Auditor General of Canada releases scathing report on Nunavut foster care

The Office of the Auditor General of Canada released a new report today looking at foster care in Nunavut. It follows several reports that have been critical of how the territory handles children in care. And as Mahnoor Mubarak reports, this one is no different. The report found the Department of Family Services did not provide the care needed to help keep children safe. And it's not the first time the federal watchdog has found serious issues in the system. The audit found what it called fundamental ongoing weaknesses, including a failure to maintain regular contact with children in care. In five cases examined, there was no documented contact with a child in care for more than a year. And in one case there was no contact for almost a year and a half. The audit also found problems with screening and monitoring foster homes. It says family services only looked at whether a home is safe for a child in half of cases before it placed a child there. The report also says that the department did not have one single reliable source about children in foster care with details about where they have been placed or even how many kids are in care. While the report's findings are damning, they're not new. While the report says there has been some progress on improving child and family services, the Deputy Auditor General urged sustained action on the frontline services vulnerable youth and foster caregivers depend on. CBC has reached out to the Department of Family Services and is awaiting a response. Mahnoor Mubarak, CBC News, Iqaluit.