The union representing B.C.’s social
workers wants to know once and for all whether some of its members avoid
areas of the province out of concern for their personal safety.
The
union is calling for a health-and-safety review into so-called “no-go
zones” that would also canvass what communications devices, such as
satellite phones, are available to front-line workers. Concerns about
such no-go zones, particularly in aboriginal communities, emerged last
year in a report by the B.C. children’s advocate, which examined the
suicide of a 14-year-old girl living in a rural First Nations community.
The report included comments from a social worker who described threats to a colleague and not being allowed on reserve.
The British Columbia Government and Service Employees’ Union (BCGEU), which
released a report on Thursday calling
for an overhaul of aboriginal child and family services in the
province, says its members still report areas where they are not
comfortable working. The union says it wants the government to
acknowledge and track the issue.
“[The
Ministry of Children and Family Development] says there is no such thing
as a no-go zone – but there are areas of the province where social
workers are afraid to go and they have to get the police to go in ahead
of them,” union vice-president Doug Kinna said, adding that such areas
are in cities as well as remote, rural places.
The union’s report calls for a provincewide inventory and identification of so-called “no-go zones.”
Children
and Family Development Minister Stephanie Cadieux said in a statement
that her ministry had only just received the report, but would review
it. She also said the ministry hadn't heard directly from the union
about the issues raised in the report.
"The
B.C. government recognizes the challenges that many of our First
Nations and Aboriginal children, youth and families face," Ms. Cadieux's
statement said. "We will take the time we need as a ministry to review
their recommendations from [the report] in the context of the other work
currently underway."
Ms. Cadieux added that any changes to the system must involve aboriginal leaders.
In
response to questions about last year’s report from the children’s
advocate, Ms. Cadieux said at the time that no-go zones are not allowed
and, if a social worker needs support of police to gain access on
reserve, such support must be delivered. The ministry also said it has
agreements with bands to ensure access to children on reserves who face
health or safety concerns.
Thursday’s
report from the union is a follow-up to a report released last year that
flagged problems in B.C.’s child-services sector, including chronic
understaffing, unmanageable workloads and safety concerns.
Those
problems, along with others specifically related to aboriginal child
services, are outlined in the new report, which recommends overhauling
B.C.’s system to make it more helpful to children and families and more
accountable for public funds it spends.
“The
ideal outcome is that governments understand their role in supporting
and prioritizing the resourcing for aboriginal child and family welfare
in B.C.,” BCGEU president Stephanie Smith said on Wednesday, referring
to both the provincial and federal governments, which each have a role
in aboriginal child services.
B.C.’s
system also includes delegated aboriginal agencies, or DAAs,
community-based groups empowered by the provincial government to provide
child-welfare services in First Nations communities.
Delegated
agencies have come under fresh scrutiny since 18-year-old Alex Gervais,
who was in the care of Fraser Valley Aboriginal Children and Family
Services Society, died last month after being placed in a hotel.
His death is under review by the province.
A
2013 report by the Representative for Children and Youth, Mary Ellen
Turpel-Lafond, found the province was directing about $90-million a year
to delegated agencies without a good idea of their performance.
The
new BCGEU report recommends full disclosure of funding to delegated
agencies and an immediate review of all delegation agreements.
“We’re not saying throw money at this issue – we’re saying it needs to be resourced correctly,” Ms. Smith said.
“So
staffing, training – we need to find a way to co-ordinate these
services better between delegated agencies and between [the Ministry for
Children and Family Development]. … The communication between those two
are very poor, and when that happens, children slip through the
cracks.”
