Child welfare agencies in Manitoba have met a deadline set by the provincial government to end the practice of housing youths in hotels, the provincial government announced Monday.
Family Services Minister Kerri Irvin-Ross said Manitoba Child and Family Services agencies in all areas of the province have found “more appropriate” housing for children in care.
“We’ve boosted resources for agencies so they have an appropriate and safe place for children in need of protection,” Irvin-Ross said in a news release. “We’re also investing more in better supports to help families look after their children at home.”
Irvin-Ross originally pledged to end the practice of housing CFS youth in hotels in April after a 15-year-old girl in CFS care was severely beaten by another youth staying in the same hotel as her. Last August, Tina Fontaine ran away from the same hotel before her body was found in the Red River.
The province added 55 emergency shelter beds and 114 emergency foster beds throughout Manitoba since April 1, Minister Irvin-Ross said
The province set a deadline of June 1 to end the practice, but had to extend the deadline after it became clear agencies in rural areas would not be able to meet it.
