System failed Manitoba girl returned to parent without support, checks: advocate
WINNIPEG — Manitoba’s advocate for children and youth says a girl who suffered repeated sexual abuse and died of a drug overdose was failed over and over again by the province’s child welfare system.
The girl — identified only as Angel — was born to a mother with addiction issues and was apprehended by social workers 14 times by the time she was 12, says a 118-page report from Daphne Penrose released Thursday.
But each time, the girl was returned to her mother without a proper assessment of the home and without supports for the family.
“The (child and family services) agency conducted no meaningful assessments as to whether Angel’s mother was ready or able to provide safe care to Angel. So inevitably, Angel would be returned home, left in the risky situations, and when the risk became so sufficient, she was reapprehended again,” Penrose said.