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"Aboriginal family" taken outside the Carnegie Centre
at Main and Hastings, Don Baker captured Crystal Thorn and
Richard Morgan with their child Rochonda. Don says he took
their picture because they seemed so happy with their baby.
While the possibility of child apprehension
exists in low-income communities across B.C., the issue looms
particularly large for low-income mothers in the Downtown
Eastside.
In comparison to the larger Vancouver Coastal
region and province, the child population of the DTES experiences
a disproportionate number of intakes and admissions into the
child protection system.
Throughout the 2004/2005 fiscal year, the Downtown
Eastside witnessed a monthly average of just over five protection
reports for every 1,000 children. This was double the average
rate seen in the Vancouver Coastal region and almost four
times that of the provincial rate in the same period.
The area’s
average monthly admission rate was two times the Vancouver
Coastal region’s rate and three times the provincial
rate over the 2004/2005 fiscal year.
Pivot Legal Society is launching an action-oriented
research project to identify the key issues facing low-income
families in relation to child apprehension. |
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Future plans:
• Work with parents to identify the sites
for strategic litigation, as well as legislative and policy
reform in the child protection system and as part of this
campaign publish a report with recommendations to be distributed
to the media, interested organizations, and relevant B.C.
Officers and/or Ministries.
• Conduct child welfare legal information
sessions in community agencies.
• Accept legal aid funded cases on child
protection matters.
Read the new Broken Promises report released on February 20, 2008, here
Listen to the authors of Broken Promises in our podcast here |
