2010 QCCQ 20182, 2010 QCCQ 20182

Protection de la jeunesse — 107313 2010 QCCQ 20182 COURT OF QUEBEC CANADA PROVINCE OF QUEBEC DISTRICT OF [...] TOWN OF [...] Youth Division No: 145-41-000353-109 DATE: December 8, 2010 ______________________________________________________________________ BY THE HONOURABLE ROBERT LEVESQUE, J.C.Q. ______________________________________________________________________ [SOCIAL WORKER 1] Petitioner and X Child and F and G Parents ______________________________________________________________________ JUDGMENT ______________________________________________________________________ [ 1 ] A petition for protection purpose in respect of X (2001[…]) 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 :

a) Mrs G is the mother of eight children, including a ten year-old son, Y, that she entrusted to an aunt almost a year ago ;

b) Mrs G shares her life with Mr H, who is the father of Z, A and B ;

c) Mr H drinks alcohol abusively and shows violent behaviours ;

d) a few years ago, Mr H was charged with assaulting Y ;

e) the couple's relationship is very tumultuous, there is domestic violence and the police had to intervene on many occasions ;

f) the mother admitted to be scared of her spouse and that, several times, she cried with her children because of Mr H's behaviour and attitude ;

g) Mrs G said on numerous occasions it was over with Mr H, but he always goes back living with her ;

h) the children are exposed to domestic violence and the mother denies the effect it can have on them ;

i) lately, C disclosed that Mr H smacked him in the mouth ;

j) X also said Mr H was violent toward him ;

k) the mother refuses to believe Mr H could hit her children ;

l) Mrs G says that Mr H is a good support with the children because he makes them listen to her ;

m) the mother admits she yells a lot at the children and she is overwhelmed with them when Mr H is not there ;

n) the household is very unstructured, the children do what they want and go wherever they want to ;

o) on August 19, 2010, Mr H was arrested ;

p) on the same day, all the children were removed from the mother's ;

q) the relationship between the mother and her daughter D is very strained and the youth already spent a lot of time at her father's, to whom she was entrusted with E ;

r) A is extremely active for his age and already has behaviour issues ;

s) the mother was very disorganized and loud when the three youngest children were removed, but they showed no apparent reaction to their mother's state. [ 3 ] Mrs G is the mother of eight children from four partners : a- E (15) and D (13) with I ; b- Y (11) with J ; c- X (9) and C (7) with F ; d- Z (4), A (3) and B (2) with H. [ 4 ] The Court is seized with the situation of all the children except Y who is living with a maternal aunt. [ 5 ] The situation of the H children had been heard on November 30, 2010, and a judgment was rendered. [ 6 ] The actual hearing concerns the G-F's children. [ 7 ] At the hearing, the parents are present with their lawyer. [ 8 ] The mother admits, for the essential, the situation described at the petition and she accepts the recommendations of the Director of youth protection. [ 9 ] The father admits the allegations of the petition and he accepts the recommendations of the Director of youth protection. [ 10 ] The children's lawyer, seeing the position of the parents, accepts as well the recommendations of the Director of youth protection. [ 11 ] The Court studied the petitioner's psychosocial report, a letter from the school (X), the substance dependence evaluation concerning the mother, a judgment of the Superior court concerning the custody of the children (mother) and access (father), several police occurrences reports between 2008 and 2010 and, finally, many documents (recognizance, probation, record) concerning the criminal history of Mr H (he is the last partner of the mother) who will have his trial for assault on the children on March 15, 2011.

The criminal record of the father is also filed. [ 12 ] Here are few excerpts of the petitioner's report 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." ( [1] ) [ 13 ] The social worker who completed the evaluation concerning the mother's substance dependence writes : "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." ( [2] ) [ 14 ] We are at a point of non-return. [ 15 ] If Mrs G does not involve herself 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 her. [ 16 ] Providing children with food and clothes is one important thing but is far from being enough. [ 17 ] They need support, structure, stimulation, education, good values and protection from abusive situations. [ 18 ] Since the removal of the children, Mrs G and Mr H did not really demonstrate that they are on the right path. [ 19 ] They must transform WORDS in ACTIONS rapidly and not minimize the messy situation they are living in. [ 20 ] The burden of the proof is now on Mrs G and Mr H who will have to clearly bring results to the Court. [ 21 ] The father, Mr F, had his issues in the past with drugs but his life seems to be more stable at the present time.

He is living with a lady and her three children. [ 22 ] Over the years, he tried to be involved with his sons but the relation with the mother in that regards was strained and they had to go to Court. [ 23 ] The petitioner writes that :

"Mr F states that he does not try to make problems with Mrs G and wishes that they could talk properly in regards to their children. He does not follow her around or Mr H trying to get them in trouble. He states that people will come over and tell him things that they have heard, concerned about or that they have witnessed. He is just concerned about his sons and wants the best for them. He is trying to give them positive attention and show that he cares equally for both of them. ( [3] ) [ 24 ] Mr F and Mrs G had recently signed an agreement on share custody which will be presented soon to the Superior court.

The Director of youth protection will take the eventual judgment into account for the visitation rights. [ 25 ] Considering the reports and the position of the parties, the Court grants the petition in the sense of the recommendations of the Director of youth protection. WHEREFORE, THE COURT : [ 26 ] DECLARES that the security and the development of X are considered to be in danger according to

section 38 of the Youth Protection Act ; [ 27 ] ORDERS that X be entrusted to a foster home designated by the Director of youth protection ; [ 28 ] ORDERS that visits with the parents be planned with the Director of youth protection, as long as deemed necessary ; [ 29 ] ORDERS to the mother to make sure that Mr H is not present during her child's visits at home and that he has no contacts with the child ; [ 30 ] ORDERS that the parents actively participate in the application of the measures intended to put an end to the situation of endangerment ; [ 31 ] ORDERS that the parents actively participate in psychological counselling to help them deal with their personal issues ; [ 32 ] ORDERS that X and the foster home benefit from an external educator to help them with behaviour, discipline, structure and routine if needed ; [ 33 ] ORDERS that neither parent talk negatively about the other in the presence of the children ; [ 34 ] ORDERS that the mother actively participate in follow-up with addiction counsellor and receive treatment if deemed necessary ; [ 35 ] ORDERS that a person working for an organism or an establishment provides aid, counsel and assistance to X and his family ; [ 36 ] ENTRUSTS the situation of X to the Director of youth protection of the Centre Jeunesse 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 Andrée Rioux, for the father