Child advocate pushes rights of children

Page 9

Edmonton

The controversial Child Welfare Act will be given a new interpretation, says a recently appointed social service children's advocate.

Bernd Walter, who was named to the government appointed post of children's advocate last week, says a new system will soon be in place to define the role of the province

when placing children with foster families.

Under the province's new Child Welfare Act amendments, the children's advocate will investigate or review individual cases at the request of the child, the social services

department, or any other interested parties.

As advocate, Walter is required to make periodic reports to John Oldring, minister of family social services.

New legislative amendments will allow private, non-profit adoption agencies to place children in foster homes. They will be subject to licensing requirements by Alberta Social

Services.

The agency may place a child with a pre-screened, approved adoptive home once the relinquishing parents agree. The relinquishing parents can even be involved in the

choice of foster home.

Alberta Social Services will ensure that consent for adoption will be given "freely, voluntarily, and without coercion of inducement."

A forceful entry amendment permits the department to apprehend a child from their home using force if the child appears to be in danger.

Band representatives will now be able to apply for voluntary disclosure of adoption information in the name of treaty children whose biological parents are dead or can not be

contacted.

The most important change to the act, according to Walter, is the mechanism which allows the children to control their own well being.

Walter said it will be dictated by those who are the most qualified to make the system work -- children themselves.

The province is eliminating the children's guardian because it wasn't meeting the needs of children in this province, he said.

"We will now focus on the needs, rights and preferences of the children," he said.

"We will now implement policy according to the individual needs of the children," promised Walter.

As the children's advocate, Walter, 42, will focus on the needs of children who are wards of the province.

In the past, he says, the children's guardian was making decisions to place children in foster homes or return them to their natural parents without any consultation from the

children involved.

He says a repatriation dilemma has caused the department difficulty.

"The child welfare act was unclear in this area. It needed to be changed," he says.

"I don't see the role as advocating for one side or the other. I wouldn't side with either foster parents or the Native groups. It's serious stuff and we've got to avoid some of the

problems of he past."

Walter will be responsible for talking with all the parties involved before any action is taken to displace the children.

He also says he wants to make the children's advocate more accessible to Native communities so that everyone will become more involved in the welfare of children.