N.B. legislature hearings into failures of youth social services continue today

New Brunswick's child and youth advocate Kelly Lamrock speaks during a news conference, in Fredericton, on Thursday, May 28, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Eli Ridder

FREDERICTON — Hearings into the systemic failures that led to the overdose death of a New Brunswick teenager are scheduled to continue Thursday afternoon as lawmakers look for ways to improve the province’s youth social services.

Three organizations that work with at-risk youth will appear before the bipartisan social policy committee during the second of two days of hearings this week in response to a report on the shortcomings of the Social Development Department.

Representatives of Partners for Youth, Centre for Youth Care and the H.O.P.E. Team are scheduled to answer questions from lawmakers.

Kelly Lamrock, the provincial youth advocate who wrote the 26-page report, kicked off the hearings Wednesday by urging lawmakers to hold the Social Development Department responsible for improving its level of care.

The department, he said, “has repeatedly failed to live up to a clear, unanimous multi-partisan mandate to act more quickly with more accountability.”

Lamrock said the government should require that regional managers -- and the department as a whole -- track metrics for the children in their care, such as whether they graduate or end up homeless.

He also recommended that the government empower frontline social workers to make decisions in the best interests of vulnerable youth, rather than strictly follow procedures.

In his May report, Lamrock said the overdose death of a 16-year-old last year reflects a systemic failure and a lack of humanity within the Social Development Department.

In one instance, a social worker assessed the teenager, whom the report calls “Bobby,” after an overdose and told him he was ineligible to join a government support program for youth because he was homeless, the advocate said.

Daniel Mills, deputy minister at the Social Development Department, told Wednesday’s hearing he couldn’t explain why the teenager didn’t receive more help from the province despite warnings.

“Frankly, I can’t,” Mills said when asked why 15 separate warnings about Bobby were treated in isolation and dismissed.

“That’s the crux of it, there are lots of challenges. There are lots of people dedicated to doing the best they can do with what they’ve got.”

Eli Ridder, The Canadian Press

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 25, 2026.