http://www.metronews.ca/halifax/canada/ ... nts--page0Troubled N.S. boy to be sent to grandparents THE CANADIAN PRESS
Published: August 30, 2010 6:39 p.m.
Last modified: August 30, 2010 6:43 p.m. HALIFAX - The grandparents of a deeply troubled boy say they are thrilled the Nova Scotia government has decided to release him into their care after fighting for more than a year to get him sent home from a treatment facility in Ontario.
"When (he) hugged me, he didn't want to let go," the woman said in an interview after a court hearing in Nova Scotia.
"I felt bad for that child. What he went through, he didn't deserve that."
The 15-year-old boy's grandparents say the department has confirmed he will be returning home by Sept. 28.
The boy has been under the care of the Community Services Department since November 2008. Under provincial legislation, neither the boy or the grandparents can be identified.
The woman said she wasn't allowed to talk to the boy on Monday because provincial officials entrusted with caring for him believe she has interfered with his treatment for a series of conduct disorders.
"They're making me out to be the culprit," she said, noting that she and the boy's grandfather had cared for him since he was a toddler. "I've just worked to get him out of that situation. ... Anyone who has a child they love would have done the same thing."
A spokesman for the Nova Scotia government said the Community Services Department couldn't comment on any details in the case.
In July, the grandparents alleged the boy had been beaten by staff at the Ontario facility.They accused two male staff members of throwing him to the floor, punching him in the ribs and kneeing him in the throat, leaving him badly scratched and bruised.
An advocacy group known as Restoring Dignity took on the family's cause and pushed for a police investigation.
A spokesman for the facility declined to comment on the case, citing privacy concerns.
On Monday, the Ontario Provincial Police confirmed it had wrapped up its probe and no charges would be laid.
The boy's grandmother says she was shocked by the Nova Scotia government's sudden decision to send her grandson home.
"God answered our prayers," she said. "I'm overwhelmed."
The province has long insisted that the boy couldn't stay in Nova Scotia because the province doesn't have the resources to help him.A residential facility that can provide long-term, intensive treatment is still under construction in the Truro area.
The youth's story attracted national attention last year when Nova Scotia Supreme Court endorsed a plan to have him sent to a facility in Utah. That plan fell through, but the boy was eventually sent to the facility in Ontario.
The boy's grandfather said he and his wife are willing to work with the Community Services Department.
"We want a definite plan," he said. "Something that's going to work for him, including education and recreation. If we don't work with them, it's not going to work."
He said he met Monday with the boy, who was transferred from Ontario to a facility in Nova Scotia last week.
Roch Longueepee, founder of Restoring Dignity, a non-profit group that seeks justice for victims of institutional child abuse, said a specialized family based treatment program could have been set up for the boy in Nova Scotia.
"The province is still in love with the idea of institutions," he said. "They are failing our children."