Former kids in care sue N.S. government over 'segregation-like conditions'

Former kids in give care tin eugene sue N.S. Gov't o'er conditions

WARNING | This story contains a description of self-harm during a mental health crisis.

Three people who were once children in the care of the province are suing the Nova Scotia government for what they say were “segregation-like conditions” in the Wood Street Centre, a provincially run facility for children in Truro, N.S. 

The lawsuit focuses on the Wood Street Centre’s use of what are called “therapeutic quiet rooms” or TQRs. 

These are rooms where a child can be locked inside if staff believe the child’s behaviour is causing a risk to themselves or others. 

But the plaintiffs allege staff used the TQR for reasons that included talking back, not following orders, speaking out in class, or having private conversations with other children. 

“It was crushing because it's like: ‘If I do one thing wrong or I say one thing wrong, I could be sent there and it's going to suck,’” said Gabriel Leblanc, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit filed in the fall.  

Leblanc says he lived in the Wood Street Centre in 2021 for a little less than a year. At that time he was 16 years old.  

The Wood Street Centre is for children in care deemed to have an emotional or behavioural disorder. The facility is divided into two sides comprising an 18-bed “residential” and 20-bed “treatment” facility. 

“You could be put in the TQR for cursing, you could be put in the TQR for throwing a punch. You could be put in the TQR for yelling,” said Leblanc.

“It was really up to the staff. It was their discretion and they were never questioned on it.”

In a statement, a spokesperson for the Department of Opportunities and Social Development wrote, "The safety and well-being of the children and youth in our care is always our priority. Our work is guided by the legislation, regulations and is focused on their best interests. "

The statement added that staff act using "professional standards" and "strong dedication."

Leblanc estimates he was placed in a TQR more than 50 times. He described it as a white concrete room about four by four metres, with a metal door that had an observation window, and a second observation window in the wall.  

He says there were no objects in the room except a camera in the ceiling and some painted shapes on the walls. Leblanc says the painted shapes were used by staff to measure a child’s compliance. 

“They would say go stand by this shape, go sit by this shape,” Leblanc said. "And that would have to continue for about 30 minutes, 30 minutes exactly, before you would be let out."

Leblanc says staff did not permit him to leave the TQR to use the bathroom or to get anything he might need. 

“It made me feel like a second-class citizen," he said. "Like I was less than human."

Leblanc says while he was in the TQR he began to think that his life had no worth and he wanted to die. 

He says he would often hit his own head against the floor. 

Leblanc says he usually spent about an hour in the TQR but his longest stay was four hours. He wasn’t able to measure time but says staff told him afterward how long he’d been inside. 

“It felt like an eternity,” he said.

Wesley Roberts, 22, is another plaintiff in the lawsuit. He says he had one stay at Wood Street in 2017 when he was 14 years old. 

Roberts says he tracked his stay of 56 days using a calendar that he taped to the wall of his room. 

He says he wasn’t given access to his cell phone or a clock, and he felt that keeping some sense of time was important for his mental state. 

“I put it up as soon as I got there, and I think it made the days a little bit longer because I was just staring at it, like, 'This is the day — I have this many days to get out of here,'” he said.  

Roberts says he lost track of time completely when he was placed in a TQR on one occasion. 

He says staff accused him of passing notes in class and told him to go to his room. He denied passing notes, and says he sat down on a couch and resisted going to his room because he didn’t want to have to make up class time later. 

He says the disagreement ended in staff dragging him to the TQR. Roberts says he was upset and went into a corner facing away from the door so staff could not see his face. 

“I just put my head against the wall, kind of just trying to keep myself calm because I knew that if I freaked out, I would have to stay in there longer,” he said. 

Roberts says staff insisted that he turn around and face them, although he didn’t want to. 

“They were just making me more frustrated and they're like, before we do anything, you need to turn around," he said. "And eventually I did because I was like, this is ridiculous." 

Roberts says he wasn’t permitted to go to sleep in the TQR, and a staff member would kick the door or tell him to wake up. 

Roberts says staff gave him directions to do things like raise one arm or move to different corners of the room. 

He says he remained sitting at first and refused to follow directions but as he became hungry and tired, he complied. 

“I felt like I was a prisoner in solitary confinement for writing something on a piece of paper,” he said. 

“That’s what that room is: it’s a power thing.” 

Roberts believes he was in the TQR for about two hours. He says throughout the rest of his stay at Wood Street he was not placed in the TQR again. 

Over the years when Leblanc and Roberts were in Wood Street, the province had detailed guidance on the use of TQRs. That's according to 2022 policy documents released under access to information. 

The policies stated TQRs were never for “punishing a child, nor is one to be utilized for the convenience of employees or program, nor for preventing a child from running away.”

The policies didn’t limit how long a child could stay in a TQR, but said it should only last as long as a child needed to regain self-control. 

“The rights of children must be respected and their right to autonomy and freedom may only be limited under very strict conditions, namely, when there is imminent risk to the child or others,” the policies said. 

If the child was in the TQR for an extended time, the policy said a supervisor had to check on the situation at least every 30 minutes. 

If a child said they needed to leave the TQR to use the bathroom, care for menstruation, or because they felt sick, the policy said the child “will be instructed that the request will be approved when [a staff person] is satisfied that the child has demonstrated the ability to manage their behaviour.”

According to the policies, TQRs are not to be used as bedrooms and children must not be left to sleep in them overnight. 

“If a child falls asleep in the therapeutic quiet room, employees must document in the child’s daily log, how long the child has been asleep and the reasons for not moving the child,” the policies read.  

The policies also required that staff debrief with the child after he or she was released from the TQR.

Leblanc says he was not debriefed by staff, or checked out for injuries he might have done to himself in the TQR. Roberts also says he was not debriefed. 

No date has been set for the allegations brought forward by the plaintiffs to be tested in court.  The plaintiffs are being represented by the group PATH Legal.

Roberts says he remembers feeling isolated or cut off from other residents and from the outside world.

“It just felt like they were trying to make everything disappear,” he said. “And I remember feeling really scared about that.” 

As the lawsuit moves forward, Leblanc and Roberts both want Nova Scotians to understand more about the way young people in the care of the province are treated. 

“These are youth that they're doing it to,” Leblanc said. “These aren't adults in jail or whatever that have fully functioning, fully-formed brains ...

“These are youth. These are kids.”

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Send us an email at: cbcnsinvestigates@cbc.ca

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