Final report on Link recommends service improvements: province

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This article was published 06/07/2023 (1051 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A final report concerning service delivery and financial accountability at one of the province’s largest child welfare service providers was made public Thursday by the provincial government.

In February, Manitoba Families contracted with Deloitte to conduct an independent review of the Link (formerly known as Macdonald Youth Services), after employees wrote to Families Minister Rochelle Squires to raise concerns about the taxpayer-supported agency.

Three workers who spoke to the Free Press earlier this year claimed a crisis is hurting the quality of service to youth and families, saying Link executives should be replaced by Indigenous-led leadership, given about 80 per cent of its clients are Indigenous.

The government-ordered review was limited to services, management and financial practices, and did not investigate individual claims of employee harm or wrong-doing, the province said.

It focused on agency services the province has contracted with Link to provide to children, youth and families.

Squires told the MLAs in the house in April she had received an interim report from Deloitte.

The final report recommends improvements in terms of policies and practices, but did not refer any safety concerns to the child and youth services division of Manitoba Families, a government news release said Thursday.

One of the report’s recommendations is to create a human resources committee of the Link board to focus on employee compensation, staff recruitment and retention.

Of 19 recommendations concerning financial management, 14 have been implemented; six of nine recommendations to improve service delivery have been carried out, it said.

Manitoba Families will continue to monitor Link’s work to address the findings and recommendations in the report, the release said.

The Manitoba advocate for children and youth is also looking into concerns about Link first raised by a group of employees.