A 19-year-old aboriginal girl who died of a drug –overdose on Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside two years ago was treated with shocking indifference by social workers and other professionals, whose inaction contributed directly to her death, a new report says.
Representative for Children and Youth Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond said “Paige’s Story” is one of the most troubling reports she has ever released.
“If a parent in B.C. had treated their child the way the system treated Paige, we may be having a debate over criminal responsibility,” she said, asking if “this is the face of institutionalized racism and a system that discounts the value of some children’s lives in B.C.”
The 76-page report says social workers repeatedly returned Paige to her drug-addicted mother and permitted her to live in places that workers were afraid to visit. Educators failed to keep the bright young girl in school.
The health system discharged her without follow-up after abortions or detox, and police and lawyers neglected to notify social workers in cases where she was found passed out or incoherent.
“One police officer told Crown counsel that Paige needed ‘some form of intervention, hopefully by the court, or she may be hurt or killed while on a binge,” Turpel-Lafond said. “Unfortunately, the courts never provided that help.”
Minister of Children and Family Development Stephanie Cadieux said she was “horrified” by the report and acknowledged that more should have been done. But she rejected Turpel-Lafond’s charges of “professional indifference” and systemic racism. “I find it offensive that individuals could be seen as indifferent when they have chosen to make this their life’s work,” Cadieux said.
Turpel-Lafond concluded that Paige should have been removed from her mother at an early age. Instead, she was the subject of 30 child-protection reports in 19 years and cycled through 17 social workers, only one of whom formed more than a rudimentary relationship with her.
Over that time, she moved no fewer than 90 times, often living in homeless shelters, safe houses, youth detox centres, foster homes and a number of Single Room Occupancy hotels, the report says.
Turpel-Lafond called it “incomprehensible” that the ministry did so little to find Paige a safe and permanent home. Her aunt and uncle offered one, but were never seriously considered, although Paige did leave her cats with them because her own homes were unsafe for pets.
The report calls on the Children’s Ministry to immediately review the files of all children in care living or frequenting the Downtown Eastside.
“My estimate is that there are 100 to 150 urgent files similar to Paige that need immediate action,” Turpel-Lafond said.
Cadieux announced plans for a rapid-response team to identify kids before they become entrenched in the worst areas of the neighbourhood. She said staff have identified 10 to 20 young people who require an intensive response.
