Failure to ensure child protection workers meet standards poses safety risk, professional regulator warns – Winnipeg Free Press

More than 10 years after the Phoenix Sinclair report, child welfare workers have been recommended to be licensed and registered, but many are raising concerns about the safety of children in their care.

“As social workers, we are in contact with the most vulnerable and we have to be accountable,” said Barbara Temmerman, registrar of the Manitoba College of Social Workers. “And we have to be accountable to the public, not just to individual organizations that may or may not have recognized standards in our profession in Canada.”

The public expects doctors, occupational therapists and other professionals to meet standards and for the college or licensing authority to ensure they are being followed, he said.

Under the Social Work Profession Act, which came into effect in 2015, only social workers registered with the Manitoba College of Social Workers are allowed to represent themselves as social workers. This is according to the 2013 Phoenix Sinclair Inquiry report, which recommended mandatory registration of child welfare social workers.

The $14 million investigation examined Manitoba's child welfare system and the circumstances surrounding the 2005 death of five-year-old Phoenix Sinclair. During his short life in care and neglect, the child was physically and verbally abused by his mother and his mother's boyfriend until his death.

The inquiry found that social workers failed to monitor Phoenix's welfare and whereabouts and often closed her file without seeing her. Inquiry Commissioner Ted Hughes made 62 recommendations, including that compulsory registration of social workers in child protection is “an important tool to increase the accountability of social workers and deliver services in line with best practice”.

Hughes also proposed amending the Social Work Profession Act to require anyone practicing social work in Manitoba under any title to register with the Manitoba College of Social Workers.

While other state departments, such as health and education, are fully compliant with the Social Work Professions Act, social workers must be registered to work in regulated settings, registration is still not a requirement for child welfare agencies, Temmerman said.

“I think the government should prioritize this,” the registrar said.

“The public needs to know who they are dealing with – if they are being served by a licensed professional, that person has a degree in social work or a diploma in social work, which may be appropriate.” Maybe they don't have a degree and offer a different service. The public does not know it. That's what worries us — there's no transparency for the public right now,” Temmerman said.

“In my opinion, the government is acting in their own interest as employers, not in the public interest.”

Temmerman said he was “optimistic” that the new government would make the necessary changes to the family department to ensure the registration of qualified social workers “to increase accountability and transparency in the interest of society”.

Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine was not available for an interview on Friday, but spokeswoman Hannah Drudge said in a statement: “The safety of children is a priority for our government and we are committed to continuing to work with our partners to ensure children in care are safe. professional support systems available to meet their needs.”

A child welfare agency worker who attended a bail hearing on behalf of a 14-year-old girl in her care who was stabbed to death in downtown Winnipeg a day later in December was not registered as a social worker. to the college registry.

A juvenile case worker told a provincial court judge reviewing the girl's release that she needed a special placement, but none were available.

Temmerman failed to mention that having a licensed social worker in the troubled teenager's corner might have resulted in a different outcome.

“All I can say is that based on our code of ethics, social workers have an obligation to challenge and improve workplace policies, procedures and practices,” she said. “If we see that policies and procedures are not in the best interests of our customers, we will try to make changes.”

Manitoba Child and Youth Advocate Sherry Gott, a registered social worker who investigates child deaths, including the stabbing teen, said the government needs to do more to ensure they don't end up in the child welfare system.

“Licensing may offer some benefits, but it still does not address the fundamental issues associated with providing specialized placements to children and youth in Manitoba,” Gott said Friday.

The court heard the local girl struggled with substance abuse, was on a waiting list for fetal alcohol spectrum disorder assessment, was frequently missing from her former foster home and would have been placed in emergency care without a safe, appropriate foster home. placement.

“We have repeatedly expressed our concern about the lack of specialized placements for children in Manitoba and have shared those concerns with the government on an ongoing basis,” Gott said, adding that children are “regularly removed” from the province. ” but he couldn't say how much or for how long.

“I think we need to move from being reactive to being proactive and focus more on prevention…. We need to address intergenerational trauma, housing shortages, lack of addiction and support for our children's mental health.”

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Carol Sanders
Legislative reporter

After 20 years reporting on the diversity of people who call Manitoba home, Carol moved to the Legislative Bureau in early 2020.

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