VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Children in government care are moving from one home to another way too often, according to the province’s child and youth watchdog.

Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, BC’s Representative for Children and Youth, is calling for new measures to help reduce the number of youth who commit suicide.

The call comes after a review of 89 kids who either killed or hurt themselves; of those, more than half were under the care of the Ministry of Children and Family Development and moved, on average, a dozen times each.

Turpel-Lafond urges the government to reduce the number of times they move. She says instability is a significant factor and can further traumatize vulnerable children.

She adds the government could do a better job of addressing the trauma experienced by kids under their care.