EDMONTON — A fatality inquiry has recommended that criminal record checks be broadened for people who want to be foster parents.
The conclusion comes in a report into the case of a 13-month boy who was shaken to death in 2005, less than a month after he was transferred to a home in which one of the parents had a criminal record and violent history that wasn’t fully revealed to caseworkers.
“A policy which permits Children and Youth Services to obtain consent from a prospective foster parent with a criminal record to access an investigative file would be helpful,” the report says.
It outlines how the baby was originally removed from his mother because of her inability to deal with drug problems. He was handed over on Sept. 30, 2005 to foster parents who were already looking after his two older siblings.
A doctor’s visit on Nov. 21 found minor problems, but no X-ray was taken.
“X-rays of (the boy’s) arms would have shown the healing left scapula (shoulder) and right humerus (upper arm) fracture which Dr. Lewis testified were indications of injuries caused by physical abuse,” the report says.
Three days later, emergency workers responded to a call that the boy was suffering cardiac arrest. He died in hospital the next day.
“(He) was treated for acute head trauma and injuries consistent with Shaken Infant Syndrome,” says the report. “The degree of injury was severe and irreversible.”
The father was charged with second-degree murder and pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
Social workers were aware the father had a criminal record consisting of minor property offences and one count of assault.
The man told the case worker the assault was against a man whom he had caught in bed with his wife. He did not tell her the original charge had been attempted murder, which could have triggered a psychological assessment.
The report points out that privacy legislation at the time prevented case workers from looking at the full police files of people they are assessing to be foster parents. Case workers were unable to look at the circumstances around the crime, the original charges or records of plea-bargains.
The first two of the report’s 11 recommendations suggest foster parent applicants who have been convicted of a violent offence be required to allow case workers to see their entire police file and that legislation be amended to allow that.
The Alberta government has already moved on that, said Children and Youth Services spokesman Stuart Elson.
“We’ve definitely strengthened our criminal record check process,” he said. “If the applicant has a criminal record, we must acquire the detailed circumstances of those offences.”
Caseworkers are required to consult with managers in the event of any criminal record. No applicant is accepted with any history of violence or abuse against children.
Elson said the department is also working on the report’s other main conclusion — that caseworkers for the children and the parents didn’t communicate enough with each other to spot warning signs in the family home.
“We’re definitely taking steps to improve that communication and co-ordination,” he said. “But we’re going to look at these recommendations very seriously to see if there’s anything additional we can do.”