Kerri Irvin-Ross : Family Services Minister says more can be done to keep teens safe

Manitoba’s Child and Family Services Minister Kerri Irvin-Ross says more has to be done to keep children in care from being placed in hotels on an emergency basis.

Irvin-Ross said an internal investigation into Tina’s contact with child-welfare officials is proceeding.

An investigation is also being conducted by the Office of the Children’s Advocate, which investigates all deaths in the child welfare system.

The immediate focus, she said, is on finding Tina’s killer.

“The police need to do their work, and so I’m not able to talk about the specifics of the case, ” she said.

“I have confidence in the Winnipeg Police Service. They’re professionals and they’re going to do the work that they need to do to find the killer.”

Irvin-Ross said a protocol is in place to find high-risk runaways who are in foster care and put them in another placement.

She would not, however, comment on whether that protocol failed in Tina’s case.

“That will be part of the investigation,” she said.

“We’ll be looking at the timelines, the procedures and the protocol and evaluating and assessing what services were provided to Tina.”

Police Chief Devon Clunis said Thursday an internal investigation is underway because two police officers had contact with Tina before her body was found.

The two officers had contact with Tina on Aug. 8. A week later, her body was discovered. She was reported missing July 31.

Clunis said he wasn’t made aware of the police contact with Tina until Sept. 3.

The two officers involved — a recruit and a field training officer — have been assigned to non-operational duties, Clunis said.

The internal investigation is “advancing” said Supt. Danny Smyth.

He declined to release details.

Tina’s great aunt said she was devastated by the new information.

“It just shows that they didn’t really care,” said Thelma Favel, who was like a mother to the teen originally from Sagkeeng First Nation.

Winnipeg police, she said, told her on Wednesday about her niece having contact with the two officers.

“If they ran her name through the system, they must have known she was missing,” said Favel. “But they just let her go.”

“I don’t understand,” said Favel, who said after Tina was picked up by police on Aug. 8 in a car with an impaired driver and other people, they were all taken into custody. Her niece was released and later found passed out in a back lane near Ellice Avenue. Favel said someone saw her and called an ambulance.

“She was taken to the Children’s Hospital and kept there to make sure she was OK,” said Favel, who later received an ambulance bill in the mail for $500.

She said Tina was kept under observation for four hours and Child and Family Services was called to pick her up. “He or she wasn’t sure where she was supposed to take Tina.”

She ended up being taken back to her foster-care placement in Winnipeg, but took off again. Her body was pulled from river the following week.

“She had so much contact with so many agencies — paramedics, Children’s Hospital, CFS,” but no one made sure she was safe, said Favel. “It’s devastating.”

Favel said the system failed Tina long before she was slain. The homicide of her father sent the girl into a downward spiral, she said, and she had struggled to help her before she was placed in care.

“So many doors were slammed in my face when I called for help for Tina,” Favel said.

Favel said she doesn’t want anyone fired. She wants the system to be more open to helping troubled teens.

“Revenge won’t bring my baby back.”

Agencies/Canadajournal