SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - MLAs have heard enough from constituents who have dealt with child and family services in Yellowknife and across the territory to call for a comprehensive review of the Child and Family Services Act.

"Are they one-on situations or are they indicative of problems with the act?" asked Glen Abernethy, Great Slave MLA, Tuesday.

"If it turns out the act has some problems, we will probably make some recommendations on it."

Regular MLAs unanimously approved a motion to review the act, June 3.

Abernethy said the act hasn't been thoroughly reviewed in 10 years.

The purpose of the legislation is to protect children from physical, mental and emotional abuse and sexual molestation. It also provides for protection to children in homes where they are neglected or malnourished.

In his motion, Abernethy stated 622 youth were receiving services from child and family services in the NWT as of Dec. 3, 2008. Of those, 43 per cent remained in their parents' custody, while 52 per cent remained with "a parent, a relative or someone the child or youth knew."

In 2008, 111 children were apprehended for more than 72 hours.

"In this act, children can be taken away from their parents," he said, adding the government needs to make sure everything possible is being done to protect children, parents and social workers involved in the process.

"I know this act is designed to protect children," said Abernethy on June 3. "However, in rare situations where social workers may have an unfair bias against a parent, a child may be apprehended on a permanent basis unnecessarily. This isn't good for the parents or the children who benefit from continued involvement with their birth parents."

The standing committee on social programs will examine whether the act needs to be amended, or if there are just implementation problems.

Abernethy said the motion was not raised to criticize or judge social workers.

"I recommend this review because I, and many of my colleagues, have heard concerns raised by our constituents on the implementation of the act and certain clauses within the act itself."

He said three priorities were the gap which exists for 16 to 19 year olds, accountability of social services staff and penalties for people who make false claims of abuse.

"We need to make sure people are being treated equally and responsibly," said Abernethy.

Presently, 16-year-olds need to volunteer to be covered under the Child and Family Services Act, and that presents a problem, said Abernethy.

"It's a grey area," he said. "They are not eligible for income support until they are 19, but they are not really covered under the Child and Family Services Act after they are 16."

He also said ramifications need to be put in place for people making false claims of abuse, because when that happens, a social worker has no choice but to go in and take the child.

"We need to make sure there are recourses for people making false allegations," he said.

Following the motion, June 3, Health and Social Services Minister Sandy Lee said the department was "ready and willing" to co-operate with the review. The motion called for the terms and conditions of the review to be presented at the next sitting of the legislative assembly, which reconvenes Oct. 15.

Abernethy said, if everything went well, the committee could have the review completed by this time next year.