Director v. T.T. Date:, 2014 BCPC 362

Citation: Director v. T.T. Date: 20140806 2014 BCPC 0362 File No: F29978 Registry: Surrey IN THE PROVINCIAL COURT OF BRITISH COLUMBIA IN THE MATTER OF THE CHILD FAMILY AND COMMUNITY SERVICE ACT , R.S.B.C. 1996 c. 46 AND THE CHILDREN: A.T. , born 2009 S.G., born 2011 BETWEEN: DIRECTOR OF CHILD, FAMILY AND COMMUNITY SERVICE APPLICANT AND: T.T. PARENT REASONS FOR JUDGMENT OF THE HONOURABLE JUDGE A.E. ROUNTHWAITE Counsel for the Director: D.R. Tate

Counsel for the Parent: R. Fredrickson Place of Hearing: Surrey , B.C. Dates of Hearing: July 7, 8, 9, 11, 14, 2014 Date of Judgment: August 6, 2014 [ 1 ] Mr. Tate, the lawyer for the Director of Child, Family and Community Service (“the Director”), says that A.T., a 4½-year old girl, and S.G., a 3-year old boy, were in need of protection when they were removed from the care of their mother, T.T., on December 3, 2012. He says that it is now best for the children to be placed in the continuing custody of the Director who would then look for adoptive parents for them.

T.T. believes her children are best off with her. Her lawyer, Mr. Fredrickson, asks that I make a “last chance order” for the children to remain in the Director’s temporary custody for a final six months while T.T. attends residential alcohol treatment and finds a suitable home. [ 2 ] This application for a continuing custody order is governed by s. 49(5) of the B.C. Child, Family, and Community Service Act and the principles in s. 2 of the Act . The Director argues that there is no significant likelihood that the circumstances leading to the children’s removal will improve within a reasonable time.

Under s. 49(6) I must consider T.T.’s past conduct towards her other children, the Director’s plan of care, and the children’s best interests, including the factors set out in s. 4 of the Act . [ 3 ] These are the relevant facts proven by the evidence in the hearing. Background [ 4 ] T.T. was born in war-torn ( country omitted from publication) in 1979. She lost her father in the war, and grew up in the violence and deprivation of a ( country omitted from publication) refugee camp.

She witnessed and suffered violence from an early age; was given to a man by her uncle and had her first child at about age 16; and was beaten until she agreed to marry at about 17. She came to Canada with her husband, son and brother in 2000, and had a second child. Her husband was abusive and they separated, but T.T. had problems with alcohol and violent behaviour, and her husband was given custody of the children. She pled guilty to a charge of assault with a weapon in Alberta although she says she was the victim of a knife attack by another woman, not the perpetrator.

She was given a 90-day intermittent jail sentence but left Alberta and came to B.C. without completing the sentence. As a result a warrant was issued for her arrest and it apparently remains outstanding. She also received a deportation order but its current status is not clear. [ 5 ] T.T. had four more children; one born in 2003, twins in 2004, and one in 2007. (I will refer to them as “the four middle children.”) They were removed from their mother’s care in 2008 for neglect and abuse and were in the temporary custody of the Director when A.T. was born on November 18, 2009.

A.T. was removed from T.T.’s care in October 2010 after T.T. drank; her brother assaulted her; her home was filthy; an intoxicated man refused to leave her residence; and T.T. refused to take A.T. to a transition house. [ 6 ] The four middle children were placed in the continuing custody of the Director on July 2, 2011. Judge Arthur-Leung found they had suffered violence from their mother, witnessed her being violent with others and injuring herself, and witnessed men using violence against their mother.

She also found that T.T. had used inappropriate discipline, not been able to establish a stable residence, behaved inappropriately with men in the children’s presence, denied alcohol abuse and refused to engage in alcohol treatment or counselling for domestic violence, been inconsistent in visiting the children (at least one of whom did not want to see her), and not addressed her mental health issues. During that hearing social workers complained that T.T. was sometimes not honest or forthcoming with them. Progress [ 7 ] However, since 2011, T.T.’s attitude appears to have changed completely.

