Nova Scotia Ombudsman William A. Smith said the year 2020-2021 has been “like no other” for his Office, as it adapted to the new normal of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Youth
In December 2018 the Office established the Ombudsman Youth Council which brings together a diverse group of young people from across the province with various levels of experience with government services; to share their knowledge, learn more about government processes, and provide guidance and advice to Ombudsman Representatives on how the Office of the Ombudsman can best assist children and…
We are excited to announce on #NationalChildDay that we are looking to add to the Ombudsman Youth Council as we begin our 3rd year!
In June 2017, an Ombudsman Representative noted several complaints had been received the previous month regarding the effectiveness of the complaint process at the Wood Street Centre (WSC).
The Final Report for the Child Death Review undertaken by this Office was issued in 2014 and the implementation of the recommendations have been monitored since that time. While many of the recommendations relate to policy development within the responding departments, there was one recommendation that was issued to all three responding departments.
This Office was contacted by a youth residing at the Wood Street Centre Campus. The complainant alleged that several attempts were made to contact their Caseworker, but there was no response. An attempt was made to escalate the matter to the Caseworker Supervisor but was met with similar results.
The Annual Report of the Office of the Ombudsman for 2019-2020 reflects normal pre-pandemic operations, but also includes achievements and case examples, says Ombudsman William Smith.
This Office was contacted by an individual who had a family member's two children placed in their care by the Department of Community Services as a Conditional Foster Parent. Within a month the complainant indicated they were struggling financially as a result of caring for their three children and their two foster children.…
The Nova Scotia Office of the Ombudsman handled 2,278 complaints, inquiries, and youth contacts in the 2018-2019 fiscal year. In his Annual Report, tabled in the House of Assembly October 1, 2019, Mr. William A.