Minister of Children and Family Services Searle Turton (Government of Alberta website)

By rdnewsNOW Staff

Searle Turton

Alberta Premier issues mandate letter to Minister of Children and Family Services

Aug 1, 2023 | 10:24 AM

Premier Danielle Smith has issued a mandate letter to Minister of Children and Family Services Searle Turton.

In her letter, the Premier outlines her expectations that strong Alberta families and children lead the province forward. She asks Minister Turton to deliver on platform commitments to support families and children, including:

• Increasing funding for women’s shelters by $10 million over four years.
• Increasing funding for sexual assault centres by $10 million over four years.
• Working with the federal government and child care providers to implement $10-per-day daycare by 2026 that promotes and incentivizes new child care spaces for both private and non-profit operators.
• Collaborating with the Minister of Mental Health and Addiction, who is the lead, to expand access to young people struggling with severe mental illness with four new youth mental wellness centres that provide inpatient mental health and addiction treatment to youth. This includes expanding prevention and early intervention mental health supports for children and youth that are integrated within schools and communities.

The Premier also tasks Minister Turton with:

• Increasing the number of licensed child care spaces in private and non-profit centres as well as day homes.
• Developing and implementing improvements to the foster care system to reduce the number of moves and minimize disruption during a child’s time in care, and supporting kinship and foster families, where appropriate, to provide permanent homes and continuity of care for children.
• Developing and implementing supports for victims of domestic violence.
• Supporting Alberta’s continued leadership in adoption by developing supports to enable a more efficient and effective adoption process.
• Conducting a review of the Child, Youth and Family Enhancement Act to ensure the legislation is meeting the needs of children, youth and families in Alberta.
• As lead, continuing to work with the Minister of Indigenous Relations on engagement with the Government of Canada and with Alberta communities on the implementation of An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families (Bill C-92) to ensure the interests of Indigenous children in Alberta are protected.
• Designing a ministry-specific job-attraction strategy that raises awareness for young Albertans (aged 16 to 24) and adults changing careers of the skilled trades and professions available in child care and related services, including pathways for education, apprenticeship and training.

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“As cost of living continues to rise, Alberta’s government remains fully committed to supporting families and making high-quality child care affordable and accessible for Albertans. I look forward to working with our partners to continue to provide support and services to our youngest citizens,” said Searle Turton, Minister of Children and Family Services.

Diana Batten, Alberta NDP Critic for Childcare and Children & Family Services, made the following statement in response to the Children and Family Services mandate letter:

“I worry that there is no mention of the devastating number of children dying in government care. Minister Turton must know we are witnessing an increase in the number of deaths with more young lives lost every single year under the UCP. Without a proactive plan, he is on track to set another horrific record this year. It’s clear from this letter that the lives of these vulnerable children are not a priority for Danielle Smith.

“The Children and Youth Advocate has repeatedly called for all involved ministries to answer for their failures on this front, but as recently as January, the UCP blocked public testimony on this. There is no mention in this letter of the catastrophic staffing shortage in his Ministry that leaves so many vulnerable children slipping through the cracks, particularly in the north.

“Autonomy over their own child and family services is what First Nations and Indigenous groups have been asking for, and I am deeply disappointed that there is no funding dedicated in this mandate letter for the implementation of Bill C-92.

“The funding instructions for women’s shelters and sexual assault centres is obviously inadequate, as the operators of these shelters clearly stated earlier this year.”