As a former Advocate for Alberta’s Office of the Child and Youth Advocate (OCYA) who has provided advocacy supports for children and youth in care, I have an interest in the health and wellbeing of young people receiving child intervention services. This week I will focus on the injury and death rates of Alberta’s children and youth in care.

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In 2022, the OCYA released a report that summarized 10 years of their death and serious injury investigations. The paper provides statistics such as age, race (Indigenous versus non-Indigenous), placement type e.g., parental, foster or kinship care, and the manner of death or cause of injury. The full report can be found here. 

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Finally, I would like to share an article by Navia et al., (2018) which explores the “colonial legacy” of the residential school system and the long-term impacts on Alberta’s modern child intervention system. The article discusses why Indigenous children are more likely to die in care when compared to their non-Indigenous peers, among other issues and notes suicide, homicide and accidental death as primary causes. Click here for further information.

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Curated Resources

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Alberta.ca. Child and Youth Advocate 10-year investigations summary. Retrieved November 11, 2023, from https://www.ocya.alberta.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/OCYA_10-year-investigation-summary-final.pdf

 

Child and Youth Advocate releases Summary Report: 10 Years of Investigations | Office of the Child and Youth Advocate. (n.d.). Retrieved November 11, 2023, from https://www.ocya.alberta.ca/adult/news/child-and-youth-advocate-releases-summary-report-10-years-of-investigations/

 

Navia, D., Henderson, R. I., & First Charger, L. (2018). Uncovering Colonial Legacies: Voices of Indigenous Youth on Child Welfare (Dis)Placements. Anthropology & Education Quarterly, 49(2), 146–164. https://doi.org/10.1111/aeq.12245

 

Office of the Child and Youth Advocate. (n.d.). Retrieved November 11, 2023, from https://www.ocya.alberta.ca/