Inquiry into Zachary's death may bring reforms to NL child welfare system.

Dr. Peter H. Markesteyn found blame to go around in his report on the death of Zachary Turner in 2003.

Acting as a Delegate for the Child and Youth Advocate, the report points to failings in health and community services, justice departments, and police services. The paternal grandfather of the deceased child also took aim at the government for its failure to provide him with information and with delays in setting up the inquiry.

In 2003, Dr. Shirley Turner strapped her 13-month-old son, Zachary, to her body and jumped into the Atlantic Ocean at Conception Bay. She was in the process of fighting extradition to the United States to face charges of murdering Zachary's father, Andrew Bagby. A native of Newfoundland, she fled to the province where she gave birth to Zachary. While fighting the extradition, a judge let her out on bail.

According to the Markesteyn report, the federal Crown Prosecutor, acting for the United States, did not provide the judge with information about her troubled past which included threats of violence and attempts at suicides, information that might have caused the judge to refuse bail.

Turner had been married three times and had other children who were in the custody of their fathers. According to Markesteyn, child protection staff had enough information to seek custody of Zachary or to place his mother under close supervision, but did not act on what they knew.

(The Crown Prosecutor denies that his office had this information at the time of the bail hearings.)

The Provincial government outlined a multi-faceted approach to strengthen the province's child protection system in response to the recommendations of the Turner Review and Investigation. Tom Osborne, Minister of Health and Community Services, and Tom Marshall, Minister of Justice and Attorney General, acknowledged that improvements can and should be made to the Child, Youth and Family Services system throughout the province.

Osborne said, "Government has already begun to invest in the areas of child, youth and family services through adding new positions to the provincial office and in the four regional health authorities, providing funding for training and evaluation, as well as other key investments in the last three years.

The 2006 Budget included $2.7 million to add 55 new positions, the majority of which are social work positions, over a three-year period for the Child, Youth and Family Services Program in the regional health authorities. "However, we recognize that more needs to be done."

Minister Osborne has received the 29 recommendations related to Child, Youth and Family Services and announced an action plan in response to recommendations in the report. Items in the action plan include:

* a thorough assessment and report to determine which recommendations can be implemented immediately;

* consultation with, and advice from key stakeholders through a minister's roundtable session;

* the engagement of the Centre of Excellence for Child Welfare, University of Toronto;

* to provide expert knowledge in the area of child protection research, evaluation and best practice;

* to assist the department in reviewing its legislation, policy, collaborative practice and standards;

* issue a Request for Proposals in November to complete and an external evaluation of the Family Services Program to enhance policies and standards;

* complete an operational and organizational analysis by an independent consulting firm of the delivery of Child, Youth and Family Services in the province.

The operational and organizational analysis will be undertaken by the Halifax office of Deloitte Inc. It will address any required changes in the organization and management of child protection services at each of the four regional health authorities, the Department of Health and Community Services.

They will also look into the relationship between the regional authorities and the department in relation, but not be limited to the Turner Review and Investigation. A final report will be due on December 31, 2006.

"We will immediately take action in two areas identified in the report: we will develop a policy specific to children whose parents are charged with a violent crime, and will implement training for social workers to address Dr. Markesteyn's concerns," Minister Osborn added.

Upon learning of the report, David Bagley told the St. John's Telegram, "I'm sure this child-death review would not have happened if we had not screamed long and loud right after Zachary's murder."

Dr. Peter Markesteyn is a Winnipeg coroner. He was named Delegate for the Child and Youth Advocate when the advocate at the time became too ill to conduct the investigation. www.childandyouthadvocate.nf.ca