EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
For a number or years now, the Department of Education has been delivering the Human Services Program in Cambridge Bay, and that program has been ongoing and is still continuing to be delivered in Cambridge Bay by training people to be social workers.
In the Health and Social Services preamble, or introduction, or inside of her statements, I did not really hear anything about including the mission that she has in the introduction of her business plan in reference to child welfare, “To promote, protect and enhance the health and well-being of all Nunavummiut, incorporating Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit at all levels of service delivery and design.”
If that means the Child Welfare Program using local social workers who know the community, who know the extended family, like you are doing in Cambridge Bay right now, will be extended to Qikiqtani and Kivalliq so that this mission will actually do what it says?
The mission speaks very broadly to the number of different programs that are delivered by Health and Social Services, and one of those pieces is the training of social workers in our communities for the social service delivery.
Currently, about half of the social workers in Nunavut are Inuit that are working in the communities.
So there are some results from the training program that is being offered through Nunavut Arctic College in Cambridge Bay. It’s a Diploma Program and there are graduates from that program that work within the Department of Health and Social Services in various communities.
These social workers that you hire locally, about 50 percent, are also in the government housing, they’re employed by the government with full benefits, not like the income support workers.
Some of these income support workers are contracted through the hamlets, but then, not the social workers.
Some of our workers live in government housing, some live in private housing, and some live in social housing, and that’s all I can say.
They work for the government in most cases.
In community empowerment, we do have social services in Cape Dorset that’s managed through the hamlet as an example. There are a few of those communities that manage the social services, but for the most part, social workers are public servants of and work for the Government of Nunavut.
Mr. Alagalak (interpretation): I didn’t expect that.
I want to ask questions along the same lines, but one thing that I did not get clarification on is on page H-5 in the main estimates and also on H-11 in your business plan.
(interpretation ends) The second paragraph on Social Services notes (interpretation) that “the number of children in protective care has also continued to rise.”
I know that it’s evident that there are more mothers having children and sometimes they cannot take care of their own children, especially when they are single parents.
When the women are single parents, their children have to be placed in protective care.
In the main estimates under the Contract Services, looking at the 2008-09 main estimates, it is smaller than the 2007-08 main estimates.
I think this line item is used for protective services and for the caring of children and foster children that are required due to criminal negligence.
It seems like 2008-09 should have more funding than the previous year, Mr. Chairman.
I believe that, under Contract Services on H-5, the slight reduction is a result of the restructuring of the department.
I believe that portion is transferred to the section under Treatment. It was transferred to the different division of the Department of Health.
This causes me concern. For many years now, I have experienced this from the NWT days to the time when the Government of Nunavut was created. It was always a priority issue.
When the parents couldn’t take care of their children, the children have to be apprehended and placed in foster homes, not in a giant foster care facility but in a home.
They have to be placed in protective care with a foster parent.
Children are apprehended either due to their lack of parenting skills or for various other reasons.
This has been occurring for quite a while, but I have noticed that nothing is ever done to correct the situation where parents lose their children, whether that parent is a young parent, an older parent, or otherwise.
The children are then taken into care and they are supposed to eventually be returned to the parent in the future.
However, nothing is done to teach the parents themselves and it seems that there is no corrective action, whether it’s through parenting workshops or by being involved in the process.
They are completely taken out of the picture and if I were to say it in English, “they are free,” completely free and no longer concerned about their child. They are not forced to take lessons or even advice as to how to correct their situation, especially as it relates to taking care of their child.
I wonder why the issue of training parents who have lost their children is not included with in the main estimates.
I believe funding for this line item is going to increase because I believe that the number of children in protective care is increasing.
The parents are given freedom when their children are apprehended, so I believe that there should be training or a follow-up program for the parents.
I was wondering if the minister has considered those issues. I believe that we need to deal with the parents.
Otherwise, it is going to cost too much money for the government if we don’t do anything about this gap in child welfare legislation.
Hon. Leona Aglukkaq: I’ll pass it on to Alex, please. Thank you.
Mr. Campbell (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Chairman. (interpretation ends) Just to be brief with the response, the department is, as I said yesterday, we will be doing an analysis on some of our Social Service programs that we do have, including the foster parents process and the type of supports that we do provide on both sides – the parents and the foster parents of the children.
We will be looking at our programs to develop more supportive mechanisms in there to be more IQ compliant and to be more responsive to the needs of the community.
