2010 QCCQ 20217, 2010 QCCQ 20217

Protection de la jeunesse — 107309 2010 QCCQ 20217 COURT OF QUEBEC CANADA PROVINCE OF QUEBEC DISTRICT OF [...] Youth Division No: 145-41-000349-107 DATE: November 30, 2010 ______________________________________________________________________ BY THE HONOURABLE ROBERT LEVESQUE, J.C.Q. ______________________________________________________________________ [SOCIAL WORKER 1] Petitioner and X Child and H and G Parents ______________________________________________________________________ JUDGMENT ______________________________________________________________________ [ 1 ] A petition for protection purpose in respect of X (2006-[…]) is referred to the Court by the Director of youth protection pursuant to sections 38 and 75 of the Youth Protection Act. [ 2 ] Mrs G is the mother of eight children from four partners : 1 : Y (15) and Z (13) with F ; 2 : A (11) with I ; 3 : B (9) and C (7) with J ; 4 : X (4), D (3) and E (2) with H. [ 3 ] The Court is seized with the situation of all the children except A who is living with a maternal aunt. [ 4 ] The situation of the G-J and G-F children will be heard on December 8, 2010.

[ 5 ] The actual hearing concerns the H's children. [ 6 ] At the hearing, the parents are present with their lawyer. [ 7 ] The mother admits the situation of endangerment mainly because of domestic violence and she accepts the recommendations of the Director of youth protection. Her lawyer says that she is ready to collaborate. [ 8 ] The father denies or ignores many allegations of the petition particularly those referring to assaults on children (C and

B) but he accepts the recommendations of the Director of youth protection and wants to implicate himself in a process of change. [ 9 ] The children's lawyer, seeing the position of the parents, accepts as well the recommendations of the Director of youth protection. [ 10 ] The Court studied the petitioner's psychosocial report, a medical report concerning X, the report of an educator concerning the children/mother supervised visits, the substance dependence evaluations concerning both parents, the report of a social worker concerning the father, several police occurrences reports between 2008 and 2010 and, finally, many documents (recognizance, probation, record) concerning the criminal history of the father who will have his trial for assault on the G-J's children on March 15, 2011. [ 11 ] The Court also heard the mother's testimony who made a point to say that the petitioner is mistaken when she writes that Mrs G's mother was drinking a lot, would have relationship with abusive and controlling men (report p. 2) and that Mrs G grown up in an alcoholic household (report p. 19). [ 12 ] Mrs G says that her mother did not abusively drink and she had only one partner (

K) after she separated from Mrs G's father when she was two years old. [ 13 ] The petitioner testifies that she is quite sure that Mrs G gave her the story she wrote. [ 14 ] The evidence shows that the parent's life is one of unstability, domestic violence and substance abuse. The father's background is one of going back and forth to jail for assaults charges of all kind. [ 15 ] Here are few excerpts of the petitioner's report (assessment p. 17-23) which are revealing : "This is a very difficult file to assess as there as so many children and families involved.

Mrs G has been in relationships that are fraught with addiction problems. All three fathers have had problems with drugs and/or alcohol at one point or another as well as Mrs G herself. This has placed an undue stress onto the children to be able to deal with different men involved with their lives.

Mrs G has not given much time in between each relationship to tend to her children's needs or her own in regards to what is stable and secure for her family. (…) Mr H has repeatedly put the children in danger by exposing them to constant family violence, heavy drinking, physical abuse and unstable relationships. (…) Mrs G has been with Mr H for a long period now. She has stated that she knew from the start that he had a problem with alcohol and yet still got involved in a serious relationship with him.

It has progressively gotten worse over the years to a point where she has admitted to having each child be exposed to her being beaten. (…) She has been hiding these realities from any worker because she was scared that her children would be taken away. (…) She just gets by doing the basic necessities for her children and is so overwhelmed by her problems that she cannot focus on their individual needs. (…) Mrs G has succumbed to the cycle of family violence also. She and Mr H will fight, he is sorry, they make up, he gets angry again and the violence happens again.

