Deaths of young Victoria sisters trigger reviews by multiple agencies

In the wake of the deaths of Chloe and Aubrey Berry, multiple agencies seek to find answers to what happened and what can be done to stop it from happening again in the future.

In addition to the police investigation that began immediately, the sisters鈥� deaths triggered a preliminary review by the Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD), as the girls had service involvement with the ministry in the previous 12 months (a criteria needed for a review).

鈥淚n circumstances like this we would cooperate fully with investigations that involve the police or coroner鈥檚 office,鈥� said a ministry spokesperson. 鈥淲here there is ministry involvement, a preliminary review is conducted by the ministry to determine if an in-depth review is appropriate. The Office of the Representative for Children and Youth is also notified and may also conduct its own review.鈥�

Court documents show that Andrew Berry, the girls鈥� father, was investigated twice by MCFD, once initiated by the mother Sarah Cotton for suspected inappropriate touching (MCFD concluded that Berry had not acted with criminal intent), and once after a large soft spot was found on Aubrey鈥檚 head. The documents say Cotton did not call MCFD about the soft spot and she that assumes a social worker at the hospital misread the notes and contacted MCFD.

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For the ministry review, the Provincial Director of Child Welfare must decide if an in-depth case review is warranted. There are a number of factors that contribute to the decision: whether the child was in government care or not; the nature and severity of the incident; the history and nature of prior ministry involvement; any apparent link between services provided and the outcome for the children; and the need for public accountability.

鈥淥nce a review has been initiated it can take three to eight months to complete,鈥� said a ministry spokesperson. 鈥淐ase review reports include confidential information so cannot be made public. It is the ministry鈥檚 practice with all case review reports to publicly post an executive summary.鈥�

Summaries are posted twice annually. The next posting is expected in summer 2018.

The Office of the Representative for Children and Youth also receives notice of critical injuries or death of children who have received services from MCFD. They act as a watchdog and an independent advocate for children and youth in B.C., monitoring and reviewing the ministry鈥檚 services and conducting independent investigations when there are critical injuries or deaths.

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鈥淚f there鈥檚 any indication services or lack of services might have played a role, then clearly I think it would be a significant interest for us to investigate,鈥� said Bernard Richard, British Columbia鈥檚 child and youth representative. 鈥淪adly, we receive roughly 2,200 reports every year of what are called critical injuries or deaths of kids in care or recently out of care. About 70 a month are determined to be related to mandated services in some way. About four or five a month get a more in-depth review. We end up investigating perhaps three or four a year.鈥�

They are currently gathering information about the Berry case, however, they couldn鈥檛 begin an investigation until the police and coroners have completed theirs or after a year has passed, whichever comes first.

鈥淐learly given the tragic nature of the events, we want to make sure we鈥檙e diligent in starting the process,鈥� said Richard. 鈥淲e always look for ways to learn lessons from an event and to contribute to the prevention of similar events in the future. An investigation can cost in the vicinity of $200,000 but if we think there鈥檚 lessons to be learned, if we thing there鈥檚 a possibility of avoiding tragedy in the future 鈥� we make that determination.鈥