2010 QCCQ 20189, 2010 QCCQ 20189

Protection de la jeunesse — 107321 2010 QCCQ 20189 COURT OF QUEBEC CANADA PROVINCE OF QUEBEC DISTRICT OF [...] TOWN OF [...] Youth Division No: 145-41-000363-108 DATE: December 8, 2010 ______________________________________________________________________ BY THE HONOURABLE ROBERT LEVESQUE, J.C.Q. ______________________________________________________________________ [SOCIAL WORKER 1] Petitioner and X Child and A and B Parents ______________________________________________________________________ JUDGMENT ______________________________________________________________________ [ 1 ] A petition for protection purpose in respect of X (2010 […]) is referred to the Court by the Director of youth protection pursuant to sections 38 and 75 of the Youth Protection Act. [ 2 ] The petition is based on the following assertions and facts which was the situation at the time of the filing of the petition :

a) on October 4, the mother had a meeting set with community resources because there were worries about babysitting and the mother's behaviours ;

b) the maternal grandmother came in late and disclosed that her daughter was assaulted by her boyfriend, who tried to strangle her, kept her in her room and smashed the telephone so she could not call the police ;

c) the mother said her boyfriend was high on pills and she brought his pills to the police ;

d) at that time, the mother put her boyfriend's belongings on the driveway, saying it was over between them ;

e) on the following day, October 5, the mother asked the police to drop charges against her boyfriend and he came back home living with her ;

f) the family's oldest child, Y, is scared of her mother's boyfriend, because he yells at her mom and they fight all the time ;

g) Y said that the mother's boyfriend yells at her and she does not like him ;

h) the mother is on methadone ;

i) the mother had a prescription for oxycontin, which is a narcotic and she recently asked the police to say it was stolen ;

j) the mother is overwhelmed with her personal and domestic problems and cannot take adequate care of the children ;

k) the children are extremely vulnerable due to their young age ;

l) the father is working in the United States. [ 3 ] At the hearing, the parents are present with their lawyer.

They admit the situation described at the petition and accept the recommendations of the Director of youth protection. [ 4 ] The child's lawyer, considering the evidence and the position of the parents, accepts as well the recommendations of the Director of youth protection. [ 5 ] The Court studied the petitioner's psychosocial report and police occurrences reports. [ 6 ] The evidence reveals that the parents are affected by substance abuse problems (alcohol for the father and pills for the mother). [ 7 ] The mother attended many detox programs over the years and it is still an issue. [ 8 ] The father maintained his sobriety for a long period and attended A.A. meetings. [ 9 ] The parent's relationship is unstable and the mother started a relationship with a violent addicted partner.

She came back with Mr A, then returned with the other man who finally assaulted her in the presence of the baby and the police was called. [ 10 ] Problems with babysitting are noted. [ 11 ] The two oldest children of the mother from an other relationship are placed with the maternal grandmother.

[ 12 ] [Province A] Social services were involved few times over the years.

Now, the parents are back together and they want to settle their life for good in the interest of their four children. [ 13 ] During the provisory placement of the children (beginning of October), the parents have done well, did visit their children regularly and did collaborate with the Director of youth protection representatives. [ 14 ] The parents must understand that the messy situation which brought the actual intervention of the Director of youth protection and the Court is not acceptable and will not be tolerated. [ 15 ] It is worthy to reproduce here the petitioner's assessment (psychosocial report, p.6) : "This is a fragile situation as the behavior has been repeated a couple of times over the past ten years.

The children have been removed from the house on more than one occasion and it is usually because of drugs and/or alcohol. Each time Mrs B goes back to her old coping methods of prescription medication, her children suffer. They are left with babysitters for extended periods of time sometimes the babysitters are young teenagers who do not know her whereabouts. She will make up excuses for her absenteeism or lateness. When they are broken up is when Mrs B usually becomes unstable in her behavior and uses drugs to ease her emotions.

Mr A has admitted to having issues with alcohol in the past and has resorted to this behavior when under duress. Both are codependent on each other for stability. Mr A keeps going back to this relationship even after she possibly had a child with another man. She returns to it to regain her stability and it gives her comfort of acceptance. When alcohol/drugs are not involved, these are very stable, capable and loving parents to four wonderful children. This situation is a wake up call to both Mr A and Mrs B.

This is the last time they will have the opportunity to stabilize their living situation and environment for their children. If the old pattern of drug use, babysitters, money situations, fights, etc. happens again, the children will be removed with the possibility of having the situation go long term as her first two children did. This is serious and must be taken as such. These four children under the age of six deserve a stable home environment free from drugs and alcohol. They are at vulnerable ages wherein they are not able to protect or provide for themselves.

Especially with Y's condition being so serious, she needs an environment free from stress and anxiety to support her continuing recovery and remission from this disease. During her times of needed medical follow-up, there were incidences of missed appointments. Mrs B had reasons for missing the scheduled appointments but excuses are not good enough when a child is dealing with the serious medical condition that Y has. These appointments are mandatory medical follow-ups that must be done when requested.

Luckily, her treatments are ending soon but it is still necessary to be vigilant in keeping up with appropriate care. It is important to note that the children are well behaved and very intelligent. They are attentive parents who love their children but if their addictions issues are not dealt with properly, the essential parenting gets pushed aside and the need for drugs/alcohol take precedence. It is not just the addiction that needs to be dealt with but also the underlying issues that are being suppressed by the drugs/alcohol.

If this reason for abusing substances is taken care of then there will be no need to use anymore. They have to feel the pain from the past in order to let it go and move forward with their family in a healthy direction.

The children deserve parents that are capable of providing the wealth of knowledge that they have to give in regards to their culture, family, love of each other, experiences, traditions, memories, identity, etc." [ 16 ] Considering the report and the position of the parents and of the child's lawyer, the Court grants the petition according to the recommendations of the Director of youth protection. WHEREFORE, THE COURT : [ 17 ] DECLARES that the security and the development of X are considered to be in danger according to

section 38 of the Youth Protection Act ; [ 18 ] ORDERS that X be entrusted to his parents ; [ 19 ] ORDERS that the parents actively participate in psychological counselling to help them dealing with their personal issues ; [ 20 ] ORDERS that the parents benefit from an external educator to help them with behaviour, discipline, structure and routine if

needed ; [ 21 ] ORDERS that the parents actively participate in follow-up with an addiction counsellor and receive treatment if deemed necessary ; [ 22 ] ORDERS that the parents choose a responsible babysitter and discuss it previously with the Director of youth protection ; [ 23 ] ORDERS that the parents actively participate in the application of the measures intended to put an end to the situation of endangerment ; [ 24 ] ORDERS that a person working for an organism or an establishment provides aid, counsel and assistance to X and his family ; [ 25 ] ENTRUSTS the situation of X to the Director of youth protection of the Centre Jeunesse A until December 30, 2011, for the carrying out of the present measures. __________________________________ ROBERT LEVESQUE, J.C.Q.

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