Why these child and family services workers aren't deterred by a scathing auditor general's report

Children dressed as the Hulk, Spiderman and Batman show off their muscles and grimace in photos displayed in Charlotte Mackenzie's office at the Tlicho Community Services Agency in Behchoko, N.W.T.

Mackenzie works with Child and Family Services, acting as a supervisor and caseworker.

The kids sent her the photos a few Halloweens ago as a way to let her know they're doing OK. She keeps the photos, she says, to remind her what's at stake when she goes to work.

"The job is to keep the children safe," Mackenzie said. "The children's safety comes first."

It's not always black and white, it's very complex with family issues.- Charlotte Mackenzie, child and family services worker

Mackenzie's been working with Child and Family Services since 2015, starting shortly after a scathing 2014 review from the auditor general which found the Northwest Territories government failed to protect children in care.

Last month, a follow-up found that administrative changes designed to fix those issues overwhelmed staff and in some areas, made things worse for children in care.

But despite those results, Mackenzie says she's not leaving.

"I don't see myself doing anything else," she said. "It's true the workload is high. It's stressful. It takes a lot of work."

She says some interactions with families can be unpleasant, with parents often shouting at her during heated exchanges involving their children. 

"They yell at me, they scream at me. In the moment they get heated," she said. "But sometimes they come back and they say that they didn't mean it. That happens too." 

Ultimately, she says sees herself as someone who can work with families in her hometown and wants to do everything she can to keep them together.

"It's not always black and white, it's very complex with family issues," she said. "We try to take everything into account with what's going on and we try the best we can to help them."

Mackenzie currently has 12 cases on the go, which is on par with the other social workers who work in the Tlicho communities of Wekweeti, Whati, Gameti and Behchoko.

It's true the workload is high. It's stressful. It takes a lot of work.- Charlotte Mackenzie

The office has 10 people right now, but there's room to add more staff if people apply.   

"The work never stops, it's never ending," Mackenzie said. "I've accepted the work that comes with this [job]. I've accepted it. When I'm home I just try to shut everything off until it's time to start work again."  

Last month's report from the auditor general notes the territorial government still doesn't know whether its spending enough on its Child and Family Services division.

But the report noted there are inequalities between regions, singling out the Tlicho Community Services Agency as being under-resourced. It found that staff have to deal with just as many cases as staff in Yellowknife, but with half the resources.

One in four positions in Child and Family Services is vacant in the Northwest Territories overall.  

The report's findings weren't a surprise to Myza Gouthro. She manages the Child and Family Services, mental health, and addictions divisions for the Tlicho Community Services Agency.

She's been working in Behchoko for nine years and was involved in the 2014 Child and Family Services audit as well.

The staff in Behchoko are doing the "absolute best that they can" and they care about the families in their community, she said. 

"This is a job you don't get a lot of thanks for," she said. "You come into work every single day and you're seeing people in really hard moments of their life.

"We're working with income support, with housing, with the schools, with the RCMP, with many different organizations. We're spending a lot of time doing those sorts of things. People don't know that's a big part of what we do as well."

Gouthro also plans to stay on in Behchoko. It's because of the relationships she's made during her time there, she says. 

"Everyone's been very kind,' she said. "It's a really nice community to work in."

Health Minister Glen Abernethy and officials with the territory's Health Department and Health and Social Services Authorities have promised to do a better job supporting workers like Mackenzie and Gouthro moving forward.