Children at Risk

Will children pay a terrible price for the chaos the Campbell government created in the Ministry of Children and Family Development?

The Campbell government eliminated the Children's Commission. It also published plans to cut the budget for the Ministry of Children and Family Development by $304 million between 2002-03 and 2004-05. On May 7th Opposition Leader Joy MacPhail questioned Minister Hogg on leaks within his Ministry showing that his scheme to devolve child protection to regional authorities is spinning out of control.

Death rates are a crude way to measure well being, but they are one of the reliable measures that exist. We know that infant mortality (under age 1) has increased by 20% since 2000. We no longer have a Children's Commission to conduct fatality reviews and make recommendations for preventing further child deaths. We will have to wait to see whether Jane Morley, QC, and the Provincial Health Officer fill that gap.

Minister Hogg and the Campbell government need to understand that the measure of success is not whether the budget is met and salary bonuses are paid. It is not how fast the number of children in care can be reduced. The measure is the health and well being of all children. In the 15 years between 1985 and 2000, death rates for children and youth decreased by 50%, and death rates for children in care decreased by 40%. (http://www.healthplanning.gov.bc.ca/pho/pdf/cyicreportfinal.pdf)

On April 1, 2002, the Victoria Times Colonist attributed the following statement to Minister of Children and Family Development, Gordon Hogg: "Even with the best risk management tools an 80 per cent success rate is probably the most that can be achieved." Nothing like that was ever heard when the Liberals mercilessly attacked the former government over child deaths.

In this New Era the goals set by Hogg's ministry for child protection read like an accountant's balance sheet. Measure after measure indicates costs rather than outcomes for children. It is absolutely shocking to compare the performance measures found in Hogg's service plan with the measures developed by the former government. (http://www.mcf.gov.bc.ca/per_plan/index.html) Measures that have been eliminated by the Campbell government include healthy infant birth weights; infant, child and youth survival rates and the number of children-in care adopted.

Vancouver Sun columnist Vaughn Palmer commented on the difficulties the BC Liberals are having "in their effort to save millions of dollars by reducing the number of children in government care". He also interviewed Finance Minister Gary Collins who assured him that none of the difficulties that Hogg is having will put government's overall fiscal plan at risk. It would have been far more comforting if the Finance Minister had assured Palmer that the Ministry of Children and Family Development will have the resources that are necessary to protect children and youth.