Community Child Death Review Tables

Quote from Janus Korczak was a Pediatrician in Poland and is known in many parts of the world as the Father of Childrens rights. Notice his glasses and the glasses on The Elman logo? Just saying.

Monday , Tuesday, Wednesday, a child dies Thursday , Friday , Saturday a child dies…. In Ontario on average virtually every three days a child connected to a child welfare agency dies whether living in their home or living in care under the roof of the Province

How can this be? How does Ontario not know?

When a child dies the points of protection; Childrens aid societies, schools, police, mental health and health providers, families and the public have failed them.

We must not avert our eyes. We must honour those children who have left us by hearing their story. In their death they must have the respect and voice they never had in their lives.

Katelynn Sampson who died hidden in plain sight ate age of 8 years old.

Child deaths connected to child welfare in Ontario are reviewed by the Coroner through the Pediatric Death Review Committee (PDRC) The PDRC is a back room process involving child welfare professionals, the Coroner and sometimes others like the Police who conduct a paper review of the death of a child and make recommendations accordingly. It lacks the rigour, transparency and citizen participation that would honour the child and it certainly is not a child centred process.

The Seven Fallen Feathers Check out the seminal book Seven Fallen Feathers by Tanya Talaga

The Coroner of Ontario has asked me to support him in developing and piloting a “community table death review” process. The process brings together service providers across sectors that touched the life of the child. It includes relevant representatives from Ministries, cultural and advocacy groups Young people have a manner in which they influence the process as do parents.

In the pilots I act as “Amicus” to the process ensuring the voice of young people and parents are heard either supporting them as they attend or asking the questions that might be avoided

Pilots have been held in Cobourg, Peel, Sudbury and will be held in Sioux Lookout and Toronto
February 2020

Arka Mukherjee died at the age of 12 years. A newcomer to Canada he died by suicide. There are so many questions as to how the points of protection meant to save children failed him.
I am assisting Durba Mukherjee and the Ontario Child Advocacy Coalition in finding answers
https://www.google.com/amp/s/globalnews.ca/news/6091103/toronto-mother-son-bullying-suicide-inquiry/amp/