She has accepted the resources offered by the Ministry of Child, Family and Community Service (“the Ministry”), developed good relationships with social workers and other supporting professionals, and worked hard to turn her life around. With persistent effort and considerable support she has made significant progress, but some problems continue. [ 8 ] T.T. moved into the ( name omitted from publication) shelter for women in April 2011, while A.T. was in the temporary care of the Ministry. The continuing custody order for the four middle children was made July 2 nd and S.G. was born July 18 th , 2011.

T.T. and S.G. moved into ( name omitted from publication) second stage housing in February 2012. She successfully completed ( name omitted from publication) Daytox, and A.T. was returned to her in March 2012 under a supervision order. In 2011 and 2012, T.T. made use of the resources at ( housing name omitted from publication) by taking courses and programmes including My Mandala, a culturally specific parenting group, Anger Management Group, Empowerment for Women, Rediscover Parenting Support Programme, and English language training.

She placed A.T. in daycare as required by the supervision order, and developed good relationships with alcohol counsellor ( name omitted from publication) , psychiatrist Dr. ( omitted from publication) , and medical doctors. She had previously been unsuccessful at Project Parent but re-engaged, did well, and met expectations in this parenting programme. She began visiting with the four middle children early in 2012. The supervision order ended and things were going very well.

Relapse [ 9 ] Unfortunately, in October 2012, T.T. was invited to a meeting at the four middle children’s school where she expected to be involved in discussion about their schooling. Her alcohol counsellor accompanied her but her own social worker was on medical leave and no social worker attended to support her. There was discussion of the older children being involved in stealing and their social worker told T.T. she would no longer have access to them. T.T. was devastated and spoke to her alcohol counsellor about her feelings but drank for a three-day period after the meeting.

Losing contact with her four middle children would have been very hard for T.T. no matter how it happened, but it is regrettable that this was not handled more sensitively by those involved.

[ 10 ] On December 3, 2012, A.T. and S.G. were removed from their mother’s care. They were away from their home with their mother in an apartment where she drank and was assaulted with a knife in their presence by Z.G., S.G.’s father. While the children were at this apartment dishes were broken, there were empty beer cans on the floor, people were arrested by police, and there were no safety gates over two steep stairways. Z.G. had assaulted T.T. the day before this incident and once or twice the previous year.

Although T.T. and social worker ( name omitted from publication) disagree on some of the circumstances surrounding the removal, I am satisfied that, at least initially, T.T. refused to leave the apartment and take the children home. [ 11 ] T.T.’s lawyer, Mr. Fredrickson, said she does not dispute that the children were in need of protection under s. 13(1)(

i) of the Child, Family and Community Service Act when they were removed from her in December 2012, and I make that finding under s. 40 of the Act . [ 12 ] T.T. admits that she drank alcohol during the period from October 2012 through April 2013, while living at ( housing name omitted from publication) . After A.T. and S.G. were removed in December, her visits were sometimes inconsistent. Although she had kept Z.G. away from her and the children, she and Z.G. conceived her 9 th child when T.T. was drinking and someone brought him to the home of a friend she was visiting.

T.T. stopped drinking after learning she was pregnant, but not before she became very intoxicated one weekend late in April. Progress [ 13 ] However, to her great credit, she did stop drinking and attended and successfully completed ( name omitted from publication) , a three-month residential alcohol treatment programme, from July through September 2013. After completing this programme, T.T. returned to ( housing name omitted from publication ) and maintained consistent visits with A.T. and S.G. Her son G.G. was born September 30, 2013, with a cleft palate and cleft lip.

T.T. coped extremely well with his needs for special feeding, taping his lips, medical appointments, and pre- and post-surgical care. She had the support of her social worker, a support worker from ( housing name omitted from publication) , and a doula provided by the Ministry. A.T. and S.G. were visiting their mother at ( housing name omitted from publication) three times a week. Things were going very well again. [ 14 ] There are limits on how long residents can stay at ( housing name omitted from publication) and the facility required T.T. to move in January 2014 shortly after G.G.’s successful surgery.

