Radita case shows need for national child welfare strategy

The death of Alex Raditahighlights the dire need for a national child welfare strategy, B.C.'s Representative For Children and Youth said Thursday.

The 15-year-oldweighed just 37 pounds when he diedin 2013.His parents,Rodicaand EmilRadita,are currently on trial forfirst-degree murder.

Now in her second term overseeing children and youth in B.C., Mary EllenTurpel-Lafond a judge on leave from the Saskatchewan Provincial Court told the Calgary Eyeopenerthe lack of inter-provincial protocols around child welfare is leaving some of the most vulnerable at risk.

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"Our child welfare systems are very outdated, they've been under a lot of strain and observation and offices like myself have reported very clearly that these inter-provincial protocols don't work," she said.

"We've had no national leadership on child welfare in Canada for a long time.It's overdue."

Turpel-Lafond said moving to another province is one tactic families can use to avoid authorities andthere isno system in place to stop it.

"Maybe a school has reported them, or a neighbour, they'll move," she said.

"One child welfare system is supposed to let the other one know, but that didn't happen and that does not happen often."

Turpel-Lafond said she'd like to see something similar to the Amber Alert system set up.

"Where you have a database or information systems across the country that speak to each other where you can flag, 'This family, we've lost contact, please be on the lookout for them,'" she said.

"We do not even have basic co-ordinating information systems."

Family fell off the radar

The Raditasinvolvement with child welfare dates back several years in B.C.

Alex was diagnosed with diabetes at age three when theRaditaslived inSurrey. He washospitalizedthree times before social services seized the boy for a year because his parents refused to accept his diagnosis and treat him.

In 2008, Alex failed to show up for a doctor's appointment, and it was later discoveredthe familymoved to Alberta.

"The importance of child welfare requires not just child welfare investigators but everyone connected to the life of that child," saidTurpel-Lafond.

"Everyone needs to take some responsibility when children are obviously sick, invisible and being maltreated.

"But when a child moves outside the province, unfortunately as happened in this case, they completely fall off the radar."

With files from the Calgary Eyeopener