered detailed recommendations to prevent similar tragedies and called for a fundamental overhaul of BC’s child welfare system.
Of the 50 main recommendations made in Don’t Look Away, Charlesworth says “a good half of them” are being addressed, but noted that the data is still currently being pulled, so couldn’t confirm any specific numbers.
The same day that the RCY spoke to the media, the BC Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) released a statement providing an update on the steps it has taken since the report was released one year prior.
The statement referenced the development of a “child and youth well-being action plan and outcomes framework,” with several other ministries, including Education and Child Care, Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation and Social Development and Poverty Reduction, among others. This collaboration follows criticism that ministries were working ineffectively in silos to address issues experienced by children, Youth and families.
But Charlesworth added that she is only seeing collaboration at the senior level.
“On the ground, it really depends on the players at the local level,” she said, noting that ministries such as Health, in many cases, contract out mental health and substance-use services.
“So it’s not just the ministries, but the agencies who are involved in service delivery,” she said. “It’s fragile and community dependent.”
Charlesworth noted that she hasn’t received a timeline for the completion of the plan, nor has she seen a first draft. “We’ve seen what they would like to include in the plan, but no timeline on when this is going to be available,” she said.
According to Jodie Wickens, Minister of Children and Family Development, “the work is already well underway, and a draft plan is developed,” she wrote in an email to IndigiNews.
“The plan introduces fundamental, systemic changes that will take time to implement.”
“In the meantime,” said Wickens, “we have already taken several actions to improve child safety and wellbeing, and the RCY acknowledges we have made progress on 65 per cent of the recommendations from various reports, including Don’t Look Away.”
But when IndigiNews asked Charlesworth about the percentage, she hesitated. “Yes, there is progress on many of our RCY reports,” she said. “But of course, progress exists on a scale — from none, a little, some, significant, to complete — and many are still only at the ‘some’ stage.”
Charlesworth also raised concerns that “fiscal limitations” will restrict any good intentions the government has, and delay on-the-ground improvements for young people and their families.
With the current unstable state of the economy, Charlesworth says more families will be dealing with poverty, “which we know has an impact on child wellbeing,” she said. Additionally, Charlesworth added, the government is currently under a fiscal deficit, “and we know from the past that what gets cut is social programs — we’ve seen it many times,” she said, adding that it’s social programs that help support and stabilise families, particularly those facing poverty and experiencing disabilities.”
Charlesworth argued that limiting early support for families often leads to “very expensive services” down the line — like staffed group homes, which she says can cost the government up to $100,000 per month.
“Surely if we backed up the bus, we’d be able to save money,” she said, noting that while early intervention would require upfront investment, it could lead to “significant financial, emotional, and spiritual transformations.”
Among positive steps the MCFD has taken, more than 90 per cent of young people are now being seen within 90 days, as per the ministry’s policy — Colby was not seen by his social worker for seven months.
“Information is being collected and monitored in real time,” the RCY added in its media release.
Additionally, new training has been delivered to more than 800 child welfare workers to ensure that they are better prepared to work with nations resuming jurisdiction over child and family services.
But the MCFD says it has also increased staffing levels by 20 per cent, a figure which is disputed by Charlesworth.
“Our observation is that 20 per cent is not something we’re seeing,” she told reporters. According to Charlesworth, MCFD has focused on filling pre-existing vacancies, of which there are many. But this doesn’t account for a 20 per cent increase in the total workforce.
“20 per cent seems inflated to us,” she said.
In a response from Wickens, she said that “these jobs are some of the hardest and complex in BC, and the ministry is working hard to strengthen our workforce.”
Another area MCFD needs to address, according to the RCY, is supporting families with regards to basic income and housing support.
When IndigiNews asked Wickens about whether the government will be stepping up to provide these supports, she did not specifically answer the question, but noted that MCFD has “clarified with staff how they can use discretionary funding to provide timely, family-centered, needs-based and practical assistance to families in crisis situations,” and that they’re improving resources for kinship care providers.
Charlesworth also believes the province has not done enough to “tap into the knowledge, wisdom and creativity of nations, other sectors and community services to find better ways to support children, youth and families,” focusing on internal, cross-ministry collaborations.
Wickens’ responded that BC is “leading the country with First Nations” as they reclaim jurisdiction over child welfare; that it has appointed Jeremy Y’in Neduklhchulh Williams as an Indigenous child welfare director to advance “meaningful reconciliation including a focus on the overrepresentation of Indigenous children and youth in care;” and that it is committed to working “in lockstep with First Nations” as their work unfolds.
According to the Our Children Our Way society, on Wednesday, the RCY hosted a ceremony and gathering with community leaders, Elders, matriarchs, Indigenous child and family agencies, and ministry representatives to coincide with the anniversary of the report.
“We know from past experience that many reports end up sitting on the shelf,” said Charlesworth. “We owe it to Colby not to look away.”