On February 1, she moved into a townhouse in a complex with considerably less support available than at ( housing name omitted from publication) . Although it had support staff, the new residence did not have a separate building with wrap-around resources, nor a counsellor, nurses, doctors and psychiatrist on-site. However, these resources continued to be available to T.T. at ( housing name omitted from publication) .

Relapse [ 15 ] In retrospect, it is unfortunate that T.T. did not have a session with her alcohol counsellor between October 2013 and March 2014, even though she was coping with G.G.’s medical needs during that time. In early March 2014 the doula had problems contacting T.T. When she was able to speak to her, the doula learned that T.T. had lost contact with her mother and sister who remain in ( country omitted from publication) and was very concerned about them.

Worry about her family has triggered T.T.’s drinking in the past, and her social worker visited her to reassure her and emphasize the need to reconnect with her alcohol counsellor. [ 16 ] Unfortunately, T.T. began to drink. On March 21, 2014, she had nine beers and was intoxicated, with G.G., in a taxi at 2:30 a.m., refusing to pay in advance and refusing to get out. Police were called, and an after-hours social worker arranged for T.T.’s cousin to care for G.G. The next day G.G. was removed from T.T.’s care. [ 17 ] Her situation got worse.

On March 28, she drank at a cousin’s home, fell while walking to a bus stop, and was taken to hospital, intoxicated. She later told her social worker she was trying to commit suicide by drinking although she testified that wasn’t her intention. Her social worker told her that if she felt suicidal in future she should call 911. T.T. was required to move out of her townhouse after G.G. was removed because residence in that facility is restricted to women with children.

She has stayed with relatives and friends since then, and has missed some visits with her children. [ 18 ] T.T.’s cousin died suddenly at the end of May and this upset her a great deal. On June 6 she had suicidal thoughts while intoxicated and grieving and she acted responsibly by calling 911. She was admitted to hospital, and hasn’t drunk alcohol since then. She has developed a recovery plan, and applied to ( name omitted from publication) residential alcohol treatment centre. T.T. was offered a bed at ( name omitted from publication) in July but was unfortunately not able to accept it because of this hearing.

She is staying with a cousin until she can go to ( name omitted from publication) and will look for suitable housing when she leaves the treatment centre. The Children’s Best Interests [ 19 ] A.T. is a healthy 4½-year old who will start kindergarten in the fall. Her behaviour can be rambunctious. She is awaiting assessment for Foetal Alcohol Syndrome at ( assessment centre name omitted from publication) because her mother drank during the first trimester. There were concerns about her speech development but this seems to have improved since she began attending pre-school.

S.G. is a 3-year old who will also be assessed at ( assessment centre name omitted from publication) due to concerns about inattentiveness and behaviour. His social worker is looking for speech and language services for him. In their young lives A.T. has spent only 20 months in her mother’s care, and S.G. 17 months.

The children have been in the same foster home since December 2012 and have maintained contact with their four older siblings. [ 20 ] Those who have worked with T.T. since 2011 have generally considered her a loving, warm and nurturing mother, particularly with infants, whose ability to cope fails under stress. She then turns to alcohol with harmful consequences for her children. ( name omitted from publication) and ( name omitted from publication) , the social workers who testified, both appear to have genuine liking for T.T. and to respect the huge efforts she has made to improve her ability to parent.

With their support and all the resources available at ( housing name omitted from publication) , T.T. has made significant progress since 2011 and narrowed the Ministry’s protection concerns. For example, since December 2012, T.T. appears to have avoided relationships with abusive men, except for the contact with

Z.G. when she was impregnated. She also appears to have avoided using violence herself, except for lunging at a police officer when the children were removed. Violence is now less of a concern than it was in 2011. [ 21 ] T.T. has faced tremendous challenges. It is important to recognize the courage and strength it has taken to achieve the progress she has made, after her traumatic, horrendous early years; the violence she has suffered for most of her life; and the loss of her six older children. [ 22 ] It is not surprising that T.T. has turned to alcohol to cope, and suffers from alcoholism.

