Easier access to information to help children brought into care

Mark Laycock, director with Métis Calgary Family Services, believes a new partnership forged between the Calgary Police Service and Alberta Human Services is the first step in seeking better outcomes for Aboriginal kids who are over-represented in care.

 “The system of care is taking steps in the right direction.  It’s progress and a step forward,” he said.

Last month, Alberta Human Services Minister Manmeet Bhullar announced a new agreement which opens sharing of information between front line AHS and CPS workers to protect children. With this fast-tracking of information, attending staff members can call the police service for a criminal record check, background check, or address check to determine if the situation is safe. With a quick phone call to the CPS, the workers gain immediate access to critical information.

The sharing of information allows for better decision-making and better outcomes for our children and allows our workers to be safe, says Bhullar.

Officers stepping into a serious situation in which there may be kids in the house, will be working within a system that shares information with the right people at the right time, says Calgary Police Chief Rick Hanson. The paramount consideration that grounds the new agreement between CPS and AHS is that those who are the most vulnerable are protected.

The new agreement also allows children to be placed immediately into kinship care rather than in the home of a stranger.

“Every hour, every minute, every day counts in these cases when a child has seen trauma, has been exposed to something very traumatic and they are being uprooted and placed in someone else’s home that adds to the trauma,” said Bhullar. With immediate access to information, placement in kinship care is accelerated.

Of the 8,000 children in care in Alberta, 1,700 are in kinship care. Bhullar said 23 per cent is not sufficient and the number needs to go up.

 “All the science, all the research, all the data tell us that children thrive in a setting where they’re safe and they’re loved and it’s somebody that they know and connect with,”  he said.

Although Laycock recognizes the agreement as a positive step forward, he says more is needed.

“It’s about system change as well as everything else,” he said.
“Action is key. Leading action needs to involve other stakeholders, school systems, health systems, that is, a total support network.”
Laycock agrees that it is critical that young urban Aboriginal children remain and be supported in their circle of care.

“In the old system, the first thing they lose is culture,” he said. He also brings to light searching questions about the Aboriginal experience. “What does it mean? How does it come across in an authentic way?”

Hanson views the new partnership as an extension of other partnerships forged with the CPS. “Without that leadership, without the trust that has developed between our agencies through initiatives like the Child at Risk Response Team, like AVIRT, the Alberta Vulnerable Infant Response Team, the Sheldon Kennedy Child Advocacy Centre, we never would have got to this point today.”

In Bhullar’s view the partnership embeds a new culture.
“Governments are afraid of taking steps unless you know outcomes to a tee,” he said. His approach to his ministry is “a culture of continuous improvement.”

Addressing Bhullar, Hanson said, “To have another partner at the table every day to work on those issues that our officers are passionate about and that your people are passionate about is a huge step forward.”