She has been in this cycle for many years and it is a difficult one to get out of. (…) She informed us that he had indeed been drinking since August with her at his house. He informed us of a violent confrontation that she had with him at his residence in which she beat him up. (…) Neither parent is in a good place to continue with their relationship together. Both are still using drugs/alcohol and there is still the cycle of violence going on. The children have spoken of violent encounters that they have witnessed between Mr H and Mrs G.

This has wounded their spirit and it is difficult to repair unless the parents take full responsibility for their environment and make positive changes individually first. (…) X has many medical needs. He was extremely overweight when he was removed from the home. (…) There are concerns of Foetal Alcohol Syndrome or Foetal Alcohol Efffects with D. Mrs G has admitted to drinking in the first trimester of her pregnancy. This could be the basis to the major behavioural problems that D exhibits."

(…) While Mr H does have an appropriate place to stay by himself, the children require a lot of responsibility and room that a basement does not provide. (…) Mr H needs to be the responsible parent to make decisions and not allow people that may not be suitable around his children. This cannot happen living in someone else's house.

The maternal aunt's boyfriend is also someone that is involved in another Youth Protection file which includes domestic violence. (…) While Mrs G has taken initiative to fix and paint her house during the time her children have been in placement, it is not enough to do cosmetic changes. This is the beginning to regain power in her house and make it feel more like a home, free from addictions and violence. She has to understand that change takes time and she needs to first admit that there are problems and then immerse herself in the care to make a positive change for the betterment of her children.

They each come with their own problems that need to be addressed individually and she will not be able to do that if her own problems are not looked at and dealt with properly." [ 16 ] The social worker who completed the evaluations on the parent's substance dependence writes : Concerning the father : "Mr H agreed to participate in the SASSI-3 (Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory). The responses are based on the past six months of his life. The results indicate a high probability of substance dependency.

It is recommended that the treatment plan include specific interventions directed toward the substance use disorder. It is unlikely that education alone will adequately address Mr H substance dependence problem. Treatment should include some form of addictions therapy (individual and/or group) and exposure to appropriate community support groups. The SASSI evaluation also indicates that Mr H is at relatively high risk for ongoing legal problems and other types of norm violations. The problem is compounded by substance dependence.

If the client is using psychoactive substances, there will be an increased risk of impulse control problems and poor judgment. It is therefore recommended that the substance abuse treatment be highly structured and provide adequate support for comprehensive behavioural change, structured didactic, cognitive-behavioural interventions for both substance dependence and impulse control problems are recommended. Treatment should also include a focus on increasing the client's sense of responsibilities for his behaviours. Although Mr H reports being sober he has not gained coping skills.

The lack of skills can eventually lead to relapse. Based on Prochaska and DiClement's Stages of Change (attached to this document), Mr H is in the preparation stage. He has insight into the issues caused by his alcohol use but he does not have a relapse prevention plan. He feels he can keep away from alcohol to prevent his cravings. He remains fragile. I recommend that Mr H continue counselling sessions with [social worker 2] on a regular basis as determined by [social worker 2]. Mr H should also attend AA meetings or outpatient group sessions that are offered at Addiction Services in City A, [province A].

His treatment plan should include a focus on relaxation techniques, coping skills, anger management and relapse prevention. These tools will help him achieve and maintain sobriety." Concerning the mother : "The SASSI-3 evaluation classifies Mrs G as having a high probability of being substance dependant. The responses are based on her entire life. It is recommended that the treatment plan include specific interventions directed toward the substance use disorder. It is unlikely that education alone will adequately address her substance dependence problem.

Treatment should include some form of addictions therapy (individual and/or group) and exposure to appropriate community support groups. The SASSI evaluation also indicates that the available clinical data includes evidence that Mrs G has a biological relative who has a substance use disorder. Individuals with relatives who are substance dependent have greater risk for developing substance dependence that people whose family histories are free from substance dependence. This information should be considered in formulating a diagnosis and treatment plan.

