Manitoba’s advocate for children and youth says a girl who suffered repeated sexual abuse and died of a drug overdose was failed over and over again by the province’s child welfare system.

The girl — identified only as Angel — was born to a mother with addiction issues and was apprehended by social workers 14 times by the time she was 12, says a 118-page report from Daphne Penrose released Thursday.

But each time, the girl was returned to her mother without a proper assessment of the home and without supports for the family.

“The (child and family services) agency conducted no meaningful assessments as to whether Angel’s mother was ready or able to provide safe care to Angel. So inevitably, Angel would be returned home, left in the risky situations, and when the risk became so sufficient, she was reapprehended again,” Penrose said.

“When she was in care, CFS did not complete any long-term planning and did not demonstrate an understanding of their legal mandate to protect and provide for Angel.”

Penrose, an independent officer of the legislature, makes six recommendations in her report, including a call for greater oversight to ensure agencies are meeting minimum standards, adding that children need better protection from sexual abuse and sexual exploitation.

Angel was sexually abused the first time when she was 21 months old, the report said. When she was seven, her family was waiting for housing on a reserve and living at the local healing centre. While her mother was out, another resident watching over Angel fell asleep and a third resident came into the room and  sexually assaulted the girl.

Angel dealt with her childhood trauma by acting out, Penrose said. She numbed herself with solvents and attempted suicide at age 11. She was later forced into the sex trade, became addicted to drugs and died of an accidental overdose in 2015 at the age of 17. She was in care at the time.

The man who provided her drugs later pleaded guilty to criminal negligence causing death.

“In Angel’s case, the public systems that should have protected her did not,” Penrose said.

Penrose is also calling on government, police forces and others to expand outreach programs for exploited youth and to raise public awareness about the “relentless” sexual exploitation of children and youth.

“As a community, we all have a role to play in making sure that people understand that … sexual exploitation is a violation of children’s human rights and we need to stop it from happening.”

The report also calls for expanded mental-health services, specifically addressing childhood trauma and addictions. It can be hard to get a child into treatment, and even those going in voluntarily can find themselves turned away outside office hours, Penrose said.

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