Manitoba earmarks $8M to keep kids out of care

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This article was published 18/02/2022 (1388 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Twenty families who need support to keep their children, who have developmental disabilities, out of the child welfare system will benefit from an $8-million pilot project by the Manitoba government.

Families Minister Rochelle Squires said the two-year program will ensure parents are not forced to place their children into the care of Child and Family Services.

“I can’t imagine a harder decision, or a more heartbreaking decision to make if you’re a family member dealing with a child with severe developmental disabilities, that you don’t feel adequately equipped to deal with anymore, and that the options provided to you are to put your child in a CFS placement when there’s no protection issues,” Squires said.

Families will be able to access long term, out-of-home residential support on a part-time basis.

“What we’re offering today is an opportunity for the families to stay together, for the families to still be the legal parent or guardian, while their child can access those services that they would have otherwise received if they were in CFS care,” she said.

“We certainly know that this is also a very expensive pilot — $4 million a year to service these families — but worth every penny in the investment and we believe that the cost savings will be neutral,” Squires said.

The minister said the cost of the pilot would be the same as placing the children in CFS.

A provincial request for service providers who can “meet these children where they’re at” through the bridge program will be released shortly.

Squires said there are many more families who stand to benefit from the program and her department will work directly with them to see whether it could be a good fit.

The pilot follows recommendations made by Manitoba’s children’s advocate in a report last year that examined the accidental death of a teen with developmental disabilities and behavioural issues in rural Manitoba.

The teen’s family had pleaded for help from the provincial government to meet escalating needs related to their daughter’s health and well-being.

The children’s advocate said over a recent five-year period, nearly half of the kids enrolled in Community disAbility services had contact with the welfare system, and one in four was taken into care. A review of 53 cases indicated that for more than one-third of the children taken into care, their disability was a contributing factor.

“As children with disabilities grow up, their increasingly complex care needs can sometimes outgrow the care that can be managed by their families and their caregivers,” said acting children’s advocate Ainsley Krone.

“Today’s announcement is a win for those children and youth and for their families who will have additional care options that can be tailored to the changing needs of youth with disabilities.”

However, families who rely on provincial disability supports continue to struggle with underfunded services and a complex system that leaves them unsure about where to turn for assistance, Krone said. Her office will monitor the implementation of the nine recommendations issued to government last year to improve disability services for children.

“Children with disabilities in Manitoba have fundamental human rights, to live, to thrive, and to participate in society and we must continue to work towards realizing these rights,” Krone said.

danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca