UPDATE: Sask. toddler’s death investigated by Children’s Advocate

On June 8, 2010 while in a crowded foster home, Evander was found, by his foster father, face down in a bathtub filled with extremely hot water.

“The post-mortem examination of Mark found evidence of some lung congestion, scalding burns over a large part of (Evander’s) body and some abrasions and soft tissue bruising of his scalp,” the report stated.

Evander’s parents found out at 10:30 that night, hours after their son’s death. Mobile Crisis Unit staff went to Evander’s father’s house, but did not tell them how their son died.

“[Evander’s] father described the notification as ‘someone knocking at your door and saying your child is dead and then walking out.’”

When his parents finally were able to see Evander’s remains the following day, they did not have information into how he died and were “not prepared when they eventually viewed his remains.”

The coroner found the cause of death was accidental drowning but the foster mother was charged with criminal negligence causing death. On Feb. 1, 2013 the court found the foster mother not guilty, the Crown launched an appeal. However, the foster mother died in January 2014.

The report focused on the services Evander and his family received from the Ministry of Social Services (MSS) and other agencies. The report said MSS did not move quickly enough to approve extended family to become a resource and by not acting as a “prudent parent”, MSS violated Evander’s right to a safe and secure environment.

Saskatchewan Youth and Child Advocate Bob Pringle explained the foster home was approved for three children, but Evander was the fifth.

“When you place five children, and actually the ministry tried to place a sixth child there, an 18-month-old child, that’s a train wreck waiting to happen,” Pringle said.

The investigation found countless occasions when MSS practice did not meet the requirements of policy when it came to Evander’s treatment and when it came to investigating the foster home itself.

“The foster home had been approved for three children based on the foster parents approval for two children in Alberta,” Pringle said.

The report stated that while MSS made significant changes in the wake of Evander’s death, the issues of overcrowded foster homes and workloads remains a concern.

“Systemic issues remain, pertaining to the lack of quality case management and supervision, lack of policy compliance generally, adherence to required contact standards when a child is placed into an out-of-home resource, the quality of investigations, and the continued need to place children in foster homes which are over their recommended capacity,” the report explained.

“It’s pretty clear in the field of child welfare that when the situation is to the point that children need to be taken from their natural parents, that their is a higher level of accountability to make sure they are safe in the care of the state,” Pringle said. “The ministry did not provide an environment to protect this child.”

Pringle said that systemic issues including poverty and an over representation of Aboriginal children persist as underlying causes for overcrowding with the ministry. Evander was a member of the Sturgeon Lake First Nation.

Pringle added there was a lack of accountability, with multiple failures on all levels in the ministry, when it came Evander’s death.

“I want to stress that systemic issues remain pertaining to a lack of quality case management, pertaining to a lack of quality supervision in case work, pertaining to the lack of policy compliance generally,” Pringle said

“This report is about non compliance with policy, many of them good policies, on a number of fronts and that includes senior managers.”

The report included references past recommendations, including calling for licensing of foster home’s, and nine new recommendations:

– That MSS conduct a review and amend its policies pertaining to the investigation of foster homes to ensure that investigations are conducted in a thorough and comprehensive manner.

– That MSS provide training to staff who are assigned to conduct or supervise foster home investigations.

– MSS conduct a review of their foster home program, in order to determine those factors that have resulted in a rapid decline in the number of foster homes, and that includes a plan to address the decline.

– MSS amend its policy to require than an In-Home Support contract and required staff are in place prior to the placement of a child.

– MSS evaluate the recent changes made to the structure of its placement process and provide a report to the Advocate for Children and Youth in six months that outlines the impact of those changes on the ability of staff to match a child to an out-of-home resources.

– MSS include the use of the Structured Decision Making placement matching tool.

– That MSS develop internal procedures to ensure that issues requiring immediate attention are addressed in a timely effective manner and the actions are reported back centrally.

– That MSS create and implement procedures in their current policies related to a critical incident or child death around how natural families are notified and provided with support services, and how the First Nations bands or agencies are notified.

– That MSS offer a formal letter of apology to Mark’s parents for not acting in Mark’s best interests during the time of his last foster home placement.

Evander’s father says he still wants answers

Chris Martell remembered his son, Evander, as a good and happy boy who loved his brother.

“He was never into anything, he wasn’t mischievous. He never went into people’s kitchens to toss about pots and pans,” Martell said Wednesday afternoon.

“I still can’t believe how they said how he passed in that bathtub.”