That’s certainly one of our priorities as a department as we move forward.
As a department, we’re developing business cases on some of these critical issues that you have mentioned, Mr. Member, and the department is listening and taking note of some of these recommendations that members are providing to the department to make sure these are captured and included in our priorities for 2008-09.
So I can reassure the member that the issue that he is raising, that we will certainly follow-up on those as a department.
The other thing I wanted to mention was this is a mandated requirement for the department providing foster care and adoptions and all of those processes.
We will certainly not slam the door on any of these critical requirements as we move forward.
There’s a family care program under your department, for example, if a child is apprehended by social services, sometimes we hear individuals who bring their children to social services, and then the mother leaves without waiting for anything else. The foster parents are called by phone and then they take in the children.
It’s something that’s foreign to the Inuit culture.
There are very capable people who don’t have anymore children but they are capable of taking care of someone’s child or children.
I think it would be best if you have a list of people and I think it would be even less expensive if they go to the individual’s home and help out with the children.
I think that would cut down on expenses.
As Members of the Legislative Assembly, we’re given suggestions by the people out there.
I think that if we leave the structure as is, the money that’s expended will just keep increasing every year.
We also hear of children that are sent to the other communities and the individuals are not trained in parenting or skill building. I think there should be more done and give those individuals parenting skills.
There’s no question there. I just wanted to make those comments.
Did you get that Madam Minister?
I thank the minister for making an appearance before the committee.
I have a question in regard to some of the issues. There are quite a lot of responsibilities under social services, foster parenting, and foster care and it is quite a heavy burden to bear.
I would like to ask the minister about the policies and rules in regard to Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit.
I believe that Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit guidelines for social services or family services are quite heavy responsibilities.
Could the minister tell us how Inuit societal values are used when these matters are being dealt with, especially under these four main areas under H-5?
Could the minister tell us what kind of IQ is used in delivering the services listed in the four main areas?
Going through the five areas - Child Protection, Adoption Services, Guardianship Services, Adult Support Services and Family Violence Services - how have we incorporated Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit or initiatives to incorporate Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit into those areas?
I’ll try and give some examples of some of the areas that we try and address.
Adoption Services, we practice Inuit custom adoption in applying Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit.
Under Child Protection Services, we try and place children with family practicing Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit and the Inuit family values, as well as in Guardianship Services.
Under Family Violence Services, the Government of Nunavut has undertaken initiatives to address violence against women and family violence in a comprehensive review of services, and so on, with the symposium that was organized with the 74 recommendations addressing violence against women and children in Nunavut, and those recommendations came from Inuit of Nunavut to address family violence, as an example, in Nunavut.
Adult Support Services; adults that require assistance and support, based on declarations of individuals who require assistance, is provided through Social Services as well.
So those are some examples of some of the practices that we have in those areas.
Frontline staff could probably provide more information in those in more detail than I can.
Mr. Curley: I think it’s very important because IQ can be very complicated and many of us look at IQ as a lifelong learning kind of experience, other than the two syllables or whatever.
Can the minister commit to at least providing, if they are written down into policy direction, would it be possible to receive some of the actual publications, if any, with respect to delivery of IQ into any of the five areas that the Social Services handle?
I’ll commit to providing that. I also think that the government had tabled the Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit initiatives by department in this term of the government as well. So there is a report produced by the government by department on what initiatives have been undertaken by programs to incorporate Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit into the delivery of programs.
So I’ll pull that as well, and update it if necessary, and provide it to the member.
I also have a question with respect to adoption and placing children into southern provinces. Is there a regular requirement, to have the children that are placed outside of Nunavut, to actually have ongoing reports? Also, is there any requirement to report to the regional parents, if any, or relatives, and if so, could the minister explain to the committee, please?
The member made reference to adoption. Perhaps, he can clarify; is he talking about foster children outside the care?
Once adoptions are finalized and complete, we have no involvement in that. So I think the member is referring to foster children, but if he can just clarify that.
Mr. Curley: Thank you. It has to do with placing kids into foster homes within southern Canada?
From what I understand, there are regular foster children family visitations from various social workers whether in the community, or in the regions, and/or outside the territory where children are placed. There is a requirement for that.
How periodic that is done, reporting it, I would have to get that information of whether it’s on a weekly basis or monthly basis.
