Feb 21, 2012
Quebec Human Rights Commission investigation raises concerns about foster program protocol
This article speaks of the flaws of the foster children protocol in the province of Quebec, as well as the Quebec Human Rights Commission’s mandates.
The Quebec Human Rights Commission’s mandate is limited in that they are not responsible to prove that a crime was committed, but rather to examine how the children’s allegations were handled, and determine whether established protocols were followed.
Even if the protocol was not strictly followed, the investigator who interrogated the children to be abused in the presence of their abusive foster parents clearly did not demonstrate diligence, as it seems logical that the children will not speak the truth in that situation out of fear of repercussions. This exemplifies that despite a strict protocol, the expected results may deviate from the actual results due to administrators that don’t act diligently.
The commission concludes that several aspects of foster care protocol were not followed in this particular case, including:
- Certain background and criminal record checks required when applying to become a foster family were not done.
- Investigating questionable information raised by third parties on the basis that it was not significant enough.
- Children in the case were interviewed in the presence of their foster parents, despite allegations of abuse.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/story/2012/02/19/quebec-foster-care-case.html