She deserves great credit for her efforts to battle her addiction. In addition to Daytox and residential treatment she had 16 counselling sessions with her alcohol counsellor between December 2012 and June 2014, with 3 of the sessions taking place between March 31 and May 28, 2014. English is not her first language and she does not read or write, so counselling and treatment programmes pose additional challenges for her.

Relapses are part of recovery for many addicts, and T.T. has not given up in spite of her relapses. [ 23 ] Hearing about T.T.’s life, and particularly her hard work since 2011, reminded me of a poem by Mary Anne Radmacher: “Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day, saying, I will try again tomorrow.” T.T. has repeatedly found the courage to try again tomorrow. [ 24 ] However, T.T.’s alcoholism remains a serious parenting problem.

When drinking, T.T. abused and neglected her older children; and when drinking she has used poor judgment, exposing A.T. and S.G. to unsafe or unhealthy environments. During periods when she has been drinking T.T. has also missed visits with the children. She is able to go for months without drinking but relapses into binge drinking when she is sad, under stress, or dealing with traumatic circumstances. She sometimes drinks in order to pass out and sleep without nightmares of killing or being killed.

Dr. ( omitted from publication) prescribed medication that helped her sleep and she has taken it since June 2011 but has stopped when pregnant or breast feeding, as well as when drinking because she understands the danger of combining medication with alcohol. [ 25 ] T.T.’s mental health is also a concern. She has stabbed herself in the stomach twice, in 2005 and 2011, and has had suicidal thoughts since G.G.’s removal.

While ( name omitted from publication) of Project Parent provided some personal and trauma counselling and Dr. ( omitted from publication) has provided some psychiatric care, ( social worker’s name omitted from publication) believes T.T. really needs intensive trauma counselling from a psychologist or psychiatrist who speaks ( language omitted from publication) and understands T.T.’s culture, but there is no such person in B.C.

In fact, there is only one ( language omitted from publication) interpreter who is not always available because of other employment commitments. [ 26 ] Family is the preferred environment for children but they are entitled to be protected from abuse, neglect and harm. Sadly, T.T.’s circumstances have deteriorated significantly since February 2014.

T.T.’s history, her inability to maintain sobriety for a year even while living in the supportive cocoon of ( housing name omitted from publication) , and her relapses with children in her care, convince me that there is no significant likelihood that the circumstances leading to the children’s removal will improve within a reasonable time. [ 27 ] The Director’s plan of care is to place the children with an adoptive family or a long-term caregiver.

One candidate is a friend of the “forever family” of the four middle children who has adopted two children internationally and would foster the children’s relationship with their older siblings and their cultural heritage. An adoptive family or long-term caregiver would provide the children with security and continuity. [ 28 ] A “last chance order” under s. 49(7)(

c) would extend the existing temporary custody order for six months, and at the end of that period a judge would either have to return the children to T.T. or make a continuing custody order. I deeply regret that I cannot make a last chance order because six months is just not long enough for T.T. to become established in a stable recovery from alcoholism.

She will need three months for residential treatment and the three months left after that would not be long enough to show that she can stay sober and maintain a safe, stable home for the children. [ 29 ] Because I believe that a “last chance order” would only delay the inevitable continuing custody order, I do not believe it would be in the children’s best interest. The Act imposes limits on the length of time children under five can remain in temporary custody. A.T. and S.G. are young and should be placed with a permanent caregiver as soon as possible.

I am forced to conclude that an immediate continuing custody order is in the children’s best interests and I make that order under s. 49(5) of the Act . [ 30 ] However, time has not yet run out for G.G. I believe that T.T. has the strength and determination to get help with her suicidal thoughts, succeed at ( treatment centre omitted from publication) , and stay sober afterwards for long enough that G.G. could be returned to her. T.T. gave G.G. such a good start in life; I hope that she won’t let her sadness at my decision drive her to drink.

I hope she will stay strong for G.G., think of him, and continue her hard work to make a good home for him. A.E. Rounthwaite

Provincial Court Judge July 28, 2014