I’m not clear on that but there is a requirement for the social workers to request a review of foster children placements.
Mr. Curley: Thank you. I think it’s very important because there has been sort of an absence of reporting of foster homes from south to the north and I believe that we need to try and improve that particular kind of placement of kids.
We know exactly what’s going on because I know many of the families have no way of contacting them because it’s very complicated for them.
So my second question is: why would we continue to place foster children into homes that are beyond our boarders?
Just before I answer that question, I just got the information on the earlier question from Mr. Arvaluk.
Of the 296 that are in placement, 37 children are out-of-territory and those children are placed in care that require some specialized treatment as well that is not available in Nunavut. As well, 48 children are placed outside of their home communities, so 111 foster children are placed within their communities presently.
Why are they placed outside the territory?
Sometimes we have to place children outside the territory because we don’t have the facilities to care for children in foster care and I’ll use one example. In the children’s group home here, we have about I think ten children from the territory living in foster care in our group home facility.
Some of the children that require more treatment are also in care of that nature as well.
So that’s one of the reasons they are placed outside the territory.
The other reason being that we don’t have foster parents in the communities; we don’t have volunteer foster parents. So we have to then go outside the community, and so on, and sometimes that means outside the territory.
Mr. Curley: Thank you. I would need more information on exactly why there would not be any volunteers in the community.
What evidence is there that there are actually no foster care volunteers in communities? How do you actually measure that?
Hon. Leona Aglukkaq: There are volunteers.
People volunteer to be foster parents; we can’t force them. So we can advertise it and people come to us to express interest in being foster parents and then we go through the process of the security clearance, and so on, before placing children in their care.
That’s the process that’s in place right now.
Mr. Curley: Thank you. Yes, I understand that you can advertise them but do you actually have a standard guideline that actually says, “You are compelled to do the following,” and if so, it would be good to see the actual standard.
And, that’s because I am sure there’s a short cut directly to this outside the territories and probably team up with either social service agencies in southern Canada.
So I would like the minister to be more specific when placing a child, for instance, outside of the community and outside of Nunavut territory exactly what the procedure is.
There is a foster home handbook and guidelines that we have. We have a process in assessing, if the member wants that information, I would be willing to provide that information.
In most extreme situations is when you place children outside the territory.
The ultimate goal here is to place and to have the family and the child reunited, but there are also challenges we face in trying to care for the child.
So we do make the best efforts to place the child in the home community first and foremost, and then take the necessary steps based on what’s available in the community and so on.
Mr. Curley: Yes, I appreciate it. I think it would be useful to have that information.
I think there has to be more concerted or ongoing effort made to educate the communities, because so often, the social services are not Inuit and don’t know the family relationship in the communities which are quite extended. They need to be taught regularly that there are placements required.
It shouldn’t be just: something pops up and you contact one advisor, who is somebody who may not know. It’s a full-time job and it should be done with tremendous, I think, much more effort. We would appreciate that if that were to happen.
I have another question with respect to... I know it will sound general but it’s a major problem in Nunavut now. In view of the fact that a significantly larger amount of child support funds are going into communities from the federal government, I don’t know much about the Nunavut side; Child Tax Credits and all of these kinds of stuff, and so on; many of the kids are now financing habits of their parents that may be into substance abuse.
Is there any way the government or Social Services can plan something to either educate the communities so that there can be an improvement to that?
I know it’s a complicated issue but what is the, if any, attempt by the government to ensure that the funds go towards the welfare of the children, instead of being used for any other? Is it possible, or do we just say, “That’s beyond our control,” that the people who live in that kind of life will continue?
I know it sounds general but it’s also a major problem right now.
That’s a very broad comment in what role the social services play in ensuring parents spend their money to their children. I don’t have an answer for that question.
One would assume that parents would want to ensure that they spend their money for their family and so on. It’s a difficult question to answer and I don’t have an answer to that question, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Curley: I think the welfare of our children is the responsibility of the public government. I also believe that the government could educate the general public about the importance of providing the best, decent welfare to our children.
Surely, the minister can find a way to continue this development, that to just say, “It’s beyond our ability,” is really abdicating responsibility in my view.
I know it is complex, but I also truly believe that effort leads to something positive. We can team up with partners in communities with community groups.
I wonder if the minister would be prepared to plan a strategy that would ensure that the funds that are intended to protect our children do go towards them. I believe you would best do that by teaming up with IQ specialists in each community. Could you undertake to do that?
