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In July 2007, Gage died after falling down a flight of stairs at a home on Magnus Avenue. An investigation found Gage suffered extensive physical abuse. His aunt and caregiver, 52-year-old Shirley Guimond, was charged with manslaughter.
New report reveals major concerns with CFS
Updated: Thu Jul. 17 2008 18:44:43
ctvwinnipeg.ca
One year ago, a two-year-old boy died while in Child and Family Service's care. His death raised serious concerns over the organization's treatment of his case. Thursday a review of the circumstances leading up to gage Guimond's death revealed some major problems with the system.
In July 2007, Gage died after falling down a flight of stairs at a home on Magnus Avenue. An investigation found Gage suffered extensive physical abuse. His aunt and caregiver, 52-year-old Shirley Guimond, was charged with manslaughter.
The review into his death uncovered a "lack of adherence to standards" in the Sagkeeng Child and Family Services Agency.
It found Gage was removed from a stable home into several unsafe environments. In one instance he was placed in a home where no criminal or child abuse registry check was done.
The review also found conflict of interest among staff involved in Gage's case, including the hiring of family members who were unqualified.
In many cases concerns raised to management were ignored.
The review not only looked at what went wrong, but what can be done better in the future.
The report had 88 recommendations to improve the Child and Family Services Authority including:
better hiring practices
more "face to face" contact with children
improved foster care assessments and documentation
more resources
Progress checks on the recommendations and their effectiveness will be done in six months and a year.
A toddlers death involving CFS
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