Foster parent, grandfather of Matthew Rich saddened but not surprised by report
The child advocate's report into the death of Matthew Rich didn't tell Sebastian Benuen anything he didn't already know.
Numerous Newfoundland and Labrador government departments failed the four-month-old. So did the RCMP, and the justice system, Carol Chafe's report found.
"It feels very, very, very sad," Benuen, Matthew's grandfather, told Labrador Morning. "We knew this [would] come out."
Rich died Oct. 15, 2013, at the hospital in Happy Valley-Goose Bay. An autopsy report showed the baby died of a serious head injury, and had signs of previously broken bones in his short life.
His father, Thomas Michel, was charged with second-degree murder in the child's death, but the case fell apart when evidence under the care of the chief medical examiner's office was apparently thrown out.
Chafe found a lack of communication and information-sharing as well as failures to report child protection concerns involving Rich and his older sibling.
Foster parent for 25 years
Benuen looks at Chafe's report, titled A Stolen Life, from two angles — as a grandfather and as a foster parent — who says nothing has improved for child protection in Labrador.
"Child, [Youth and] Family Services haven't been in my house to check on the children that they place in my house," said Benuen, who has been a foster parent for 25 years in Sheshatshiu, referring to the provincial government department now known as Children, Seniors and Social Development.
"I call them, and I call them for supports — nothing happens."
Minister Sherry Gambin-Walsh says strides have been made in the Labrador region to improve child welfare and protection.
But from Benuen's viewpoint, things have only gotten worse.
He recalled a time when he requested a bed for one of his foster children. Benuen said his calls to government fell on deaf ears, and only got help after reaching out to the child and youth advocate.
Benuen added that there have been times when cases of neglect haven't been followed up on by social workers.
"Child, Youth and Family Services didn't do anything. They didn't go to the house, or they didn't call the police or anybody."
'He's still talking about his baby brother'
Despite the challenges Benuen said he has with child services, he has no plans to stop being a foster parent.
"The children I care for now are the most important — but the government, Child, Youth [and] Family Services, and [Aboriginal] leaders should get together and resolve what needs to be done."
Two weeks before Matthew Rich died, Benuen adopted his other grandson — Rich's older brother.
"He's still talking about his baby brother almost every couple of days," he said.
"You can talk to them but they are only kids. Eventually, when he gets old, he will understand what's going on with his life."
