Parents of baby who died in foster care upset over lack of information
Parents of an Edmonton baby who died last year in foster care say the Alberta government has been withholding information from them.
Dani Isabella Jean was only three weeks old when she was apprehended by Children’s Services. According to the Child and Youth Advocate report, she was removed “due to concerns regarding possible risk of abuse.”
Dani was placed with an experienced foster family. Her biological parents, Kuna Bianca Sauve and Paul Jean, were allowed supervised visits.
Three weeks later, on May 3, 2013, Dani was brought into hospital by her foster parents. By the time Sauve and Jean arrived, the little girl was dead.
“She was found not breathing at 5 o’clock in the morning," Sauve said.
Sauve and Jean were told by the medical examiner that the death was caused by sudden infant death syndrome.
They later learned that wasn’t the case. Child and Youth Advocate revealed through an investigation that Dani stopped breathing while she was sleeping in her foster parents’ bed
“We were told one thing when it was actually something else,” he said.
Then on the weekend, Sauve and Jean learned through media reports that the Alberta government is holding a fatality inquiry into their daughter’s death.
Sauve is frustrated by the lack of information from the government.
“They're only giving us one piece at a time as it's convenient to them,” she said.
The fatality inquiry has yet to be scheduled. Sauve hopes the hearing will answer questions about how her daughter died.