Her 13-year-old foster child was missing.
Panicked, the caregiver called a child and family services employee, who told her to contact the RCMP. She did, only to be informed that the missing child report had to come from child and family services – the youth’s primary guardian.
Meanwhile, the missing child sat in the home of a “predator” for two days, where she was provided alcohol, says the Yellowknife-based foster parent. Child and family services workers eventually located the young teen after police “stepped up” to investigate – forcing them to take the report “seriously.”
“We’re failing our future," said the woman, who asked for anonymity out of fear of retribution from government officials.
She's one of many foster caregivers in the territory who are exhausted, frustrated and running out of hope. Subscribers can read Brendan Burke's full story in the Jan. 17 Weekend Yellowknifer by clicking the thumbnail below:
