News Release

FREDERICTON (GNB) – A response was issued today by Families and Children Minister Stephen Horsman to the July 8 recommendations stemming from the Child Death Review Committee’s review of the death of a child whose family was known to Child Protection Services.

“I thank the Child Death Review Committee for its recommendations, and for the work it does to ensure our child welfare system responds to the needs of children and their families,” Horsman said.

The committee reviews the deaths of children under the age of 19, including those who were in the legal care of the minister of Social Development, or whose families were in contact with the child protection system within 12 months before the child's death. One of the committee’s objectives is to make recommendations to prevent future deaths and improve services to children.

The committee concluded that Social Development representatives provided the appropriate interventions in this case, working within the established practice standards.

In an effort to make the review process more efficient and the information more meaningful to the reviewers, the committee made the following recommendations to which Horsman responded:

Recommendation #1

That a review of the reporting format be undertaken between the Child Death Review Committee and the Department of Social Development.

Response

The minister advises that, as a result of meetings with the Child Death Review Committee over the summer, work on improvements to the reporting format is underway.

Recommendation #2

That an explanatory note be written in the Social Development Regional Review Into the Death of a Child Report explaining in greater detail why a referral was closed.

Response

Practice standards will be updated to require an explanatory note when referrals are closed.