More news of a program trying to coerce a child to change his story:
http://thechronicleherald.ca/NovaScotia/9017288.htmlGrandmother: Teen insisting he was abused at facilityBy MICHAEL MacDONALD The Canadian Press
Thu, Jul 22 - 5:29 AMThe grandmother of a Nova Scotia youth struggling with behavioural disorders says a provincial official was wrong to suggest Wednesday that the troubled boy has recanted allegations he was abused by staff at a treatment facility in Ontario.
The woman, who can’t be named to protect the youth’s identity, said the 15-year-old is sticking to his story that two staff members at the Bayfield facility in Consecon threw him to the floor, punched him in the ribs and kneeled on his throat — stopping his breathing for a moment.
She said she spoke with him by phone Tuesday and he repeated he has a black eye, cuts on his head and scratches all over his body.
“He said . . . ‘they beat me,’ " the woman said in an interview, noting that the altercation began at 2 a.m. Sunday when the boy asked to go to the washroom.
“And the next thing you know, bam!
Down on the floor and they punched him in the ribs and the kneed him. They slammed him down on the floor. . . . He said, ‘Mum, it really hurt.’ " She said the boy fought back only to protect himself.
Vicki Wood, director of child welfare with Nova Scotia’s Community Services Department, said the boy told his social worker he was wrong to fabricate the allegations he made Sunday.
“He
told her that he had not been injured,
he did not have a black eye and he’s not sure why he said that," she said in an interview.
“When you’re working with children who have emotional and behavioural disorders, it’s not unusual for them to have episodes where they’re . . . having difficulty. In those difficulties they may leave a program, they may say things that may encourage someone to come and get them."
Wood confirmed that the department reviews every report of abuse.
The grandmother’s voice trembled with emotion when she spoke about the Nova Scotia government’s attempts to help the family.
“They have destroyed our family here," she said. “You know what it feels like in this house? Death. We know he’s alive, but it feels like death."
She said the teen has complained to her about rough treatment at Bayfield on at least 10 other occasions. As a result, he should be removed until a specialized program can be set up in Nova Scotia, she added.
The accusations have not been proven and officials at Bayfield have declined comment.
But documents from Nova Scotia’s Justice Department confirm their was a struggle on Sunday and the boy was restrained.
The teen has been in the care of Nova Scotia’s Community Services Department since November 2008, when it was determined he was a threat to himself and the community. He suffers from various cognitive challenges, but the grandmother and the family’s lawyer insist there has never been a conclusive diagnosis.
“I’m not saying that he doesn’t have a disability," the grandmother said. “When the child was in school, he couldn’t sit down."
But she dismissed published reports that suggest the boy suffers from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and fetal alcohol syndrome, a disorder that leaves individuals with little ability to control their impulses.
“Nobody knows what’s wrong with this child," she said.
Wood said she understands that it’s difficult for families whose children are being cared for in another province.
“We make every effort to maintain the ties," she said, noting that the province plans to open a facility similar to Bayfield as early as next year.
But that’s not good enough for the boy’s grandmother.
“If you don’t have family contact, it’s not going to work," she said, noting that the family can’t afford to travel to Ontario very often. “At least if he was in Nova Scotia, we could visit more."
