New Brunswick’s auditor general says the province is failing to meet its legal obligations in reviewing and reporting on child deaths.
Auditor general Paul Martin found the child death review committee, whose job is to review and report on deaths of those under 18, is not always meeting that mandate.
The committee reviews all child deaths reported to the coroner’s office order to examine the circumstances of a child’s death and “with the intent to prevent future deaths and improve the health, safety and well-being of all children in New Brunswick,” says the report.
The committee is also tasked with reviewing deaths of children in the province’s care, or who had received child welfare services in the year leading up to a death.
Martin’s office found no evidence of any committee review for 32 child death cases recorded in 2022 and 2023, according to his newest report, which was released on Tuesday.
It also found the committee has failed to meet its obligation to submit reports to the chief coroner for every child death review. During the audit, the report says the committee held 39 child death reviews but only completed 26 reports.
“For child deaths reviewed by the CDRC where no report has been written, there are meeting minutes confirming a review took place but there is no documented rationale or explanation why recommendations were not required,” the report says.
When the committee made recommendations based on a review, the report found those recommendations were not given to the departments with authority to act on them — a requirement under the Coroner’s Act.
Martin also found that public reporting on results was “incomplete and not timely,” with just two of 20 recommendations issued during the audit period made public.
“In recent years, the public reporting of the child death review committee has been limited,” the report says. “Given its critical role, it is imperative to ensure that its processes and practices are robust, transparent and effective.”