Martell said that he and Evander’s mother had issues, Evander’s mother suffered from postpartum depression, but they loved their son very much. Martell said he was in the United States and wasn’t initially aware that Evander had been put in foster care.

“When I went to the States he was with his other auntie, I didn’t find out until I tried to find out … Nobody told me he was in a foster home,” Martell said.

When he found out his son was in care, he took steps to get him back. The report points to a member of the family attempting to get Evander back, and explained the ministry took too long. Martell was in Saskatoon to meet with a support worker about Evander the morning of his death.

When members of the Crisis Unit arrived at his home to tell him of his son’s death, Martell said he remembers being devastated.

“The mother was distraught and I was just trying to hold myself together and we called for my family to pick us up, went downstairs, and (Crisis Unit members) were gone,” he said.

Evander’s body was brought to the funeral home before Martell could see him and understand the extent of the injuries.

“The funeral director called and he said ‘Chris, your son is horribly burnt and I don’t think you should have an open casket.’ I went straight over there … saw Evander and it was just horrible the way he looked,” Martell said holding in tears as he described the burns over his son’s body.

“It’s a lot of nightmares, reliving it everyday.”

Martell said he struggles with PTSD and guilt, especially because of a lack of support after Evander’s death.

“Knowing that I could have tried harder but I did the best I could. This grief, I never opened up and talked about it, it’s just the grief of the tragedy,” Martell said.

“If it was a normal accident it would be easier to handle, but something like this, not knowing what happened, no support, it makes it worse.”

Martell looked into legal action but said it would cost too much money. He said since initially finding out about his son’s death, he had not received any contact from the Ministry of Social Services until last Friday.

“They contacted my mom. They wanted to make an apology over the phone. I told them I can’t do that over the phone, you owe me more than an apology just to do it over the phone, five years is a lot of pain,” Martell said.

“I blame the ministry. Like I say this is a preventable death, it’s kind of like they were playing pass around with my son’s file and they never got around too it and look what happened , a big tragedy like this. It affected so many lives, it affected my life, I have to live with this for the rest of my life.”

Executive director of Sturgeon Lake Child and Family Services Eleanor Brazeau said there will be some healing coming from the Advocate’s Report but they want more action from the Ministry of Social Services.

“Our First Nation has lost two young children who were in the care of the province within six months of each other, a third child was sexually assaulted by a child in care in the same interval and we just found out about that particular file in September of last year even though it happened back in 2010,” she said.

‘When we sat down and did the child death review we just found breach after breach (of protocol by the ministry).”

Brazeau said they have a “big” concern over their children in care. She said the ministry needs to have better conversations with First Nations and stronger partnerships.

“For Sturgeon Lake we are looking for a better agreement with the ministry. We would like to take control of our children off the reserve as well,” she said, adding it will take a lot of work.

Brazeau said Evander’s story has reverberated through their community and in her own life.

“It’s been very long and there are many times that I cried,” she said.

“This morning when I had a bath, when I’m in a hot tub of water, I think about little (Evander) because he was scalded from head to toe … We go visit his gravesite every year. I don’t see anyone from the ministry going out there and asking us if they can come.”

Brazeau said she hopes there will be significant changes and looks forward to the apology from the ministry. Evander’s mother requested the apology be done in a traditional setting taking place on the Sturgeon Lake First Nation in June. Brazeau said a member of the ministry will attend.

Government Responds to Report

“I hope the Government of Saskatchewan’s recognition that our system failed (Evander) brings a sense of closure for his family,” Social Services Minister Donna Harpauer said in a press conference Wednesday afternoon.

Harpauer said the ministry has already taken multiple steps since Evander’s death five years ago including new tools to support staff; updated and strengthened policies on foster home safety requirements; increased prevention and in-home supports for families so that they can safely care for their children at home; and a continued reduction in the numbers of children brought into care.

Harpauer said between March 2009 and March 2014 foster homes with more than four kids has decreased by 62 per cent. Although no new funds were allocated for front line workers in the most recent budget, Harpauer said since Evander’s death they’ve added 93 front line workers.

Of the nine recommendations the ministry said two have been accepted and implemented, six have been accepted and are in progress, and one has been taken under consideration.

Harpauer said they considered licensing foster homes but “evidence is not there in the three provinces that licence.”

As of March 2014, 4518 children were in out-of-home care, 570 foster homes were approved by the ministry, and 1153 children were in foster homes. There were 50 foster homes with four or more children, accounting for 297 children.

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On Twitter: @princealbertnow

by Kelly Malone

UPDATE: Sask. toddler’s death investigated by Children’s Advocate

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