Children's Ministry refuses to compensate youth it misinformed: B.C. ombudsperson

British Columbia's government is refusing to pay a young woman for its own mistakes and the provincial ombudsperson says she may not be the only one harmed.

Jay Chalke says the Ministry of Children and Family Development gave the woman incorrect information, leading her to believe she was eligible for government support for post-secondary education worth tens of thousands of dollars.

His report, entitled Misinformed and released Wednesday morning, chronicles the life of a young woman named Alexandra who, before the age of 16, had been removed from her family home by the ministry five times because of abuse, assault and neglect.

When she was 17, the ministry developed a plan for her custody to be transferred to the care of an aunt. The plan, developed with a provincial social worker, included assurances that Alexandra should qualify for support from the province to pursue a post-secondary education.

"Unfortunately, the social worker is wrong when she told them that, but never does correct the misinformation," said Chalke at a virtual news conference on Wednesday.

This process culminated with the ministry obtaining a court order under section 54.01 of the Child, Family and Community Service Act (CFCSA)1 to permanently transfer custody of Alexandra to her aunt in 2015 when Alexandra was 17 years old.

Her last name is not published to protect her privacy, but the report says she was born in the 1990s in a small town in B.C. and is currently in her 20s.

'Best interests not protected'

Six years later, Chalke said Alexandra discovered the problem when she was denied financial support through two provincial programs in applying to post-secondary schools.

"Alexandra's best interests were definitely not protected in this case, and I'm concerned there may be others in the same situation," said Chalke.

Chalke's report says the ministry doesn't accept responsibility, nor will it compensate her, and it also won't look to see if others have been similarly affected.

The report has five recommendations to the B.C. government, including paying the woman for the full value of the tuition, cost of living and health-care supports she was told she would receive.

Ministry rejects 3 of 5 recommendations

The ministry rejects three of the report's five recommendations, but Chalke says it has agreed to two suggestions centred around developing strategies to make sure government staff are aware of benefits, limitations and obligations in giving legal advice for youth.

Chalke says the situation is fundamental; the government made a mistake, so it should fix it, and he's troubled that the ministry isn't stepping up to do that.

Children's Minister Mitzi Dean said in a statement her ministry will be reviewing the ombudsperson's report "to fully understand what went wrong when Alexandra sought advice from the ministry in 2015 and how we can avoid this in the future."

She said important changes have been made since to ensure proper support and communication to help youth transition from care.

"It's clear that social workers need to provide accurate and complete information to youth and families, and we will continue to improve communication and information sharing," said Dean. "We want to ensure that all youth in care receive the supports that will help make them successful in life."

The statement does not discuss providing compensation but said "all former youth in care, including this young woman named Alexandra, have access to free tuition at B.C.'s public universities and colleges."

The report said prior to Alexandra living with her aunt, she lived in a family home that included physical and emotional abuse where she was removed by the ministry five times, starting when she was three months old.

Alexandra wrote a personal letter to Dean relaying her frustration and dismay at the unfairness of being denied financial support, the report said.

"In terms of my placement, I was not made aware of the long-term effects my choice would have," she said in the letter. "I didn't even really understand that it was completely up to me. I was given the option to 'go with family who is willing to take you' or 'go back into the system.'"

Chalke said despite Alexandra being denied funding, she did enrol in an education program on her own, incurring personal debt.

B.C.'s Office of the Ombudsperson is an independent agency that investigates complaints about local and public sector organizations and reports of serious wrongdoing in the provincial government.