WINNIPEG -- Manitoba's auditor general says the province doesn't have adequate ways to ensure sufficient funding or to make sure standards are met in foster homes.
"To ensure the safety and well-being of children in care, it is imperative that foster homes and places of safety be properly managed by the child and family service agencies, and that children are placed in homes that can appropriately deal with their identified needs," Norm Ricard said in a report released Friday.
"Unfortunately, practices in place do not ensure that this is always the case."
In Manitoba, there are more than 9,600 children in foster homes and short-term places of safety, which can include treatment centres or the homes of extended family.
Ricard said the province does not have dedicated funding for child-welfare agencies that need to do home inspections, check criminal records and examine the child-abuse registry to make sure potential foster homes meet provincially set standards.
He found that eight of 40 newly licensed foster homes examined didn't meet requirements.
There were also issues when renewing existing licences for foster homes. Ricard said security checks weren't done and home inspections were not thorough.
"More frequent home visits, with some unannounced, would help ensure foster-care workers get an accurate sense of how a home operates."
Ricard found that as of June 2017, nearly 400 children in short-term emergency placement were also staying beyond the six-month time limit.
"Longer-term placements in a place of safety is a concern because each of these homes is essentially operating as a foster home, but without the same safety standards, supervision and support."
While there have been improvements, risks still remain, he said.
"Some officials told us that child placement decisions were sometimes made out of desperation rather than best fit, and that supply issues had led to a reliance on more expensive placements."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 22, 2019.