Based on these results, I believe it would be beneficial for Mrs G to have counselling sessions. The focus should be to provide Mrs G with coping skills and work on self esteem issues. Mrs G seems to be passive in her relationship with men. She can easily be victimized and controlled. Her current use of alcohol and marijuana is not reported has being problematic and on occasion only. She is however at risk of being dependent based on family history of substance dependence and lack of self esteem in her relationships.

I believe coping skills could help her gain confidence and help her create a sense of empowerment over her life by taking action over her life (being pro- active). It would also be useful to help her identify her strengths and weaknesses and build on those strengths." [ 17 ] As for X, the doctor writes that he is morbidly obese for his age and he continues as follow :

"This is absolutely unacceptable for a four year old child. It is imperative that his caregivers be very attentive to providing him with a diet adequate in calories to sustain growth but without adding extra weight. He should not be eating any fast food, junk food or candy. He should not be drinking any soda.

He should be engaged in some form of physical activity DAILY for at least 30 minutes at a time." [ 18 ] Since his placement with his grandmother, he has lost 18 pounds and his situation improves. [ 19 ] It is sad and unbelievable that X's mother attempted, since his placement, to offer him junk food and to tell him to keep it secret. [ 20 ] After the placement, there are still reports concerning the parent's unacceptable behaviour. [ 21 ] Contrary to what he said to the petitioner, the father drank with the mother and there was a physical confrontation. [ 22 ] There is also an unclear situation involving the mother and her car in [province A], on November 19, 2010. [ 23 ] She also missed for no valid reasons scheduled visits with her children. [ 24 ] D and X are coping with serious difficulties while E (due to her age) does not exhibit any at the present time.

It is probably for this reason that the mother seems to give her more attention and to bond more positively with her (report D-6, p. 2). [ 25 ] We are at a point of non-return. [ 26 ] If the parents do not involve themselves seriously and on a regular and constant basis in all the follow-ups recommended, particularly for substance abuse and domestic violence, there is no hope that the children will be returned to them. [ 27 ] Providing children with food and clothes is one important thing but is far from being enough. [ 28 ] They need support, structure, stimulation, education, good values and protection from abusive situations. [ 29 ] Since the removal of the children, the parents did not really demonstrate that they are on the right path. [ 30 ] They must transform WORDS in ACTIONS rapidly and not minimize the messy situation they are living in. [ 31 ] The burden of the proof is now on the parents who will have to clearly bring results to the Court. [ 32 ] Considering the reports as well as the position of the parents and the child's lawyer, the Court grants the petition in the sense of the recommendations of the Director of youth protection.

WHEREFORE, THE COURT : [ 33 ] DECLARES that the security and the development of X are considered to be in danger according to

section 38 of the Youth Protection Act ; [ 34 ] ORDERS that X be entrusted to a foster family designated by the Director of youth protection ; [ 35 ] ORDERS that the parent's visits with their child be authorized and supervised by the Director of youth protection, in agreement with the parents for the

schedule and the modalities, as long as deemed necessary ; [ 36 ] ORDERS that the parents actively participate in psychological counselling to help them dealing with their personal issues including family violence ; [ 37 ] ORDERS that the parents benefit from an external educator to help them with behaviour, discipline, structure and routine if needed ; [ 38 ] ORDERS that neither parents talk negatively about the other in the presence of the child ;

[ 39 ] ORDERS that the parents actively participate in follow-up with an addiction counsellor and receive treatment if deemed necessary ; [ 40 ] ORDERS that the parents actively participate in the application of the measures intended to put an end to the situation of endangerment ; [ 41 ] ORDERS that a person working for an organism or an establishment provides aid, counsel and assistance to X and his family ; [ 42 ] ENTRUSTS the situation of X to the Director of youth protection of the Youth Centre A until June 30, 2011, for the carrying out of the present measures. __________________________________ ROBERT LEVESQUE, J.C.Q.

Me Lynn-Ann Smith, for the petitioner Me Marie-Christine Gagnon, for the child Me Daniel Mill, for the mother Me Celestina Almeida, for the father