Drug poisonings continue to be frequent cause of death for vulnerable youth: Alberta child advocate

Alberta's child and youth advocate says drug poisonings continue to be one of the most frequent causes of death for children and youths who were in or recently received care from the province.

Terri Pelton's office provided an update Tuesday on its investigative reviews spanning from April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024. In that time, there were 83 notifications of serious injuries and deaths reported. Of those, 68 were for young people who died and 15 for serious injuries.

Under Alberta law, the child advocate must conduct reviews into the deaths of young people who die in care or within two years of receiving care. This past fiscal, it completed 48 investigative reviews — 47 deaths and one serious injury.

"What we've seen primarily is the tragic number of deaths related to the toxic drug supply and opioids," Pelton said in an interview Tuesday.

There were 20 accidental deaths, 10 attributed to alcohol and drugs.

Not all the causes of death have been confirmed by the medical examiner, she added.

Each year, the office offers recommendations to the government in its annual report released in the fall.

She said she continues to call for a youth-specific opioid strategy from the province.

"We haven't had a positive result there. The government has done lots for adults and certainly some of the measures they're taking some of the older young people can access. 

"But it doesn't really speak to the developing brain of young people under the age of 24, it doesn't speak to their understanding of consequences related to behaviours."

Government response

Children and Family Services Searle Turton said his ministry is investing in new programs and having continuing conversations with the OCYA and other service providers.

"It's my intention to be able to meet all the recommendations under the OCYA. Some of these solutions, they take awhile to be able to implement," he said

"We want to make sure that we get it right. Because we know there's going to be kids that are positively affected by fulfilling these recommendations and making the system a better place for families."

A spokesperson for the ministry said the OCYA has issued 114 recommendations since 2013, 106 of which have been implemented.

When asked about the latest update during an unrelated news conference Tuesday, Mental Health and Addictions Minister Dan Williams highlighted the expansion of the virtual opioid dependency program. 

In 2022, the province announced additional funding of $4.5 million over three years to expand the program to youth.

He said it's important to recognize the impact of intergenerational trauma in fighting addiction.

"Many of the youth who are affected also had parents who suffered from addiction as well. And so trying to cut that cycle of addiction — and make no mistake, trauma lives in addiction — to cut that cycle of addiction is one of the most important things we can do. "

NDP children and family services critic Diana Batten said during a scrum at the legislature Tuesday that she wasn't surprised by the latest update.

"The government has consistently underfunded, undersupported our Indigenous kids. They continue to undersupport our youth across the province. 

"They are simply not doing their job."

Indigenous overrepresentation

Thirty-five of the investigative reviews involved Indigenous young people, who are overrepresented in the child intervention system.

Pelton said fostering community connection and combating prejudice are crucial to addressing that overrepresentation.

"Their sense of belonging, their sense of identity is often fractured when they've been taken out of the community and placed outside their family home," Pelton said.

"Intergenerational trauma related to residential schools and the Sixties Scoop continue to impact these young people."

Thirty-two of the investigative reviews involved children and youths who were in care or receiving services. Sixteen others had received intervention services within the previous two years.

The update has been provided to the speaker of the legislative assembly. A consolidated investigative review report, which will make recommendations to the province, is anticipated in the fall.