47 child and youth deaths were reviewed, 10 died of substance abuse

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Drug toxicity is one of the most common drivers of death among cases reviewed by the Office of the Child and Youth Advocate (OCYA).

According to the report from advocate Terri Pelton, reviews were completed and publicly released for 47 deaths and one serious injury case spanning from April 1, 2023, to, Mar. 31, 2024. Of the 48 cases reviewed, 10 youths and children died from drug and alcohol abuse.

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In an interview with Postmedia, Pelton said over the past six to seven years, the number of young people passing away from opioid-related deaths or toxic drug supply has been on the rise and needs to have a renewed approach.

“I spoke to the opioid crisis and recommended that the government develop a youth-specific strategy to deal with the opioid crisis. So the government is doing lots of good work towards addressing adult overdoses and adult substance use but there is nothing created to date specifically for young people. I’m very concerned about that,” Pelton said.

Pelton said several children began using substances at a very young age — she talked about two youths who passed away at ages 17 and 16 from fentanyl and methamphetamine toxicity, who both began using substances at 12 years old.

When asked how youths are getting access to substances Pelton pointed to the increased opioid supply in the city, she said the minister of mental health and addictions would be better positioned to answer the question.

In the cases reviewed, the young people who died or were critically injured were receiving child intervention services at the time of or within two years of their death.

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Investigative reviews for an additional 15 young people are on hold due to police investigations.

Postmedia reached out to the minister’s office and is awaiting a response.

68 children and youth died in the past year

There were a total of 83 notifications of death and serious injury received from 2023-2024. Notifications were received for 68 children and youths who died and 15 who were seriously injured.

Investigative reviews for notifications are completed and publicly released within one year of notification of the young person’s serious injury or death.

Pelton said the growing concern with the increase in child and youth deaths has been a push for their office to review and release more reports than before. She said typically the office will provide reviews twice a year and would include a total of around 24 reviews annually, this time it’s doubled.

“When I became the advocate, I was a little concerned that we were only reporting on young people who were either in care or had an open child welfare file at the time of their death or within two years. I really felt and do feel very strongly that any time we’re notified of a young person involved with child intervention, it’s compulsory and in the public’s interest and in the child’s interest to share their experiences in the same way that we do with those ones who had open involvement,” Pelton said.

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Nearly 75 per cent of deaths were Indigenous

Of the 47 deaths in Pelton’s report, 35 of them were Indigenous children and youth.

Pelton said around 73 per cent of young people served by child intervention are Indigenous, which she said is very concerning considering the population of Indigenous people in Alberta accounts for 15.7 per cent of the province’s population according to the 2021 census data.

“For years it’s been a problem that child welfare is over-involved in the lives of Indigenous people and their children, family and communities,” she said. 

In their last report, Pelton said she raised the need for child intervention that is about meaningful connections with youths and their families. In the 35 reviews of Indigenous young people who died, the system tried to have meaningful connections with them, however, the connections weren’t what they’d hoped for.

“What we know for sure is that when young people have a sense of identity and who they are and where they belong, they do better than if they’re drifting and they don’t have a sense of who they are or they have felt bullied because of the colour of their skin, their outcomes are much more negative,” Pelton said.

More to come.

ctran@postmedia.com
X: @kccindytran

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