Doctors call suspended foster visits 'institutional abuse,' as mom wonders when she'll see child again

Before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the provincial government to suspend in-person visits between children and their birth parents, one St. John's mother says she was close to getting her child home.

Without access to drug testings, visits that show progress, and support groups, she fears the journey back to normalcy will be extended far longer than she had hoped.

"I do miss my child immensely. I have not gone this long without seeing my [child] in my entire life, ever," she said.

The woman, who cannot be identified, said she understands and agrees with the suspension of visits, but has unanswered questions about what it may mean in the long run.

Those concerns have been echoed by a group of seven doctors who make up the Downtown Healthcare Collaborative, in a letter addressed to members of government, the child and youth advocate and Dr. Janice Fitzgerald, the chief medical officer of health.

They are urging government to immediately reinstate visitation.

"To be clear, it is our view that this current CSSD (Children, Seniors and Social Development) policy is a form of institutional abuse and a human rights violation," the group wrote Friday.

"The route that you and your department have chosen is causing severe and immediate harm through traumatization of children and families."

Mother scared for future

The mother who spoke to CBC News is expressing similar concerns.

"The first thing I thought was however long this is, this is how much longer my child is going to be in the system, because how are they able to judge how we're doing if we're unable to see them?"

For the last year, she said she has attended the supervised visits where access workers write reports that determine how well people are progressing. Those reports, she said, are given to social workers who can determine if the child is ready for day trips, sleepovers or full custody.

"Those access reports from the supervised time what was getting [the child] home," she said.

Drug testing, she said, has also been suspended.

"At the end of this in a couple weeks, two months or three months, they still have a whole period where they can question and say, 'We don't know what you were up to,'" she said.

'Worst experience in my life'

Her last visit with her child was nearly two weeks ago, the longest, she said, they've ever gone without seeing each other.

"It is the absolutely worst experience in my life," she said.

And she said she's not alone; she has another friend who fears she might relapse over the trigger of not seeing her children and the inability to stick to a routine.

She is also concerned for mothers who breast feed their children daily.

The Downtown Healthcare Collaborative also wrote of that challenge, and shared a story of one of their patients

"One of my patients consented for me to share that she has a two-month-old who she has been providing with breast milk by pumping and by nursing during her daily visits which she had until late March," says the letter.

"Her only exposure to her child now is through text messages and photos sent by the foster family; they have attempted virtual visits but her access to this technology is limited and interacting with a two-month-old over video is not productive."

The mother's breast milk supply is decreasing, as is her mental health, they said.

"She is a young and vulnerable mother who is trying to advocate for the well-being of herself and her newborn but is helpless under the hierarchy and uneven power dynamic of your department."

It is their medical assessment that the short- and long-term effects on both the children and birth parents will be detrimental to their health, with greater risks of relapse, suicide, depression and death.

They also point out that families with a custody and access order or agreement are still expected to follow that order, regardless of COVID-19. In fact, it is encouraged, they said, for the child to see both parents.

In an interview with CBC News this week, Children, Seniors and Social Development Minister Lisa Dempster said the decision to temporarily restrict access was a difficult one to make.

Dempster said the situation is reassessed daily, but said visitation will only resume when it is safe to do so.

A mother left waiting

As for the mother whose child remains in foster care while she resets the calendar, she said the phone calls will continue daily.

Luckily, she said, her child understands.

"What can we do now to still continue to prove to [social workers]? There has to be ways around it."

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