BC Children’s ministry may have been able to stop the neglect of a toddler in Surrey
Posted April 26, 2016 4:24 pm.
Last Updated April 26, 2016 7:22 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
SURREY (NEWS1130) – Details of how a mother starved her toddler to near-death are coming out at a sentencing hearing in a Surrey courtroom. BC’s Children’s ministry may have had an opportunity to stop the neglect of a two-year-old boy in Surrey months before he showed up at a hospital.
The mother, who was 23-years-old at the time, was charged with failure to provide the necessities of life and criminal negligence in September 2014. The Crown says the woman brought the boy to the hospital. His body temperature was very low and he was extremely underweight. Hospital staff were able to save his life and police were contacted.
The boy’s mother has since pleaded guilty to failure to provide the necessities of life and the second charge of criminal negligence will be stayed. She says she worked long hours running a restaurant and became too busy to take care of the child. The Crown found evidence the boy had been kept in the restaurant storeroom. They found bedding and a child’s car seat inside.
The Crown says the boy has found a safe and happy home in foster care, but there may be lasting effects of the abuse he suffered. He has developmental delays and the full impact won’t be known until he’s older.
It is at the sentencing hearing that Crown Prosecutor Winston Sayson revealed the Ministry of Children and Families was involved months before the boy was rescued. “There was a complaint made to the ministry and the ministry sent a social worker to speak with the accused. The accused assured them that the child was well and that she had the resources to look after the children.” The social worker did not see the boy.
We’ve reached out to the Ministry of Children and Families to see if it’s against policy to close a complaint without seeing the child in question. The ministry does not comment on specific cases. In a statement it says “Once a determination is made that a child protection response is needed, an investigation of the incident begins and social workers are required to: visit the home, see or interview (depending on the age) all children residing in the home, interview the parents, interview collateral individuals.” The ministry adds is conducts a review any time there’s a critical injury to a child in care or a child who received ministry services within the previous 12 months.
The mother and her child’s identity are not being released because of a publication ban.
