‘It’s up to us’: Family responds to ministry changes year after report into boy’s torture death

One year on since the release of a report into the death of a Fraser Valley foster child, while changes have been made, more work still needs to be done, says a

It’s been more than four years since an Indigenous boy from the Fraser Valley, B.C., was beaten to death by his caregivers, and not a day passes where his grandmother doesn’t miss him.

“I think of him, and I see that big smile of his,” she said from her home on Vancouver Island.

CTV News can’t identify the boy, who was 11 at the time of his death, nor his grandmother, due to a court ban. Yet we know the horrors that led to his death included months of neglect, beatings and torture by the very people who were supposed to protect him. He hadn’t been seen by protection workers for seven months prior to being killed.

One year ago, a report from the Representative for Children and Youth called “Don’t Look Away” made a series of recommendations for changes to keep children safe. Jennifer Charlesworth, of the Representative for Children and Families, said more work still needs to be done, though there has been progress.

“There are probably a good half of them, there are actions that have been taken that are encouraging. Others are in the early stages, and some are waiting the formulation of that action plan as a strategy in order to be able to move forward,” Charlesworth said.

“We have done a number of things to better our system,” said Jodie Wickens, the Minister for Children and Family Development.

“We have completed training with all child protection workers. We have increased our IT services in our provincial centralized screening,” she said.

The boy’s grandmother said she’s pleased to hear of the improvements.

“It’s a start, and I just hope more people can use these resources,” she said.

“Now it’s up to us to make our voice heard for the other children,” she added.

Charlesworth told CTV News last week that she estimates the province is short hundreds of social services workers as many vacancies remain unfilled. But Wickens said her ministry has increased staffing levels.

“We’ve increased our workforce by 20 per cent and… we’re taking a number of actions to ensure our child protection workers have the tools that they need,” she said.

Charlesworth questions the numbers, however.

“That 20 per cent seems inflated to me,” she said, adding her concern that financial pressures could lead to cuts to important programs as the government moves to a more prevention-based model of support for children and youth.

Meanwhile, the grandmother of the boy at the centre of the report said she is still waiting for answers from the ministry. She wants to know why her grandson wasn’t placed with her, instead of the foster parents, when she offered to help.

The grandmother said she will try again to meet with the new minister, though attempts to see her predecessors have not been successful.

The minister would not speak to the specific case but said her “commitment to any parent, any grandparent, is (that) I have an open door and will meet with anyone.”