Home / Crime and Justice / Nunavut Child Services Failures Persist, Auditors Warn
Nunavut Child Services Failures Persist, Auditors Warn
4 Nov
Summary
- Follow-up report finds little progress in child and family services.
- Foster care lacks safety checks, monitoring, and caregiver training.
- Monthly contact with children in care rarely occurs, report states.
More than three years after an urgent call to action, a new report from the auditor general of Canada indicates that Nunavut's child and family services have made little progress in addressing critical issues within its foster care system. The audit, covering November 2024 to March 2025, highlights persistent fundamental weaknesses, particularly concerning the safety and well-being of children in care.
The report found that the territorial government frequently fails to maintain adequate oversight of children in foster care. Essential safeguards like proper screening and monitoring of foster homes are not consistently applied. Furthermore, caregivers often lack crucial health and background information about the children placed with them, and training opportunities are infrequent or insufficient. These omissions mean the department cannot reliably ensure children's safety and that their needs are met.
Instances of neglect in oversight are stark, with the report noting that the required monthly in-person contact with children and caregivers occurred in only 10% of reviewed cases. In some alarming cases, documented contact was absent for over a year. The department's grasp on the number of children in care remains unreliable, partly due to the failure to conduct these essential check-ins. Even a new information management system, launched in 2023, has yet to become a dependable source of data, with staff often reverting to manual, error-prone methods.
Financial mismanagement also plagues the system, with support payments to foster caregivers exhibiting significant errors, leading to both underpayments and overpayments. One caregiver was underpaid approximately $100,000 over a year for multiple children. The auditor general has recommended improvements, including ensuring the new information system is accurate, reviewing caregiver payment rates, and developing a comprehensive training program. The department has agreed to the recommendations, but the auditor general stressed the need for accountability to ensure improvements are made.
