The very thorough and comprehensive report entitled Oversight of Contracted Residential Services for Children and Youth in Care that was released last week by British Columbia’s Auditor General Carol Bellringer raises serious concerns – yet again – about a system of contracted residential services for children and youth in care that is no system at all and which continues to be beset by a litany of shortcomings.
What is especially troubling is that these inadequacies have been previously well documented and well known to the Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) for nearly a decade. Yet, despite previous public commitments to address the issues, there has been little progress in substantive reforms of the system that are so necessary, as is so clearly demonstrated by the Auditor General’s meticulous analysis.
