Protection Services: Keeping children safe in their communities
QBOW’s first priority is to provide a safe, loving place for the children and youth in our communities. We work with our families to put in place strategies, programming and services that will help keep families together.
However, there are times when QBOW must take steps to protect children from harm. When undertaking any type of protection activity, our goal is always to provide programming and services that will result in the reunification of families. Culture and tradition play an important role in this and we strive to integrate culture and tradition into all of our protection programming and services.
When protection services are required, QBOW follows a detailed, prescribed process to address the situation.
Duty to Report
QBOW believes that “it takes a village to raise a child.” We must all contribute to the safety and well-being of our children.
If you suspect a child’s physical or mental health or welfare is being impacted by abuse or neglect, you have a legal duty to report this information to QBOW and/or the Ministry of Social Services Child Protection Office. Once a report is made, a child protection worker and/or police will decide what steps to take to assess and respond to the situation.
Child abuse can include:
- Physical abuse
- Sexual abuse and exploitation
- Physical neglect
- Emotional maltreatment
- Exposure to domestic or interpersonal violence
- Failure to provide essential medical treatment
For more information on the Duty to Report, and what to report if you suspect a child is being abused or neglected, please visit: https://www.saskatchewan.ca/residents/justice-crime-and-the-law/child-protection/child-abuse-and-neglect
Protection Service Processes
QBOW receives referrals about children and families who may be in need of protection services from the community.
When QBOW receives information that a family may be in need of help, our staff visit the family as soon as possible to determine if an investigation is needed.
Making the Best Decisions to Deliver Protection Services
QBOW uses a case management system called the Structured Decision Making Model (SDM) to deliver child protection services.
The goals of SDM are:
- To reduce subsequent harm or maltreatment for children and families; and
- To expediate permanency and safe reunification.
The SDM system uses structured critical decision points so that accurate and consistent decision making can be applied.
Structured Decision Making Assessment Tools.
The following tools are used to assess individual family situations. These tools:
- Help our staff focus in on specific information that needs to be collected.
- Help families explore areas they may have had a difficult time talking about.
The tools are designed to expediate permanency for children, as the parents’ progress with the case plan is re-evaluated every four months. If the risk has been reduced QBOW may refer them for prevention services.
QBOW Protection Staff
Southern Office (Fort Qu’Appelle)
Joy Tawiyaka – Foster Care Resource
Alicia Keewatin – Child Protection Worker
Robyn Badger – Child Protection Worker
Sub Office – Beardy’s & Okemasis First Nation
Elaine Waditaka – A/Protection Supervisor
Kayla Thomas – Child Protection Worker
Joelle Chicoose – Child Protection Worker
Bernadette Thomas – Case Aide
Sub Office – Wahpeton Dakota Nation
Olivia Buffalo – Foster Care Resource
Nastashia Mckay – Child Protection Worker
Support Organizations in the QBOW Area
Prince Albert
City Police
(306) 953-4222
City Police Victim Services
(306) 953-4357
Children’s Haven
(306) 922-4454
Mobile Crisis Unit
(306) 764-1011
Safe Shelter for Women
(306) 764-7233
Mental Health Centre
(306) 765-6055 (out patient)
(306) 765-6053 (in patient)
Ministry of Social Services
(306) 953-2422 (Child Protection)
Native Coordinating Council
(306) 764-1652
Valley Hill Youth Treatment Centre
(306) 764-2311
Saskatoon
City Police
(306) 975-8300
Victim Services
(306) 975-8400
Mobile Crisis
(306) 933-6200
Crisis Nursery
(306) 242-2433
Interval House
(306) 244-0185
YWCA Shelter
(306) 244-2844
EGADZ
(306) 931-6644
Child and Youth Advocate
(306) 933-8406
Irene Dube Child & Adolescent
(306) 655-0702
Eagles Nest Youth Ranch
(306) 385-2611
Foster Home Placements
QBOW provides foster care for children in need of a safe place to go. At any given time, there can be up to 60 foster homes operating in the QBOW service area.
QBOW foster homes provides the same services as foster care homes operated by the Ministry of Social Services. The process to become a foster parent and to have children in care temporarily (foster home) is very detailed.
Becoming a Foster Parent
When an individual wishes to foster a child, the adults in the home, and the home itself, must meet strict health and safety requirements.
The first step to foster a child or children includes submitting a detailed application, and criminal background checks and safety screening by both the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) and the local police authority.
A number of conditions must then be met to ensure safety measures are in place including:
Family Support Home Study: Collects information about everyone living in the home and family relationships and there is room in the family home for a foster child.
Safety Home Check/Fire Emergency: Ensures the home is safe (adequate bedroom windows, working furnace and water, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are working in place and working, fire escape route in place and posted, etc.
Potential foster parents are also to sign a Foster Home Agreement, Consent to Release of Information, and Discipline and Social Media Policies. They also need to provide photos of everyone living in their home and require five letters of reference to attest to the character of the individuals living in the home and their ability to care for the child.
Once these are all in place a Certificate of Approval will be provided to the foster parent/home.
Ongoing Training for Foster Parents/Homes
Once the child or children are in place in the home, foster parents must continue to participate in regular home safety checks and child/family visits to ensure the needs of the child/children are being met.
Foster parents may also enroll in PRIDE, administered by the Ministry of Social Services. PRIDE is a licensed model of practice for the development and support of foster and adoptive families. It was designed with the help of foster and adoptive parents to strengthen the quality of care to children.
PRIDE is based on the following five competencies:
- Protecting and nurturing children
- Meeting children’s developmental needs and addressing developmental delays
- Supporting relationships between children and their families
- Connecting children to safe, nurturing relationships intended to last a lifetime
- Working as a member of a professional team
PRIDE training sessions include:
- Connecting with PRIDE
- Teamwork Toward Permanence
- Meeting Developmental Needs: Attachment
- Meeting Developmental Needs: Loss
- Strengthening Family Relationships
- Meeting Developmental Needs: Discipline
- Continuing Family Relationships
- Planning for Change
- Making an Informed Decision
Other training sessions offered include:
- Mutual Family Assessment
- Trauma Competent Care Training
- FASD Training
- First Aid/CPR and AED
Learn More about becomine a foster parent: https://www.saskatchewan.ca/residents/family-and-social-support/foster-care
Ongoing Role of QBOW in Fostering Children
QBOW child protection workers keep an active list of all children who are in foster care and conduct regular checks to ensure all of the child’s needs are being met in their foster home.
This includes having detailed knowledge of the history of a child – their parents, siblings, community supports, counsellors, community health representative, etc. Nurses and doctors also make home visits to the child.
If an investigation into a home or parent is required, QBOW workers will ensure all of the work involved is completed.