Thank you, Mr. Speaker. After a review of yesterday’s Hansard, I’d like to continue where my colleague from Yellowknife Centre left off yesterday during questions on foster families. My questions are addressed to the Minister of Health and Social Services.
Referencing the 2014 Report of the Auditor General on Child and Family Services, it was stated by the Auditor, and subsequently noted by committee, that there was no standardized approach for foster care. Beyond the standard rates of pay for foster parents, there were no territory-wide standards of delivering foster care.
Can the Minister indicate if these disparities in rates of pay and standards across regional authorities and Yellowknife have been resolved? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. Minister of Health, Mr. Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just to clarify, yesterday there was an indication that rates have not changed for foster care since I believe it was 1996. This is in fact not correct.
In 2007 there was a review of foster rates done here in the Northwest Territories, and from the results of that review, the rates increased in most of the communities in the Northwest Territories based on an assessment of food costs, including baby formula, operation of automobiles and trucks, household cleaning supplies and other paper goods, personal care items, water, fuel and electricity, reading materials and other printed materials. These are the criteria that were used in determining the rates, and those rates, as I indicated, increased in most communities in the Northwest Territories.
On top of that, we also added an age of child amount, which increased the base amount that was provided to foster families by either four, three or five dollars, depending on the age of the child. This was done in 2007. Following up on the recommendations from committee, we are doing another analysis to make sure that the rates are still appropriate, and we’re working very closely with the Foster Family Coalition who is partnering with us on this review of the individual rates. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I’m not sure if I got an answer to the standards of care of delivering foster care. I’ll maybe ask that question another time.
I also noted in that 2014 Auditor General report there was a chronic shortage of foster care families, and this shortage continues today. Maybe the shortage is somehow financially linked. Again, we’ve heard from the Minister that the rates have changed from 2007.
Can the Minister indicate where is the rate for Yellowknife? It was at $24. Where is the rate today?
I indicated that the rates went up in 2007, and following up on a recommendation from committee, we’re doing another review of those rates. As I indicated, we’re working very closely with the Foster Family Coalition for the Northwest Territories on that review. As of today the rate of Yellowknife is still $24 an hour, but as I indicated, there’s also the age of child bonus that can be added on to that based on the age of the child. They will get a bonus of $4 a day for children between the ages of zero to five, $3 a day for six to 12, and $5 a day for 13 to 18. That’s on top of the $24.
I believe I heard $24 an hour but I’m assuming it means per diem per day. I’m assuming that’s the number we’re referring to here.
Again, I’m not quite understanding whether or not there was a change in 2007 to the per diem rate for foster care families. It is alleged that $24 was the rate that may not have changed since 1996, as indicated in yesterday’s Hansard, but I’ll leave it at that. The question still is that that there is a CPI index that needs to be looked at since 2007. So, if by minimum compounded standards of 1.83 percent per annum, there would still have to have some considerable amount of money being put in in terms of the indexed of this amount annually.
Would the Minister at least agree to investigate further whether this number should be indexed and will it be indexed moving forward?
The Member is correct; the additional child amount is per day not per hour. As I indicated, in 2007 there was a review, and I’ve articulated the different criteria that were used to determine the rates that will be provided. Virtually every community in the Northwest Territories went up as a result of that review. Yellowknife was not one of them. There were three communities that did not change. Yellowknife is still at $24 a day.
As I indicated, we have taken the recommendation from committee and we are clearly looking at these rates that are provided and we are working very, very closely with the Foster Family Coalition on that review and we’re incorporating the comments from committee as we do that work.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Dolynny.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s still not clear here. I am led to believe, from what we’ve heard today and what we hear from yesterday, is that the $24 rate per day has not changed for Yellowknife since 1996. Again, if we were just to apply simple math of 1.83 percent compounded annually over the 19-year period, that would be a 41.25 percent increase in that rate, or should be, applied to that rate, so that at a minimum, that number should be at least $33.90 per day.
Would the Minister at least consider raising the per diem rate for Yellowknife for foster families to at least $33.90 per day?
As I indicated, in 2007 there was an analysis done of the foster rates provided to all communities in the Northwest Territories and there was a number of criteria including cost of living, food costs, baby formula and operation of household equipment that were used to help determine that rate. That rate changed in almost community in the Northwest Territories. By way of example, Aklavik went from $35 to $43 a day, Deline went from $37 to $45 a day, Kakisa went from $24 to $34 a day. There were some communities that did not change. Unfortunately, Yellowknife was one of those communities that did not change. It remained at $24 a day plus the additional child amount, which was new money, money that did not exist before. No matter what, no matter how you look at it, Yellowknife did go up a minimum of $3 a day based on the actual additional child amount.
I’m not arguing with the Member. I’m agreeing that we need to do this review. Committee did indicate that the review is necessary, and we’re in the review. I do need to stress that we are clearly doing that work with the Foster Family Coalition that is providing input as we move forward.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
