Foster Child Death Inquest Jury Recommends Changes
Friday, January 28, 2011 at 14:17
After several hours of deliberations, a haggard and emotional-looking inquest jury emerged with recommendations for Saskatchewan Social Services.
The coroners’ inquest last week in Regina looked into the death of a three-year-old boy who died in a foster home in Pense.
The two-man, four-woman jury returned with recommendations to prevent similar deaths.
The child, identified only as A.P.G, was considered medically fragile because of open heart surgery as an infant.
He was transferred from a therapeutic foster home in Saskatoon to the Pense home in June 2009.
He was only in the home six months before his death from a bronchial infection in December 2009.
Some of the recommendations include increased surprise visits from social workers to foster homes, the need for workers to use clear and concise language when talking to supervisors about concerns, that all medical information must be shared with the foster parents, and increasing payments to take care of children with increased medical needs.
The child’s emotional grandmother told reporters she hopes the inquest recommendations will prevent future tragedies.
She said the boy’s biological parents found the proceedings “very stressful and traumatic”.
Alma Wiebe was the presiding coroner and says the recommendations will be submitted to the chief coroner and the Ministry of Social Services.
Throughout the week, testimony by several social workers and the RCMP indicated the foster home was messy, cluttered, dirty and presented several safety concerns, such as a stair case with no handrails.
The recommendations also include the tendering of a handyman to fix foster homes and people to come in and clean.