Children abused/neglected in 2 Moncton-area foster homes

Foster children in the Moncton area have been abused or neglected at the hands of those tasked by the provincial government to care for them, CBC News has learned.

Two foster homes were shut down in the last two years for Abuse/Neglect of Client,"according to the Department of Social Development.

The department isrefusingto say anything more about the cases, including how many children were affected, the nature of the offencesor whether police were called in for a criminal investigation.

Norm Boss, the province's child and youth advocate,learned of the closures through CBC News.

We can't allow mistreatment in foster homes. We simply can't allow it," he said.

It's not acceptable to me as the child and youth advocate and this office, or I think anybody else, to say well, we'll place you in a place that's better than where you were, but not completely safe. said Boss.

That shouldn't happen today.

The provincial departmenttold CBC News that the Child andFamily Services Act prohibits the department from saying anything about the cases.

The province takes the safety and security of children extremely seriously. It is the foremost concern of the department. In all cases where we get reports of abuse or neglect we will deal with those appropriately and take whatever actions are absolutely necessary to protect those children from future harm and neglect," said Bill Innes, the director of child and youth services.

Innes saidthe department will call in police on a case-by-case basis. He said in the case of a home being closed for abuse or neglect, "it would depend on the individual circumstances of the situation."

Innes added that the provincial governmentimplemented a new, comprehensive screening program in April 2014.

He said that of the average 460 to 500 homes operating at any time, he thinks "the vast majorityare loving, caring homes."

Embarrassed and ashamed

Zoe Bourgeois, who is a former client of the provinces foster-care system, said she was not surprised that abuse or neglect had occurred.

The 22-year-old woman, who is currently studying social work as a second degree, said its unacceptable that the province has not revealed how this came to happen.

It comes probably down to one main thing: theyre embarrassed and theyre ashamed of what they did to the child. They placed this child in a just as terrible home as they removed the child from. And so the fact that it didnt work out and that these terrible things happened in a foster home, reflects on Social Development, said Bourgeois.

Of course theyre not going to take that into consideration and express this to the media because they dont want people thinking theyre removing children and placing them in more damaging homes, she said.

Bosssaid he will be seeking answers.

The public, as far as I'm concerned, is entitled to know whether or not our foster care homes in the province are safe. And for the most part, to my knowledge, 99 per cent of them are safe. And these folks are doing a tremendous job, he said.

We definitely will be asking questions of the department on these, absolutely.

Auditor GeneralKim MacPhersonreleased a report on foster care in the province in 2013.

Her audit found that the department had not done criminal background checks on all foster parentsand that in some cases, files were missing records to showhomes had met all standards for approval.

MacPherson made 11 recommendations overall. A follow-up report on how many recommendations have been implemented is expected in December.

CBC News has requested an interview with Social Development Minister Cathy Rogers. Her office has not responded.

If you have information on this, or any other story, please email: nbinvestigates@CBC.ca