Nick Lang's grieving parents say B.C. ministry worker 'didn't care' about meth-addicted teenager
Peter Lang and Linda Tenpas are furious and say the Ministry of Children and Family Development misled them
The grieving parents of teenager Nick Lang, who died just six days after he entered government-funded drug rehab in June, say B.C.'s Ministry of Children and Family Development misled them and "made excuses" after his death.
Peter Lang and Linda Tenpas noticed their 15-year-old son's behaviour and appearance were changing in January.
"He lost weight but he was hiding it with big sweatshirts," explains Lang, who recognized the signs of meth abuse from his training as a corrections manager.
Linda Tenpas says they thought they discovered his addiction quickly enough to intervene.
"We caught him three months in ... so we reached out for help...he's only 15. We can save our kid."
They found an MCFD-funded substance abuse program for teens in Campbell River, where addicts stay with local families and attend a day program.
Lang and Tenpas told a ministry worker who arrived to pick up the teenager that their son had relapsed and binged on meth in recent days, and were assured he would be closely monitored while he detoxed.
Boy's body found in closet
But, Tenpas says, that didn't happen, because the family who paid to be his caregiver were not warned about the meth addict's history or that he required constant supervision to keep safe from self harm.
Lang and Tenpas say ministry staff withheld crucial information from both Nick's host family and his real family.
"They didn't give us the information. Sometimes they gave us misinformation. They didn't share what they needed to share. He should have been flagged immediately with his self-harm history."
When the host family found his body in a closet, in a room where he'd been left unattended for 40 minutes, Lang and Tenpas got a call telling them there'd been a "critical incident."
Lang says it was his sister, who lives in Campbell River, who rushed to the hospital and broke the devastating news to them that their son had died.
'He robbed us of our child'
"Nobody called us after that ... the ministry didn't call us," said Tenpas, whose calls to the teen's apparently indifferent and unconcerned ministry worker went unreturned for three days before his death, because of a heavy case load.
"Two days later, they made excuses and said, 'He's a busy guy.'"
Tenpas had been trying to get the worker's permission to call her son after he'd left a distressing voicemail. She says by the time the worker approved her contacting the boy, he was already dead.
"He just didn't care ... He robbed us of our child," said Tenpas through tears.
They say the people at the program contracted by the ministry were very helpful but ministry staff were not.
Broader inquest could be launched
The BC Coroner's service confirms the teenager's death is still under investigation and the chief coroner has not yet decided whether to launch a broader inquest into several similar cases.
"Because we continue to gather facts on this case and on several of the others that have recently been reported in the media or legislature, it is too early to determine whether an inquest or a Death Review Panel might be held," said spokeswoman Barb McLintock.
Nick Lang's parents are the third family in as many weeks to demand a public inquiry into the deaths of children in ministry care.
Burnaby, B.C. woman Lisa Fraser is calling for the Ministry of Children and Family Development to review her daughter Carly Fraser's case, following her suicide a day after she was no longer in care.
Meanwhile, friends and family of Alex Gervais, who died while in provincial care, are angry about the circumstances surrounding his death. The 18-year-old was left alone in an Abbotsford hotel for three months, before he fell or jumped from a fourth-floor window in September.
- Alex Gervais's family calling for inquiry into troubled teen's death
- B.C. Ministry of Children under fire again after Carly Fraser's suicide
Minister responds
The minister of Children and Family Development, Stephanie Cadieux, declined CBC's request for an interview, but in a statement said "This is a terrible tragedy and my deepest sympathy goes out to the family."
But the minister would not answer questions about Lang's death.
"I am not in a position to confirm what – if any – involvement the ministry has had with the family, due to privacy laws."
However the ministry says its staff routinely shares information related to a child's safety with contracted caregivers.
The province has repeatedly refused to allow an independent inquiry, instead proceeding with an internal review within the ministry.
Tenpas accuses the minister of hiding behind privacy laws "to cover up the errors her ministry has made" and has repeated her demand for an independent public inquiry into her son's death and the deaths of several other teens in care in the last year.
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