Windsor-Essex appears to be bucking at least one troubling trend in the opioid crisis; an increase in children being admitted to foster care.
Some agencies in the U.S. report a correlation between high rates of opioid use and an increase in foster cases. An analysis of statistics compiled by the National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect showed counties with higher rates of cases related to drugs also had higher levels of opioid use and deaths. Between 2000 and 2015, those foster cases increased more than six-fold in Indiana.
The Ontario Drug Policy Research Network reported last August 16.9% of the population of Windsor-Essex were prescribed opioids in 2016, among the highest rates in Ontario. Province-wide, 11.9% were.
An earlier report by the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit reported 43 deaths related to opioid use in 2015, an increase of 190% from 2003. Under the Ontario Disability Program, opioids were prescribed to almost 28,000 people in the region, a rate 18.9% higher than the provincial average.
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The local numbers do not reflect the number of people in the region who get the drugs illegally.
Yet, the director of permanency and children's services with the Windsor-Essex Children's Aid Society says intake has not changed because of local opioid abuse.
"We have certainly seen an increase with respect to opioid use and its effect on families," says Lyle Ward. "We've taken an approach with our families of engaging with them and working with them very closely. So, we haven't seen an increase with respect to children into care as a result of the opioid crisis."
This often means placing children with grandparents, or having grandparents move into the home with the family, he says.
"We find that children in the long run, regardless of the issues, will do better with family," says Ward. "Unless in those situations where that absolutely can't happen, and of course we will take the action that's necessary to ensure that the children are safe."
He says children in those homes are at greater risk of neglect and lack of supervision.
A worker from the House of Sophrosyne meets with Children's Aid Society officials once a week to consult on opioid-related cases.
Ward says agencies across the province have adopted similar philosophies.
However, it does not mean the Children's Aid Society does not need foster parents. Ward insists the number of homes is not what it used to be, and just to meet immediate needs, the agency could use between 20 and 30 new foster homes.
