Saskatchewan Advocate for Children and Youth: What the Annual Reports Say About Foster Care

Every year, the Saskatchewan Advocate for Children and Youth (SACY) releases an annual report documenting the state of child welfare in the province. These reports are public, independently produced, and consistently more candid than anything the Ministry of Social Services publishes about itself.

If you want to understand what's actually happening in Saskatchewan's foster care system — not the Ministry's public messaging, but the on-the-ground reality — the SACY annual reports are essential reading.

Who the Advocate Is and What They Do

The Advocate for Children and Youth is an independent officer of the Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly. They do not report to the Ministry of Social Services. Their mandate is to represent the rights and interests of children and youth who are involved with or receiving services from government bodies — including child welfare, youth justice, mental health, and education.

The Advocate's office:

• Conducts systemic reviews of how government services affect children
• Reviews deaths and serious injuries of children known to government services
• Publishes findings and recommendations that are binding on the government to respond to
• Provides direct assistance to individual children and youth navigating government systems

Contact: 1-800-667-4448 | www.saskadvocate.ca

What the 2025 Annual Report Found

The 2025 SACY annual report documented findings that have driven significant public attention to Saskatchewan's child welfare system:

30 deaths of youth in care during the reporting period were reviewed or identified. This includes youth whose deaths occurred while in direct government care and those who had recent involvement with child welfare services.

Toxic drug exposure among children under five was identified as an emerging and serious concern. Young children in care — or who were recently in care — were experiencing exposure to toxic illicit substances at alarming rates, representing a failure of both prevention services and placement stability.

Housing and life skills gaps for youth transitioning at 18 were documented as ongoing unresolved issues. Youth who age out of care at 18 without adequate transition planning are substantially more likely to face homelessness, unemployment, and justice involvement.

These findings are not published to be sensational. They are published because the Advocate's mandate requires transparent documentation of systemic failures so the government is accountable to address them.

Deaths of Children in Care: The Review Process

When a child or youth who is known to government services dies, Saskatchewan has formal review processes to determine what happened and whether system failures contributed.

The Advocate's office may conduct its own review of a child's death, separate from any coroner's investigation. These reviews examine the history of the child's involvement with child welfare, the adequacy of the services provided, and whether the death could have been prevented with different interventions.

The Advocate's death reviews have historically identified recurring systemic issues:

• Caseworker caseload sizes that prevent adequate monitoring of children in care
• Communication gaps between MSS and First Nations delegated agencies
• Placement in group care when family-based alternatives were unavailable
• Insufficient follow-up with families after a child's return home

These findings generate binding recommendations to the Ministry. The Advocate tracks whether recommendations from previous reports have been implemented — and consistently documents the ones that have not.

The Child Welfare Crisis Context

Saskatchewan's child welfare crisis is structural, not episodic. The numbers tell the story: over 80% of children in out-of-home care are Indigenous, there are only approximately 462 licensed foster homes across the province, and the SACY reports document year after year that the gap between what children need and what the system provides remains large.

The 2024 "Putting Children First" legislative review — which resulted in amendments to the Child and Family Services Act — was partly a response to sustained pressure from SACY reports, First Nations advocacy organizations, and public concern. The amendments extended the definition of "child" to anyone under 18, expanded prevention services, and reinforced family preservation as a primary goal.

Whether these legislative changes translate to measurable improvements in outcomes is the subject of ongoing monitoring by the Advocate's office.

What This Means for Prospective Foster Parents

The SACY annual reports document the depth of need in Saskatchewan's child welfare system. For many people, reading them is what moves fostering from a vague idea to a concrete commitment.

The reports also document the limitations of group care and the consistent evidence that family-based placements — when they're stable, when foster parents are well-supported, and when cultural connections are maintained — produce better outcomes for children.

If you're considering fostering, the SACY annual reports are worth reading. They provide the unvarnished context for what you'd be stepping into, who the children are, and why family-based caregivers matter so concretely.

The Saskatchewan Foster Care Guide provides the practical framework for translating that commitment into an approved foster home, covering everything from the application process to the training requirements and the financial supports available to licensed caregivers.

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