Province says changes to CFS emergency program will reduce number of kids placed in hotels

CTV Winnipeg: Changes for kids in care Ben Miljure on the Manitoba government changing the way emergency placement situations are handled for children in the care of CFS.

The Manitoba government has committed to making major changes to the way emergency placement situations are handled for children in the care of Child and Family Services.

The plan includes the creation of 71 new emergency foster home spaces, the opening of a secure residential care unit specifically for girls age 12-17 with complex needs, and the hiring of 210 new permanent child care workers over the next two years.

Family Services Minister Kerri Irvin-Ross said the new initiatives will reduce the current reliance on third-party contract workers for kids in care and also reduce the number of children CFS places in hotels.

Irvin-Ross said the plan would not likely end the use of hotels for emergency placements altogether and even with the new permanent staff CFS would still have to rely on third-party contract workers sometimes.

The new secure facility will be able to accommodate six high-risk female youth at a time and be located at Marymound, a facility on the banks of the Red River that already runs a number of different programs in partnership with CFS.

Irvin-Ross said the plan is for those secure placements to be ready by the spring of 2015.

Staff from the minister’s office said funding for all the new initiatives would come from savings realized by not relying as frequently on third-party contractors and from not needing to place as many children in hotels.