‘He doesn’t deserve what happened to him’: Indigenous mother grieves son who died in B.C. government care
Posted August 12, 2024 10:14 pm.
Last Updated August 13, 2024 9:06 am.
The parents of an Indigenous newborn who died while under the care of B.C.’s Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) say it could be months before they find out the cause of their boy’s death.
Valentino Baker was born on June 25. At just five weeks old, he died on Aug. 6.
Lawyer Roslyn Chambers, who is working with the parents, tells CityNews that shortly after Valentino was born his mother, Chyanna Baker, was visited by social workers. They suspected drug use, although Chambers says Chyanna had been sober since she found out she was pregnant. To their knowledge, the baby was born healthy.
“I wish they never came into mine and Valentino’s life,” Chyanna said.
“I miss him so much. I sleep with his blanket at night because it smells like him.”
Chambers suspects the social workers visited Chyanna after an “unconstitutional act of a birth alert,” which is a notification made by child welfare agencies to local hospitals about pregnant people who are suspected to be “high-risk.”
“This comes from a situation of bias and societal discrimination to some extent that an Indigenous woman is having a child and possibly has some history (with drugs),” explained Chambers. “The child was born healthy … There wouldn’t have been an immediate need for the government to intervene.”
Chambers says Chyanna had agreed to a drug test when the allegations were made, however, she claims the ministry refused.
The lawyer says MCFD came up with a 30-day safety plan that Chyanna had agreed to. However, during a wellness check at Chyanna’s home, Chambers says police mistook some items to be “drug paraphernalia.”
“I’m not sure who mistook a bag of salt as a bag of cocaine,” Chambers said.
Chambers says if officers were to find drugs in a home with an infant, typically social workers would be called to remove the child immediately. But she says that wasn’t the case here. MCFD eventually came up with another safety plan that involved Valentino living with one of Chyanna’s friends.
After a few days there, she says Valentino ended up in hospital and died.
Chyanna claims social workers didn’t conduct a thorough walkthrough at the friend’s home before the infant was placed into the friend’s care.
“They didn’t go to the backyard or anything. They just checked the rooms and said, ‘Okay, place Valentino here.’ And they did,” the mother recalled.
To this day, the mother and lawyer say the cause of the boy’s death hasn’t been revealed, adding officers told them that it could take up to two months to find out.
‘Not getting any answers’
Valentino’s parents are seeking answers.
“This child was in the home with other children. It wasn’t a group foster home, just the other parents had other children, which is why there were supposed to be two caregivers,” Chambers said.
Chambers says the safety plan involved Chyanna being there with her friend but explains the mother was asked to leave because she was feeling sick and the caregivers didn’t want anyone else to catch what she had.
The lawyer explains that there were no indications that Valentino was ill before his death.
“[Chyanna] is not getting any answers,” Chambers said.
Valentino’s mother says he would have been safer at her home, noting the house he was placed in “looks like a dumpster.”
Additionally, she tells CityNews that MCFD used Valentino’s father’s past against him and wouldn’t let him see his son.
Chambers says the government does not put enough resources in place and the people who are responsible for ensuring the safe placement of children “are not necessarily doing it.” She says the government must be more culturally aware and understand different families have different structures.
“(The) safety plan was applied with an arbitrary view of how this family was supposed to operate and how mom and dad were supposed to parent, and how mom was supposed to just accept the allegations and just accept all of these requirements for something she didn’t even do,” said Chambers.
“The government is not helping to rebuild families … do reparations for Indigenous families,” she continued. “How is it ever good to take an infant away from his mother?”
Reports outline crisis in B.C. child welfare system
The points Chambers highlights are in line with concerns that have been raised about MCFD in recent months and years.
The ministry most recently has come under scrutiny following a report from B.C.’s children’s advocate, which said the provincial child welfare system is either in a state of crisis or close to it with understaffing and unmanageable workloads.
Jennifer Charlesworth’s report explained the environment for those working for the MCFD was unhealthy, characterized by undue stress, burnout, and fear. Her office conducted a survey where more than 80 per cent of the social workers said they are unable to properly do their jobs as their caseloads are too high.
“The capacity within the ministry right now is not sufficient, according to the workers, for them to be able to fulfill their responsibilities, their statutory responsibilities, on a day-to-day basis,” she explained on July 23.
Charlesworth said a lack of staff, the mental health crisis, and COVID-19 had made the job of social workers particularly challenging.
“You can put yourself in the workers’ position — here you’re feeling you can’t fulfil your responsibility and you can’t even refer out to fulfil your responsibility. That’s going to add to a tremendous amount of feeling of stress and overwhelmed. So 88 per cent of workers indicated that they were feeling significant stress,” she added.
That report came days after another report examined the torturous death of an 11-year-old Indigenous boy who died at the hands of relatives who were meant to be his caregivers. He had not been checked on by a social worker for seven months.
Meanwhile, in a statement, Minister of Children and Family Development Grace Lore said she could not publicly comment on Valentino’s case in order to uphold confidentiality.
“This is true even when families are sharing their own stories and experiences. I know this is frustrating, but it is important for the safety and well-being of children and families who may have been receiving services or had involvement with the ministry,” Lore said.
The minister explained any time a child is hurt or dies in the care of the ministry, she expects the MCFD will take all the steps to support families.
“The death of a child is an unimaginable tragedy, and my thoughts are with this baby’s family and community.”
Chyanna tells CityNews she plans on getting justice for Valentino.
“He doesn’t deserve what happened to him,” Valentino’s mother said.
-With files from Hana Mae Nassar and The Canadian Press
