Alex Gervais: Aunt says report falls short in examining death

Alex Gervais's aunt is calling on the provincial government to review how it determines where children in ministry care get placed.

Line Decarie's comments come on the heels of a recent provincial report believed to be about her nephew.

The government willnot confirm who the report is about, but a ministry spokesman does confirm a review with respect to an 'A.G.' has been completed.

Decarie also believes the details in the report's summary matches the circumstances of the18-year-old.

Gervais committedsuicide last fall by jumping from the window of the Abbotsford hotel he was living in while in provincial care.His death, and subsequent media reports aboutthe despair he felt in his life, cast scrutiny on how the provincedetermines where these children live.

The ministryroutinely conducts reports into deaths of children and youths if they have lived in ministry care for more than a year.

In this case, thereport's summary states "there was no extended family that could provide the care required."

Decarie, however,said her family would have been happy to take inGervaishad they been asked.

"I think they need to state thatnobody ever came forward and told us this was going on," said Decarie.

"Extended families should be contacted. I think if you can place a child back into the family be it with the aunt, the uncle, the cousin, the grand parent, that's best for the child and I don't see it here."

Action plan

The summary goes on toprovide details aboutan action plan to ensure Aboriginal agencies have a "practice directive" on responding to children and youth who are potentially suicidal.

The summary also states the governmentwill ensure those agenciesfinishtraining "all delegated staff in suicide intervention through the Crisis and Trauma Response Institute."

In addition, the report highlightsthe government's failure to plan for Gervais's exit from care. "The plan lacked collaboration between the DAA staff, the community service providers who had long term relationships with the youth and collaboration with the Aboriginal Services Branch," reads the summary.

The Ministry of Children and Family Development is in the midst of reviewing its policies andservices for transitioning youth out of care.

In a statement the Ministry of Children and Family Development said "actionplans are developed collaboratively to address practice issues identified in the reviews. Action plans are meant to drive continuous improvement and we need to know that those plans are being adhered to and timelines are being met."