B.C. facing impending ‘crisis’ in child welfare staffing: report [Video]

British Columbia’s child welfare system is either in a state of crisis or close to it with understaffing and unmanageable workloads, the province’s representative for children said.

A report released by Jennifer Charlesworth Tuesday said the environment for social workers at the Ministry of Children and Family Development is unhealthy for staff, characterized by undue stress, burnout and fear, and there’s no time for the government to wait to address the “critical circumstances.”

The latest investigation comes days after her report on the torture death of an 11-year-old boy who died at the hands of relatives after not being checked on by a social worker for seven months.

Charlesworth said the boy’s death happened within the context of a child welfare office that was not fully staffed, had unstable and changing local leadership, and had an extended period of social worker medical leave with no backfill.

Her office conducted a …