High profile cases of children in Saskatchewan's foster care system, before Goforth trial
Some say Saskatchewan's Ministry of Social Services has not done enough
The high profile court case of Kevin and Tammy Goforth, where a jury found the two guilty in the death of a four-year-old girl and of causing bodily harm to her younger sister, was not the first case to negatively reflect the province's social services system.
- Tammy and Kevin Goforth convicted in death of 4-year-old girl, harm of girl's sister
- Sask. social services criticized after Goforth murder trial verdict
During the testimony a child protection worker said the girls lived in seven different homes before they were moved to the Goforth's home. After the jury's decisions were read, Kevin Goforth's lawyer told reporters that social services "attempted to deflect responsibility for how they treated these children throughout their young lives."
Bob Hughes, with the Saskatchewan Coalition Against Racism, said this was an example of social services failing another time to protect its children. He said it appears that social services didn't properly monitor the Goforths' care of the girls.
Saskatchewan Children's Advocate Bob Pringle has reviewed high profile cases of child welfare since he took on his role five years ago. He releases the reports and poses recommendations to Saskatchewan's Ministry of Social Services.
1) Lee Bonneau
Police believe a 10-year-old boy killed 6-year-old Lee Bonneau in Saskatchewan in 2013. In his report, Pringle said the Yorkton Tribal Council Child and Family Services failed to act on warning signs of the older boy's troubled behavior in school and within his community. Pringle also said the Ministry of Social Services didn't properly respond to some issues in Bonneau's home life. At the time of his death, Bonneau was in foster care.
2) Evander Daniels
In his report, Pringle said the death of 22-month-old Evander Daniels could have been prevented. The child drowned in a bathtub in 2010, and a large part of his body had been scalded. Daniels was in foster care at the time, and the Ministry of Social services has since officially apologized.
3) 'Jake's story'
The name of the child couldn't be released, but in a report title "Jake's Story" Pringle wrote about a boy who moved homes 11 times in nine months. He was put in foster care at five-months-old after a domestic dispute that left his mother in hospital and his father in jail. Jake was found dead in 2009 shortly before his second birthday. The cause of death is unknown. He was suffering from an unexplained leg fracture and had never learned to talk.