Whitehorse – The Standing Committee on Public Accounts of the 36th Yukon Legislative Assembly has released its Second Report – Child and Family Services in Yukon.
The Office of the Auditor General of Canada released a performance audit report on Child and Family Services in Yukon on March 4, 2026. The actions of the Department of Health and Social Services were examined. The Auditor General made several recommendations which were all accepted and endorsed by the Standing Committee on Public Accounts.
In its second report, the committee made its own recommendations and noted that it expects to see the government make progress on addressing the issues highlighted in the Auditor General’s report.
In the report, the committee makes 20 recommendations:
- Recommendation No. 1: THAT the Department of Health and Social Services provide the Standing Committee on Public Accounts by October 23, 2026, a timeline to update group home policies and, once complete, provide a copy of the updated policies to the committee.
- Recommendation No. 2: THAT the Department of Health and Social Services work on providing mandatory training as part of onboarding before new hires start working with vulnerable sector clients.
- Recommendation No. 3: THAT the Department of Health and Social Services, in order to meet the mandatory training requirements going forward, develop flexible staff training plans that provide accommodations and multiple options for individuals to access training, including online, self-paced, and in-person formats.
- Recommendation No. 4: THAT the Department of Health and Social Services notify the Standing Committee on Public Accounts once it has provided the comprehensive training compliance report to the minister as required by the Child and Family Services Act and provide a copy to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts by the end of February 2027.
- Recommendation No. 5: THAT the Department of Health and Social Services provide the Standing Committee on Public Accounts with a staffing assessment for Child and Family Services by March 4, 2027.
- Recommendation No. 6: THAT the Department of Health and Social Services provide the Standing Committee on Public Accounts with a report on workload analysis for social workers by March 4, 2027.
- Recommendation No. 7: THAT the Department of Health and Social Services provide the Standing Committee on Public Accounts by March 4, 2027, with a retention and hiring strategy including a timeline for Child and Family Services to have all social worker positions filled.
- Recommendation No. 8: THAT the Department of Health and Social Services provide the Standing Committee on Public Accounts with an updated report on targeted hiring of First Nation social workers by March 4, 2027.
- Recommendation No. 9: THAT the Department of Health and Social Services provide the Standing Committee on Public Accounts with an updated report on how critical incidents are being managed by October 23, 2026.
- Recommendation No. 10: THAT the Department of Health and Social Services provide the Standing Committee on Public Accounts with an update on the work done to establish safe places within communities outside of the foster and group homes system in partnership and consultation with Yukon First Nations, where applicable, by March 4, 2027.
- Recommendation No. 11: THAT the Department of Health and Social Services update the case management system to clearly reflect and make accessible whether caregivers of children currently in care were themselves in government care, attended residential schools, or have a history of abuse.
- Recommendation No. 12: THAT the Department of Health and Social Services make improvements to the case management system so that caseworkers and social workers are provided with a clear summary of cases that are transferred to them including whether caregivers of children currently in care were themselves in government care, attended residential schools, or have a history of abuse; and include what supports, interventions etc. have been previously provided by caseworkers and social workers to the family.
- Recommendation No. 13: THAT the Department of Health and Social Services provide the Standing Committee on Public Accounts with a summary of the daylong event with Yukon First Nations referenced by the department during the May 25, 2026 public hearing.
- Recommendation No. 14: THAT the Department of Health and Social Services provide the Standing Committee on Public Account with the analysis that was done to determine staff-to-child ratios and the staff-to-child ratios going forward by October 23, 2026.
- Recommendation No. 15: THAT during future reviews, the Department of Health and Social Services make efforts to involve clients, families, and caregivers so their perspectives and experiences are meaningfully incorporated, including consideration of how concerns have, or have not, been addressed since the previous review.
- Recommendation No. 16: THAT the Department of Health and Social Services engage with former caregivers to understand their experiences and the department communicate the format, the outreach plan, and the questions asked to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts by December 2026.
- Recommendation No. 17: THAT the information collected during the engagement process with former caregivers be communicated to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts by December 2027.
- Recommendation No. 18: THAT the Department of Health and Social Services establish by October 23, 2026, clear timelines for reporting progress on the implementation of recommendations from the Auditor General and the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, including regular reporting to the Minister and a plain-language progress report available to the public.
- Recommendation No. 19: THAT the Department of Health and Social Services provide to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts its workplan and plan for engagement with the Yukon Child and Youth Advocate Office.
- Recommendation No. 20: THAT the Department of Health and Social Services revisit the recommendations of the Report of the Auditor General of Canada to the Yukon Legislative Assembly—2014 — Yukon Family and Children’s Services—Department of Health and Social Services and include addressing those recommendations in its upcoming work and reporting processes.
The report is now available on the committee’s webpage: https://yukonassembly.ca/committees/pac
The report will be tabled in the Legislative Assembly when it next sits.