Just thinking about the member’s comments and questions, what I can say is that under our Public Health Strategy, the Public Health Strategy focuses on one of the areas which is children and well-being, but children, in developing programs and services, are seen as priorities by communities through the work of the Health Committees.
Perhaps, that type of question can be best addressed through the work that we’re doing with NTI and the communities in developing wellness plans in the communities - Inuuqatigiitsiarniq/Aanniaqtailiniq initiatives at the community level - and how we can tackle the issue that he has raised in partnership with the communities.
The solutions also have to come from the communities. So perhaps, that’s the best place to start the discussions around that subject that the member has raised.
Chairman (interpretation): Thank you, Minister. Thank you, Mr. Curley.
My first question; I’m just wondering if the minister or her officials have with them how many… actually, she mentioned earlier about half of the social workers in Nunavut were beneficiaries and that.
What’s the total number of social workers that the department has, I won’t say working for them, but how many social worker positions are there within the Department of Health and Social Services?
Hon. Leona Aglukkaq: Thank you. 51.
Can the minister indicate how many of those 51 positions are indeterminately filled at this time?
Hon. Leona Aglukkaq: 33.
Does the minister have a breakdown by region of the vacancy rate for social workers?
Hon. Leona Aglukkaq: Not at the moment, thank you, but I will provide that at the next question and we will have that information while I’m addressing another question.
I’m just wondering; I know there are 33 positions, I believe she has indicated, that are filled; are they all filled by indeterminate positions or are some of those positions filled by casuals?
Chairman (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Tootoo. Minister Aglukkaq.
I have to go through the list here and count the positions that are filled.
The number that I’ve provided, from what I understand based on the information I have here, are indeterminate staff that are in those positions now, but I need to verify that information with Alex.
I’ll look forward to getting that verified and find out if there are any that are just there as casuals.
I guess 18 out of 51, again, I would like to see what the reasoning is, but has the department, over the years, had a difficult time? I know there have always been one or two Members here in the House since 1999 that have raised issues the inability to get social workers in their communities.
Has there been, or is the minister or her officials aware of what kind of a turnover rate that the department has had with social workers across the territory?
Hon. Leona Aglukkaq: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. What was the last part of the question?
Mr. Tootoo: The turnover rate.
I don’t have that information with me and it was, I think, requested yesterday, so again, I’ll commit to trying to get that information to the member as soon as I can have it.
Would the minister or her officials be willing to go on the record saying that they do have a hard time recruiting and retaining social workers across the territory?
Once we go through and review the turnover rate information and I have that data, I will be able to speak to that question with information before me.
I guess I just wonder why; the question was asked on nurses and stuff like that, they would know, “Yes, we’re having a hard time,” but I think that’s one of the problems with Social Services is that it seems to be the forgotten child in the Department of Health and Social Services.
I have been contacted by employees in Social Services that that’s exactly how they feel; they feel that they’re totally undervalued and unappreciated because every time issues come forward.
I understand health is an important issue as well but it’s always just the Department of Health and not the Department of Health and Social Services, and Health seems to take the forefront of the attention from the department. Those individuals working in the Social Services area feel kind of neglected.
I guess given that, I may be leading to some of the turnover rate and the vacancies that are there, I certainly was glad to hear the minister indicate that about half of the 33 social workers that they have working out there are locally trained social workers.
I think that will, over time, as more social workers are pumped out of the education system, I think it will help alleviate some of that problem and fill some of those vacancies, but again, they have to be so that they don’t feel undervalued and ignored if they want to keep them there.
My next question to the minister is: has there been anything done by the department to look at recruiting and retaining social workers throughout the territory?
I’ll have Alex respond to that again.
Mr. Campbell (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Chairman. (interpretation ends) The issue of social services, as I indicated yesterday; there are a couple of things that we’re doing as a department.
The first thing we have done is we have readjusted and reorganized the department to put more of an emphasis on some of our standards and criteria, and to create an ADM for Programs and Standards.
This is leading up to some agreements with the member that social services was one of the programs that was part of the overall health component and the emphasis on social services wasn’t as great from the department’s perspective.
So in reorganizing the department, we have elevated the social services component now reporting directly to the ADM of Standards and Programs. The primary reason for that is to make sure that Social Services gets the equal attention that it deserves in the department.